Ford Recalls 2011-2013 Fiesta Vehicles for Passenger Side Air Bag Defect
Ford is recalling 2011-2013 Fiesta vehicles because the passenger side curtain air bag may not deploy in side impacts when the front passenger seat is empty.
What this means for you
Our assessment, not the agency’s: severity 3/5 (High).
Real risk of harm even if no illness or injury has been reported yet. Stop using the product and follow the agency's guidance.
Our severity reasoning: The recall involves a risk-of-harm product where injury has not yet been reported, fitting the High severity criteria for vehicle safety defects.
Plain-English summary
Ford Motor Company is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Fiesta vehicles manufactured between November 3, 2009, and September 21, 2012. The recall addresses a defect where the passenger side curtain air bag fails to deploy during a side impact collision if the front passenger seat is empty. This condition causes the vehicles to fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
The defect increases the risk of injury to occupants in the right rear seating position because they will not have coverage from the side curtain air bag in such collisions. Although the system was designed to suppress the air bag under these specific conditions, the owner's guide did not explain this suppression as required by safety standards.
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the vehicle's software free of charge to ensure the passenger side curtain air bag deploys correctly. The safety recall began on October 26, 2012. Owners may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332 or the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236.
The recalled product
- Product
- FORD FIESTA
- Brand
- FORD
- Manufacturer
- Ford Motor Company
- Category
- Vehicle — Air Bag
- Affected units
- 154,471
Is your product affected?
Check your packaging against the codes below. If any of them match, the product is part of this recall.
Model numbers (1)
- FIESTA
Distribution
Distributed nationwide across the United States.
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