NHTSA Campaign 13V081000

SEATS

Issued by Ford Motor Company · Reported Mar 7, 2013 · 196,667 vehicles affected

What's wrong

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.

Consequence

In the event that the vehicle is crashed into from the rear, an unlatched seat may increase the risk of personal injury.

Remedy

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.

Vehicles affected by this recall

Make Model Year Units
FORD FREESTAR 2004 196,667
FORD FREESTAR 2005 196,667
FORD FREESTAR 2006 196,667
FORD FREESTAR 2007 196,667
MERCURY MONTEREY 2004 196,667
MERCURY MONTEREY 2005 196,667
MERCURY MONTEREY 2006 196,667
MERCURY MONTEREY 2007 196,667

Source: NHTSA Campaign 13V081000 on nhtsa.gov. To check the current repair status for a specific vehicle, use our free VIN decoder.