The Ford Transit Connect is among the models covered by the recall. Photo courtesy of Ford.

The Ford Transit Connect is among the models covered by the recall. Photo courtesy of Ford.

Ford Motor Co. is expanding a previous multiple-model safety recall, involving door latches, to include about 1.5 million additional vehicles in North America.

This expansion, requested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, brings the recall total to 2.38 million — more than 2 million of which are in the U.S. Included are 2013-2015 model-year Ford C-Max and Escape vehicles, 2012-2015 Focus vehicles, 2015 Mustang and Lincoln MKC vehicles, and 2014-2016 Transit Connect vehicles, Ford said.

Dealers will replace the side door latches at no cost to the vehicle owner.

“In the affected vehicles, the pawl spring tab in the side door latch could break,” Ford explained in a released statement. “A door latch with a fractured pawl spring tab typically results in a ‘door-will-not-close’ condition. A door that opens while driving increases the risk of injury.”

Ford said it has identified one reported accident and three reported injuries that may be related to the door latch issue.

In addition to the vehicles in the U.S., the recall affects more than 233,000 vehicles in Canada and more than 61,300 in Mexico, according to the automaker.

Fleet managers wishing to learn whether any of their vehicles are involved in the recall can search by VIN after clicking here. 

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