Door latch recall to cost Ford, cut into full-year profits

Ford is recalling an additional 1.5 million cars in the US and Mexico that have doors that can swing open while the vehicles are in motion.

The new vehicles included in the latest recall include the 2013 to 2015 Ford C-MAX and Ford Escape, 2012 to 2015 Ford Focus, 2015 Ford Mustang and Lincoln MKC and 2014 to 2016 Ford Transit Connect.

The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker said a side-door latch could break, possibly resulting in the door opening while the vehicle is moving. With an earlier recall of almost 830,000 cars, the total of recalled Ford vehicle in North America this year reached almost 2.4 million units.

The increase Thursday comes at the request of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which sought a wholesale recall, instead of a partial recall – begun August 4 – of vehicles sold only in selected regions. The recalls come after a U.S. The company had said in July that this year’s pretax profit would match or exceed last year’s $10.8 billion but that the outlook was “at risk” due to slowing sales and rising costs. The total cost the company incurs to recall the vehicles is $640 million, according to the company.

The door latch trouble has dogged Ford for the past two years, with the company gradually adding vehicles to it.

The concern is that certain doors can pop open when the vehicle is in operation. The recall now includes a total of 2,383,292 vehicles. Ford will take a charge on its third-quarter earnings resulting in the company’s full-year pre-tax profit margin dropping to $10.2 billion from $10.8 billions.

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Now the recall covers almost 2.4 million vehicles in North America.

Dealers will replace both lift supports.

Ford has issued similar recalls since 2014 and the automaker attributes three injuries and one accident to the issue.