SeatsRecall 13V-081 · Ford and Mercury vehicles
Ford Motor Company recall 13V-081 covers 196,667 Ford and Mercury vehicles for a seats problem, reported to NHTSA on March 7, 2013.
Source: NHTSA recall 13V081000 and manufacturer quarterly reports. Started by an NHTSA defect investigation.
The problem
Ford is recalling certain model year 2004-2007 Freestar and Mercury Monterey vehicles manufactured from March 24, 2003, through November 7, 2006, equipped with a third row seat and originally sold in, or currently registered in, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. The third row stowable seat can experience corrosion and structural degradation at the seat anchor mechanism mounted to the rear wheel wells. As a result of the corrosion, the third row seat may not fully latch into its seating position.
The risk
In the event that the vehicle is crashed into from the rear, an unlatched seat may increase the risk of personal injury.
The fix
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will install new third row seat latch striker mounting brackets, free of charge. The recall began on March 28, 2013. Owners may contact Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center at 1-866-436-7332.
Ford's recall campaign number is 13S01.Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
Recall repairs are free. Confirm whether this recall is open on your vehicle by entering its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Vehicles in this recall
Built from March 24, 2003 to November 7, 2006. Not every vehicle in these model years is included; check by VIN.
The investigation behind this recall
- Corrosion of Third-Row Seat AttachmentNHTSA