Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS | |||||
| 15914 | 05/01/2002 | 637811 | Subject regarding air bag warning lamp illumination with diagnostic trouble code b2290 / lamp fault code 16. *tt | 12/06/2002 | |
| 02134 | 07/08/2002 | 635990 | Illuminated air bag warning lamp with diagnostic trouble code b2295 with light flashing code 22 (driver seat side air bag circuit fault), or light flashing code 23 (passenger seat side air bag circuit fault). *tt | 11/04/2002 | |
| 15612 | 02/01/2002 | 630658 | Concerns with air bag warning lamp with diagnostic trouble code b2290/ lamp fault code 16. *tt | 04/19/2002 | |
| 15629 | 02/01/2002 | 630677 | Exhbiting an illuminated air bag warning lamp with diagnostic trouble code b2295 or light flashing code 22. *tt | 04/19/2002 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS - SIDE/WINDOW | ||||||
| EA03014 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 08/22/2003 | 08/12/2004 | INADVERTENT SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT | ||
| This investigation identified a total of 182 reports alleging inadvertent or non-crash deployment of the side air bags.the data examined during the investigation suggest that the side air bag crash sensing system's algorithm may recognize certain non-crash incidents as deployable events.odi has not, however, identified any failed component that relates to the alleged defect in the subject vehicles.also, odi has not identified any trend in the manufacture dates of complaint vehicles that may indicate a component or vehicle-manufacturing problem.a safety-related defect trend has not been identified at this time.further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will take further action if warranted by the circumstances.see attached summary report. | ||||||
| PE03011 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 03/14/2003 | 08/22/2003 | INADVERTENT SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT | ||
| Odi has identified 173 complaints alleging inadvertent or non-crash deployment of side air bags on model year (my) 1999-2003 lincoln town cars.most of the complaints allege that one of the side air bags deployed while driving without any impact.analysis showed that my 2001 through early my 2003 town cars have much higher complaint and warranty claim rates (138 complaints and 120 warranty claims) than the remaining vehicles (35 complaints and 32 warranty claims).ford changed its supplier of the side crash sensors for the my 2001 town cars.ford states that the algorithm in the my 2001 town cars is different from the previous model year's design, and that it is designed to provide improved occupant protection in moderate speed side pole impacts.in december 2002 (i.e., early my 2003 vehicle production), the crash sensors were moved from the floor of vehicle to near the base of b-pillars in order to reduce the incidents of inadvertent side air bag deployments.this preliminary evaluation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea03-014) for my 2001-2003 town cars built before december 2002. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS | |||
| 03/28/2009 | 153000 | 1 | |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 lincoln town car. while driving approximately 15 mph, the contact drove over a pothole and the front passenger side air bag deployed. the passenger suffered minor injuries. the vehicle will be taken to the dealer. the failure mileage was 153,000 and current mileage was 154,000. updated 5/27/09 *cn | |||
| 09/15/2003 | 35424 | 1 | 05/15/2003 |
| Frontal collision 50mph, none of the airbags deployed on my 2002 lincoln towncar. my insurance co. said car is total loss accident & not repairable, when i contacted to my local ford/lincoln dealer & the company itself, i ask my car is total loss & none of the airbags deployed, they said someone will get back to you soon, after 6 months no one get back to me, but insurance co paid the car. *ak | |||
| 70000 | 1 | ||
| Driver's side airbag inadvertently deployed while driving at an undetermined speed without vehicle being in an accident. *ak | |||
| 11/17/2002 | 22000 | ||
| While driving the passenger side, side airbag deployed without vehicle being in an accident. please provide more details. ts *dt | |||
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL | |||
| 07/11/2006 | 55534 | 1 | 01/02/2004 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while driving 30 mph on a dry highway, another vehicle hit the contact's vehicle head on causing extensive damage to the front end. neither the passenger nor driver's side front air bag deployed. there were minor injuries sustained and a police report was taken. seat belts were worn during the incident and functioned properly. | |||
| 08/06/2006 | 68000 | 2 | 07/02/2003 |
| Dt*: the contact stated the passenger side air bag deployed for the 2nd time. on each incident, the contact was driving 40-45 mph on a dry country road. the dealership determined that gravel caused the deployment. the dealership also said there was a ding on the belly pan of the body of the vehicle. the contact stated there are no marks on the vehicle. there were no lights illuminated in the vehicle prior to either incident. the passenger was injured when the air bag deployed. updated 09/05/06. *jb | |||
| 02/23/2006 | 40000 | 1 | 10/01/2005 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while driving 55mph, the vehicle was hit from the rear causing it to hit a metal fence. neither air bag deployed. the dealership advised the contact to notify ford motor company, which has not been done. the vehicle had extensive damage. seat belts were in use, however injuries were sustained and there was a police report filed. | |||
| 09/15/2003 | 35424 | 1 | 05/15/2003 |
| Frontal collision 50mph, none of the airbags deployed on my 2002 lincoln towncar. my insurance co. said car is total loss accident & not repairable, when i contacted to my local ford/lincoln dealer & the company itself, i ask my car is total loss & none of the airbags deployed, they said someone will get back to you soon, after 6 months no one get back to me, but insurance co paid the car. *ak | |||
| 03/14/2003 | 6295 | 1 | 05/29/2002 |
| While driving at 45 mph the vehicle was involved in a frontal collision. the front air bags failed to deploy and as a result the passenger sustained a painful bruise over the left anterior rib cage. there was sufficient frontal impact but the driver believes the air bag failure may be due to the positioning of the air bag sensor. *ak *scc *nlm | |||
| 08/21/2002 | 1 | ||
| In a frontal collison, none of the air bags deployed on impact. *ak the consumer states that ford did send someone to check out the system, and they said that all the sensors were working. there's over $10k worth of damage in the front of the vehicle. the factory representative said it was not hit within 27 percent radius of the center. but with the impact, they should have deployed. *scc | |||
| 07/15/2002 | |||
| While driving 30mph involved in a head-on collision and air bags did not deploy. *ak | |||
| AIR BAGS - SIDE/WINDOW | |||
| 06/01/2006 | 1 | ||
| Traveling at 65 or 70 mph on a california highway last summer, the front passenger side air bag deployed (causing pain, bruising, etc. but nothing apparently permanent - no personal injury claim has ever been contemplated). it was shocking in that there was no crash of any kind. the passenger thought the bag deployed for no reason. the driver, not being certain, had the impression that some object (e.g., a small piece of tire rubber) was kicked up against the car from the roadway. there are no signs of any impact with anything. the bag tore part of the leather seat (beyond the seam). this occurred near the 5 year point re: warranty. the manufacturer, ford motor company, seemed responsive at first and asked that we take the car to the dealer. i did so, and was informed by the service department that ford informed them it was referred to their legal department and, thus, they could not even look at, let alone repair it. the legal department took several weeks to ultimately send a letter stating they had no responsibility. our insurance carrier is uncertain as to how to handle the claim. the air bag system in this lincoln town car is obviously defective. is this a known defect with this model, etc.? what recourse do we have against ford motor company for failure to fulfill its moral and legal responsibility to replace the air bag and repair the seat? is there not a federal agency that can be helpful in such matters? note: the damage occurred in early june, 2006 (entered 1st below to allow for transmission of claim). *jb | |||
| 03/01/2007 | 0 | 1 | 03/16/2006 |
| On thursday, march 1, 2007, my daughter was driving my lincoln town car approximately 55 miles per hour. for no apparent reason, the passenger right side airbag inflated. also causing injuries to my daughter, injuries includes a bruised ear drum and an asthma attack. *jb | |||
| 05/03/2006 | 48880 | 1 | 12/15/2001 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while turning left, the vehicle was hit in the passenger side between the tire and the door however the air bag did not deploy. there was no indication before the crash that the air bag would not deploy other than the contact stated the air bag light had been illuminating intermittently for some time. a police report was filed. the vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop who determined the vehicle was totaled however; no determination was made as to why the air bag did not deploy. | |||
| 01/27/2006 | 76000 | 1 | 05/14/2003 |
| (1) 2002 lincoln town car, vin# 1lnhm83w42y605144 with approximately 76,000 miles and out original warranty. no previous warnings were given. (2) passenger side air bag inadvertently deployed without being involved in an accident or impact. this incident occurred while driving approximately 45 mph on a gravel county road in cotton county, oklahoma. when the air bag deployed, it fried the sensor assembly control and the sab sensor. it also ripped the passenger side seat back and side of seat. estimate at body shop came up with $1,506.00 damages and i had to pay them $ 73.98 to run test on air bag system. at present, none of the other air bags are working now because of this failure. this according to ford dealer service and body shops. (3) extended warranty with different company than ford. extended warranty company said it would replace if ford dealer would run test on car and found fault with air bag system. billingsley ford of lawton, oklahoma ran test on this car and came up with conclusion that air bag was working properly. extended warranty advised me to call my car insurance carrier. i have done this and i am waiting on their decision. car has not been repaired at this time. *jb | |||
| 06/26/2005 | 1 | 05/04/2003 | |
| Contact states vehicle was traveling down a dirt road and the passenger side air bag deployed. he took vehicle to a dealer.*ak the dealer claimed that the air bag repair would not be covered under warranty. the consumer contacted the manufacturer but they provided no assistance. *nm | |||
| 10/09/2004 | 9650 | 1 | 03/03/2004 |
| At approx. 8 pm on sat. oct.9 my wife and i were returning home, traveling on rt. 95 northbound in the center lane of 3, going at the speed limit of 70 mph. without warning the side air bag on the driver's side deployed.luckily there were no cars on either side of us,and we managed to get the car under control and off the highway.we inspected the car and could not find any damage.although we were pretty shook up,we were not injured(due to the lack of traffic).after several calming minutes we continued to our home.our car is a 2002 lincoln town car.we took the car to where we purchased and serviced the car(wallace lincoln/mercury/volvo-3801 se federal highway,stuart fl 34997,772-283-6000)on monday(we have an original and extended warranty contract).wallace gave us a rental car and said they would check it out.the next day wallace service mgr.(russ ellis)reported that nothing was wrong with the car except for the unexplained deployment of the airbag.since the warranty was with ford,a ford engineer had to come to inspect the car.finally on oct. 20 he came and reported a small dent on the car underside was the result of running over something which caused the deployment of the side impact airbag.wallace therefore stated they would not cover repairs because of ford report.we visited wallace to inspect dent,and could not understand how this could result in deployment.complained to gm and service advisor who expressed sympathy and agreed to contact ford upper-level.no reply as yet,but we believe it will be negative.this is certainly a safety problem-deployment of side airbags without a side impact is dangerous.under car impacts could cause accidents-even deaths.*ak | |||