— More than 1.2 million Ford Explorers are being investigated after reports of serious burn injuries caused by the side airbags.
Included in the federal investigation are 2021-2026 Ford Explorers, including those used by police agencies, known as Ford Explorer Police Interceptors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is aware of at least 11 reports of Ford Explorer side airbag deployments that caused burns.
The burns occurred when crash impacts triggered the side airbags, with serious burns reported by drivers and front passengers.
A few Ford Explorer airbag burn complaints referenced by safety regulators:
"As the passenger, following a passenger side impact, (T bone) I sustained 1st and 2nd degree burns extending from my ribs to my hip. To my knowledge the only airbags that inflated were the curtain air bags. Immediately upon impact I had a burning sensation on my right side that slowly began to spread. Once out of the car it was discovered that something had burned through 3 layers of clothing with the singed edges sticking to my skin."
"Side seat airbag has exhaust port facing inwards, instead of outward, towards the door of the vehicle, that caused the hot chemical from the airbag to push out all the gas at the left side of my body, melting my clothes and causing chemical burns to my side when it deployed upon a wreck."
And a complaint sent to NHTSA describes what happened to a police officer.
"Officer was involved in a crash where the vehicles airbags were deployed. When the driver side seat airbag deployed it vented its gas towards the driver. When this happened the heat from the deployed air melted components on his police utility belt. If not for the police belt there is a high probability that the driver would have suffered burns similar to one of our other officers. We would like to know the reasoning behind the airbag vent being directed towards occupants."
According to NHTSA, drivers and front passengers typically received second-degree or third-degree burns that required medical treatment.
CarComplaints.com will update our website with results of the Ford Explorer airbag burns investigation.