What 1,669 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 Ford Explorer

The contact owned a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at 20 MPH, the driver of the vehicle ahead abruptly braked; as a result, the contact collided with the rear of the vehicle ahead. The air bags did deploy; however, the contact stated that the driver's side air bag failed to fully deploy, only inflating to the size of a volleyball, and the front passenger side air bag caused the glove box panel to detach and become a projectile that resulted in injury to the passenger. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed a total loss by the contact's insurance provider. A police report was filed, and injuries were reported. The contact transported herself and her husband to an area hospital, where her husband was treated for various cuts and bruises to his legs. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11587527

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, another vehicle driving at a high rate of speed abruptly merged into his lane and collided with the contact on the front passenger side of the vehicle, sending the vehicle careening to the shoulder of the roadway and coming to a complete stop after colliding with a guard rail. The air bags did not deploy. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard but later towed to a body shop for repair. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnosis. A police report was filed, and injuries were reported. All occupants were transported to an area hospital by EMS for treatment. The contact was treated for non-descript injuries to his back and neck; the front passenger was treated for non-descript injuries to his back and neck as well as nerve damage; and the rear passenger was treated for non-descript injuries to his head and neck. Both passengers later required extensive rehabilitation as a result of the injuries they sustained during the accident. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 160,000.

NHTSA ODI 11583843

I was in an accident driving ro work. Driver was coming off if a local freeway and slammed into the driver side at the front portion of driver door and wheel location. My vehicle was thrown across 3 lanes of traffic and half way onto a side walk. I slammed my head so hard on the driver door glass that it broke the window. Airbags did not deploy at any time. I was not going very fast but the other driver was racing to get threw a yellow light that had already turned red at the time of impact throwing the vehicle as stated above at an undetermined speed

NHTSA ODI 11420700

THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT HAVE BEEN COMING ON INTERMITTENTLY. THE CAR HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP SEVERAL TIMES FOR THE PROBLEM AND FORD HAD BEEN UNABLE TO IDENTIFY THE CAUSE. ON NOVEMBER 27, 2017, A FORD DEALERSHIP IDENTIFIED THAT THE CAR HAD A DEFECTIVE AIRBAG RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULE. THE CAR HAS 60,472 MILES. THE WARRANTY EXPIRED AT 60,000. FORD HAS NOT OFFERED TO EXTEND ANY SORT OF WARRANTY RELIEF EVEN THOUGH THE CAR IS 472 MILES OUTSIDE OF THE WARRANTY. MY HUSBAND WAS IN A FRONT-END COLLISION IN JULY 2017. ALTHOUGH THE CAR THAT HE HIT WAS TOTALLED, THE AIRBAGS IN OUR FORD DID NOT DEPLOY, A FACT THAT SHOCKED MANY PEOPLE CONSIDERING THE DAMAGE TO THE OTHER CAR. I AM SHOCKED THAT WHEN THE CAR WAS IN THE FORD DEALERSHIP AFTER THE ACCIDENT THAT THEY DID NOT WORK TO EXPLAIN THE AIRBAG FAILURE.

NHTSA ODI 11051548

WE WERE DRIVING DOWN A RURAL ROAD BEGINNING TO SLOW DOWN, WHEN THE CAR DID NOT SLOW DOWN, IT.WENT AT FULLSPEED WHILE HITTING THE BRAKES. THEN HITTING A TREE HEAD ON, CAUSING A FATALITY. I DID NOT.WANT THE CAR DESTROYED, BECAUSE I WANTED A FULL INVESTIGATION PERFORMED ON THE CAUSE AND THE TPS . I ONLY RECEIVED A BLACKBOX INFO WITH LIMITED INFO SHOWING VEHICLE SPEED AT CRASH. THE ONLY THING SLOWING VEHICLE WAS A DITCH AND THE TREE. ALSO DRIVER SIDE BELT CAME UNATTATCHED AS WELL AS MIDDLE PASSENGER. ONLY DRIVER AIR BAG AND ONE.PASSENGER AIRBAG DEPLOYED.

NHTSA ODI 10970688

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 FORD EXPLORER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER WITHOUT WARNING. AS THE CONTACT APPLIED FORCE TO THE STEERING WHEEL IN ORDER TO STEER THE VEHICLE, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY JERKED TO THE SIDE. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO THE REAR END OF ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. UPON INSPECTION, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE LOWER CONTROL ARM IN THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE HAD FRACTURED. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED MINOR BRUISES AND THE REAR PASSENGER SUSTAINED MINOR NECK BRUISES THAT REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE CONTROL ARM NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 18,500.

NHTSA ODI 10811166

WHILE APPROACHING AN INTERSECTION FROM THE SOUTH, A CAR CROSSED THE INTERSECTION IN FRONT OF US, TRAVELING EAST. I APPLIED THE BRAKES BUT NOT IN TIME TO AVOID HITTING THE CAR BROADSIDE. FRONT AIRBAGS DEPLOYED AS DID THE SIDE AIR BAGS ON THE DRIVER SIDE. THE AIRBAG UNDER THE DASH ON THE PASSENGER SIDE DEPLOYED ALSO. MY WIFE, WHO WAS SEATED IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT, SUFFERED A VERY SERIOUS CUT ON HER LOWER LEG, JUST A FEW INCHES ABOVE THE ANKLE. IT IS ORIENTED PRIMARILY CIRCUMFERENTIAL FOR AT LEAST 180 DEGREES AROUND THE TOP AND SIDES OF HER LEG. THE WOUND CUT TO THE BONE AND REQUIRED MULTIPLE LAYERS OF STITCHES TO REPAIR. HER DOCTOR SAYS THE BLISTERING AROUND THE CUT APPEARS TO BE CONSISTENT WITH A BURN. THERE WAS NO CAR FIRE, SO WE THINK THAT THE CUT AND BURN WERE LIKELY FROM THE AIR BAG. THERE WAS NO VISIBLE DAMAGE TO THE CAR IN THE PASSENGER LEG AREA. NO GLASS WAS BROKEN. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10610206