The door latches in the above Ford vehicles are not compliant with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The allegation focuses on the vehicles having a defective door latch, which may open in the event of an accident, with the potential for catastrophic results. 

FORD DOOR LOCK FAILURES RESULT IN INJURIES & DEATHS FROM OCCUPANT EJECTIONS IN ROLLOVERS & ACCIDENTS
All vehicle door latch systems, including both the inside and outside door handles, are required by the (FMVSS 206) to withstand certain pressures or forces to keep vehicle's door look from opening during a rollover or typical accident. FMVSS 206 relates to the door latch and FMVSS 206 requires that the door handle and latch mechanism be able to withstand 30 g's of inertial loading in an accident. If the door lock or door latch failure to hold and opens at under 30 g's, then the door will open allowing the occupants to be ejected or face untold injuries from being partially ejected or hit by other objects and other vehicles. Many Ford vehicles may contain this manufacturing defect in the outside handle which may make the handle non-compliant with FMVSS 206 and dangerous to the consumer. The Ford defective door latch problem centers around the strength of the torsion spring that holds the door handle shut.This spring controls the amount of force required to operate the handle and open the door of the vehicle. The door latch problem is that the spring is too weak and allow openings at a much less force or fewer pounds of pressure to operate/ lift the handle than may be required under the Federal law. A weaker door latch spring can cause door that need to remain shut, to pop open during a wreck or rollover, at the time that they are the most needed to protect the safety of the passengers.

FORD DOOR LATCH - DOOR LOCK RECALL