Ford Motor Company: Air Bags › Frontal › Sensor/Control Module-inactive
Ford Motor Company reported this defect to federal regulators on Dec 9, 2002 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 396,217. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, THE INTEGRATED AIR BAG MONITOR (IABM) CAN BE CONTAMINATED WITH WATER OR OTHER LIQUIDS AND COULD EXPERIENCE INTERNAL ELECTRICAL SHORTING.
The risk
THIS MAY, IN TURN, CAUSE THE AIR BAG READINESS LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE AND IN VERY RARE OCCURRENCES, AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT, MELTED WIRING, OR FIRE MAY OCCUR.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL INSTALL THE SHIELD OVER THE IABM AND APPLY NYOGEL GREASE TO THE CONNECTOR. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN FEBRUARY 11, 2003. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT FORD AT 1-866-436-7332.
2 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 Ford Escort | 543 | 2 | 83 | 67 |
| 1997 Mercury Tracer | 142 | 2 | 17 | 15 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 02V323000.
Full record for the 1997 Ford Escort → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →