Ford Motor Company: Air Bags
Ford Motor Company reported this defect to federal regulators on Oct 5, 2012 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 154,471. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
Ford is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Fiesta vehicles, manufactured from November 3, 2009 through September 21, 2012. The vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, "Occupant Crash Protection." The passenger side curtain air bag will not deploy in the event of a side impact collision when the front passenger seat is empty. Although the side curtain air bag system was designed to suppress the side curtain air bag under this scenario, that information is not explained in the owner's guide for these vehicles as required by FMVSS No. 208.
The risk
An occupant in the right rear seating position will not have coverage from the side curtain air bag in a side impact collision when the front passenger seat is empty, increasing the risk of injury to the right rear occupant.
The remedy
Ford will notify owners and dealers will reprogram the vehicle's software free of charge so that it no longer suppresses the passenger side curtain air bag when the front passenger seat is empty, and consistent with the description in the owner's guide. The safety recall began on October 26, 2012. Owner's may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332.
3 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 Ford Fiesta | 668 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| 2012 Ford Fiesta | 617 | 3 | 5 | 12 |
| 2011 Ford Fiesta | 730 | 3 | 5 | 32 |
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 12V488000.
Full record for the 2013 Ford Fiesta → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →