Ford is recalling its hot-selling new Escape sport-utility vehicle again -- the fifth recall for the auto since the redesigned model started selling last year.
This time Ford is recalling about 7,150 cars from the 2013 model year, including the Escape, the Focus compact car and its C-Max hybrid to ensure the child lock on the rear left-hand door works properly.
Ford said that in some of the vehicles, the left rear door child lock “may have been built incorrectly.” It might seem like the child lock is engaged, but it won’t hold the door closed if someone attempts to open it.
The automaker said it is not aware of any accidents or injuries attributed to this problem. Dealers will inspect the child lock and, if necessary, replace it at no cost to the owner.
All of the vehicles were built at two Ford factories in November and use the same part.
The Escape is Ford’s third-best-selling vehicle this year, trailing only the Fusion sedan and the F-Series pickup truck. Ford has sold about 44,000 Escapes so far this year.
The fifth recall for the Escape since the new model came to the market last spring comes after previous callbacks to address a fuel line leak, a coolant line leak, an engine-overheating issue and a clearance problem that could cause the driver’s foot to hit the brake pedal while moving from the accelerator to the brake.
ALSO:
Smartphones will replace car keys
Consumer Reports best and worst used cars
Iron Man ditiches his Acura for a hot new Audi
Follow me on Twitter (@LATimesJerry), Facebook and Google+.