Ford Airbags Not Deploying When Needed

Consumer Complaints & Reviews

Chris of Madison, TN on Dec. 18, 2011

Satisfaction Rating: 5/5

My dad had an accident in his 2007 Ford Taurus two weeks ago. His airbags did not deploy. He was wearing his seatbelt but they did not lock like they were supposed to. He suffered a bad cut on his forehead when his head hit the steering wheel, and has knocked him unconscious. He died a few days ago.

If the airbag had inflated, it probably would've saved his life. Instead, now I have no father.

Melissa of Minneapolis, MN on Dec. 4, 2011

Satisfaction Rating: 1/5

I have a 2000 Ford Explorer Sport-2 door. The truck hit ice and slid at 40 mph into the detaining wall on a highway. It spun around and bashed in the front of the car. My son hit the steering wheel with his face, because the air bag did not deploy. No light ever indicated that the airbag was malfunctioning. There is no way anyone could have known that the airbags would not deploy.

Sherri of Holland, TX on Jan. 4, 2005

I drive an F350 Super Duty Dually Pickup. Yesterday I was coming home from picking up show rabbits for my son and hit about a 1400-lb cow. It was a huge impact, I didn't have time to hit my brakes or swerve to miss the cow. Both my son and I were uninjured, just dazed slightly. It was the State Trooper who noticed that the air bags did not deploy.

I have read several responses that Ford told them the impact was not enough. What the hell do you need to hit ... a train? I'm not sure it would be any harder.

Valerie of Brick, NJ on Aug. 25, 2003

On Aug 23rd 2003, my husband and I along with our 6-yr-old twins were returning home from vacation when we were struck from behind by a Box Truck doing 35-40 mph. The impact caused us to hit another vehicle in front of us and my 1998 Ford Windstar was instantly turned into a sardine can. Both the front end and rear end were crushed in. Our airbags did not deploy.

We suffered from minor injuries; whiplash, head and neck strain etc. My husband chose this vehicle when the twins were born based on its safety standards and high ratings. In this particular case I'm not sure any of our injuries would have been less severe had the airbags deployed, but my concern is now, what if...what if we really needed them to save our lives.

Jack of Hayward, CA on June 3, 2003

On the morning of October 6 2001, I was driving home from my work place at about 3:00 am. At the time I was employed as a bouncer/DJ at a local strip club in San Francisco. It was about 5 days before my 25th birthday, so before I got off work my friends decided to buy me a few drinks to celebrate. (I know ... it gets worse.) For some reason, after drinking I decided to get behind the wheel.
Hayward is about 25 miles south of S.F. After driving that, I have about half a mile of street driving until I'm home. I never made it. I woke in the ICU of a local hospital. My first realization once awake was that I could not see. I had little to no idea of what could have happened. My family throughout the next few days filled me in on what had transpired.
According to the CHP report it was cut and dried. Young male, intoxicated, strikes telephone pole at aprox. 35 mph, airbags deploy, end of story. Not quite. My left eye made a slow but full recovery. unfortunately my right eye wasn't so lucky.
Due to the trauma of the airbag I developed a subluxated crystalline lens, vitreous prolapse into the anterior chamber and a choroidal rupture. I underwent a vitrectomy and lensectomy with lazers. Despite surgery, my current vision in my right eye is 20/400 due to the choroidal rupture. I also had burns all over my face and a concusion. When I finally got past the surgery I decided to take a look at my vehicle.(96 Ford Explorer XL) I expected to see chaos. Instead I was alarmed to see the opposite.
There was virtually nothing that asstonishing about the damage. I inspected the section of bumper which supposidlly struck the telephone pole. There is a dent in my bumper about 2 inches in diameter. And about 1/2 inch deep. I am old enough by now drinking and driving is WRONG. I could have hurt someone really bad. Or worse. I accept full responsibility for my actions and since the accident tried to do the best to take care of all the legalities involved. I am no angel by any means but should one night of irresponsibility cost me a lifetime of vision?
My family does not have a lot of money and because of the drinking I have found it very difficult to find representation. Since the accident I have tried to move forward in life despite my injury. I have currently finished my first year at The Accademy of Art College with a B average. I am not looking for sympathy. I think these airbags (in low impact collisions) are very dangerous. It could have been a lot worse but it didn't have to happen at all. I thank GOD every day for my life and I am so thankful, but should these companies be allowed to keep produceing and installing these ticking time bombs?

They're required by federal law to do so. There are many who think we'd be better off if everyone learned to drive defensively and wore a decent seat belt. As for legal representation, since Jack was intoxicated and thus the major contributor to his accident, he will have a difficult time winning any substantial award in court.

Ann of Palm Coast, FL on Sept. 3, 2002

I was involved in an accident while driving my Ford Escape. The other vehicle was a Honda and all their airbags opened. Ours did not and I have suffered injuries to my neck lower back, both knees. Had the airbags employed I would have walked away from this accident with only minor injuries. My mother suffered injuries to her left hand, her knee and was unconscious for a few seconds. The vehicle is only eight months old and is still under warranty.
I am now unable to work. I have to go to therapy and I also have to be seen by a neurosurgen. I am in pain and have to take pain medication

Ann should immediately retain an experienced personal injury attorney.

Charles of Spanish Fort, AL on Aug. 7, 2002

In a collision at over 60 mph, neither airbag deployed. Was then rear-ended at high speeds twice. Air bags still did not deploy. 98 Ford Escort.

My 15-year-old daughter and I suffered some back and neck pain. I suffered some leg, arm and hand pain. No hospital time has been called for yet, but doctor visits and x-rays have taken up some of our time.

Paul of Abilene, TX on July 18, 2002

We were on vacation in Hawaii on 9/4/01 when a vehicle pulled into our lane. In order to avoid a head-on collision I went off the road and hit a mountain head-on at high speed. We were driving a rented 2000 Ford Taurus. Neither airbag deployed. My wife's back was broken and she is in constant pain. Doctors say that surgery is not advised because of the high possibility of paralysis. She is unable to perform her normal daily functions, including her job. So far we have been unable to find an attorney who will take on Ford.

Joseph of Plymouth, MI on July 12, 2002

My wife was in an accident, she hit another car in the rear end doing 35 to 40 mph. Her seatbelt didn't lock till she was 3 inches from the windshield nor did the airbag deploy. There was almost $6,000 in damage and the airbag on the passenger side did deploy. My wife saw her doctor after the accident, he said she had a brused sternum and her back would be sore for awhile. It's a month later and she is still having back pains.

Alice of Breaux Bridge, LA on July 12, 2002

On the morning of 7/11/02 I was involved in an accident as I traveled to work. A large truck towing a trailer & tractor made a left turn immediately in front of my 1999 Ford Mustang. I struck him directly on his passenger side in the bed area of his truck. My front plastic bumper was completely torn off and the passenger side of the vehicle received extensive damage. The insurance adjustor came by to look at the car on 7/12/02 and stated that my unibody frame had received damage and also my radiator bracket was broken.

Neither of my two airbags deployed. Although the accident did not cause any injuries, my concern is that if I could have been helped by the airbags, they would have not deployed. I was only traveling approximately 35-45 mph when the accident occured but feel that the impact was great enough for the airbags to have been deployed.

Sherry of Charlotte, NC on June 26, 2002

Myself and another indivisual were involved in an auto accident going aprox. 50-55 mph. It was a direct hit that totaled the car, and the airbags did not deploy. The insurence company already paid off the car plus a good chunk because they know something is not right.

I'm all screwed up about this. I'm in physical therapy, out of work and I just can't find anyone who is not afraid of Ford.

Sharon of Bastrop, TX on May 29, 2002

My daughter hit a vehicle stopped in the lane of traffic. Her 2001 Ford Escape rolled 2 times landing on the roof. The air bags did not deploy. Major impact was to the driver side. Vehicle was totaled. Daughter is afraid to drive, afraid that all SUV's will rollover. Gratefully she only suffered concussion, whiplash and bruises.

Margarita of Newark, DE on May 26, 2002

Om May 24, 2002 my daughter-in-law to be was comming home with my son and granddaughter who is 2 yrs old, they were on their way home when a bus almost hit them, my daughter-in-law was doing approximately the speed limit. She avoided hitting the bus. She slammed on her brakes and the brakes and stering wheel locked up on her. She hit another vehicle on full impact. The air bags did not deploy. This is a brand-new car I bought from ford. I took plenty of pictures.

Ford wants me to pay for them to check out my car to see what went wrong.

Jennifer of Neenah, WI on Feb. 12, 2002

My husband was in a severe accident. He slid on an ice patch on the highway. His vehicle then went into the ditch. He hit head-on which caused his vehicle to flip from front to back. After the first flip he flew 40 feet in the air and then flipped 7 more times before stopping upside down 300 feet from where he originally entered the ditch. Neither of the airbags deployed.

So far he only has minor injuries, although we are conserened he has some internal bleeding that would be caused from hitting the steering wheel upon initial impact, which would have been prevented if the air bag would have been deployed.

Lt. of Great Falls, MT on Jan. 20, 2002

I was driving a Ford F-350 4dr Shortbox. This is a Government contracted vehicle. I was traveling approximately 50MPH at 0230hrs and struck a 1000 lb+ Black Angus that walked into the road. The truck's front end was totalled and the airbag did not deploy. My safety office told me that the airbag sensor is on the frame and that my impact did not hit the sensor!

The front driver's side is gone! I luckily walked out of the accident a little shaken up but the impact was so hard and violent I can't imagine what would have happened if I really would have needed more than a seatbelt!

Kristi of Franktown, CO on May 16, 2001

Kristi of Franktown CO (05/16/01)

My daughter had an accident in our F350 and was wearing her seatbelt when she hit a car that stopped on the highway. She was going the speed limit when she hit, but neither the driver's side nor the passenger's side airbag worked, and the safety shut-off for the fuel did not work either. The body shop said that we were luck the truck didn't blow up on the way home. All I wanted was to have the truck traded with a new one (it is less than a year old and is being leased through Ford Motor Credit). They tested the bags at the dealership and said they were fine. My daughter hit the windshield with her head and cracked the windshield in the accident. Luckily, she was wearing her seat-belt. There were 3 cars totaled in the accident, but Ford said that she was not driving fast enough or hit hard enough for the airbags to go off. They have been very difficult to work with and are refusing to talk to me about it at this point. My insurance company also provided me the names of other people that are insured with them that have had the same thing happen with the same type vehicle.

I am very upset that Ford and the dealership have not been willing to work with me on this. My daughter was injured, as well as at least 3 other people in other cars in the accident. We leased this vehicle this year so that my daughter would have a SAFE truck to pull her horses to rodeos in. I do not feel that the truck is safe and have now been told by the service department that they do not want me to bring the truck back to their dealership for the maintenance (I purchased a maintenance plan at almost $50 a month).

Heidi of Riegelwood, NC on May 7, 2001

My husband and I bought a brand new 1999 F250 Super Duty from Cape Fear Ford. In May of 1999 we began to have problems with the brakes and the suspension on the truck. The brakes would vibrate when applied and the suspension would squeak hitting even the smallest bumps in the road. We took the truck to the dealer and they attempted to fix the problem, four times later and the warranty has ran out the problem is still not fixed. To make matters worse the courtsey light comes on and stays on when you hit the brakes and the door ajar light never goes off.

The truck was involved in a accident that messed up the front end pretty bad at about 25 to 30 miles an hour in a rear ender and the air bags did not release. Also during the accident and after the anti-lock brakes did not work and when told about it the dealer just told me that it is my imaganation that they did not work. And now finally at 62,000 miles the manual transmission goes out leaving us stranded with no work truck to pull our lawn maintenance trailer and a bill of more then $1000.00 to have it fixed.

The consequences of all these problems with out truck are that we have to keep spending money to have braked resurfaced and new brake rotors put on, the anti lock brakes did not work in an accident so the accident was possiblbly avoided if they had, the air bags could have prevented injury, and now I am without a truck and am going to have to spend a lot of money to have it fixed. Money that I dodnt have and cant afford.

Dana of Carlin, NV on Dec. 18, 2000

In September 2000 my girl friend was involved in a vehicle accident on Tropicana Ave. in Las Vegas. The damage to the front end of this car was about $5,000. It was a dead-on front hit and the air bags did not deploy. After finally getting the car fixed and towed in to get the brake recall done on the car. My girlfriend and father went in to pick up the car. The auto body shop had been amazed by the fact that the air bags had not deployed and said that I should have the sensor checked by Ford.

However, when my father and girl friend asked the Service Department at Desert Lincoln Ford to check the air bags while they had the car working on the brakes the Service man asked, "Is the light on?" They replied that it was not on. The man then said that he would not check the air bags because the computer would not find anything wrong if the light was not on. They told him this vehicle had already been involved in one accident and the air bags did not deploy and told him the amount of damage. He still refused to check them because the light was not on.

Jennifer of East Bend, NC on June 13, 2000

My step sister was involved in a motor vehicle accident on Sept.11, 1999. She was a passenger in a vehicle driven by her husband.
They hit a ditch head-on at approximately 70 miles an hour. (Although) she was restrained, she suffered from massive head and neck trauma and was killed. The vehicle was a 1994 Ford Probe which was equipped with airbags.
Neither the driver side or passenger side airbags ever deployed. I have done some research on the deployment of airbags. I have found that an airbag should deploy even at speeds of only 15 miles an hour. For some reason they did not in this case. Evidently there was some kind of defect with the airbags in this vehicle.
I am very interested in finding out if this has happened on any other occasion with this same type of vehicle, and if it is the negligence of the maker of the vehicle (Ford) or the dealership that the car was purchased from.
My stepsister was only 21 years old at the time of her death. She left behind a 3-year-old son, a brother, a father and grandparents who love her. We continue to suffer this great loss. We feel that if the airbags had worked, she might still be with us today.

We would be very interested in learning if this has happened to others. If you know of a similar incident, please tell us about it. We have also put Jennifer in touch with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.