Airbag complaints by model year
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
On May 24 while backing out of the driveway I was a passenger in my sons car when it suddenly accelerated at a tremendous rate of speed and with a loud noise and crashed into the vehicle in front, which was pushed into our shed. I sustained injuries of 6 broken ribs, bruised lung and contusions to my chest. If not for the car and shed in front we would have ended at the bottom of the hill behind our home. The insurance company, 21st century, did not send a claim form and is fighting paying for this accident.
Tl contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. While driving 45 MPH, the contact crashed into the passenger side of another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. As of November 26, 2007, the insurance company was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The driver sustained a back injury and the front passenger suffered bruises to her shoulder and chest. The rear seat passengers sustained bruises to their chests and shoulders. The current and failure mileages were 46,000. *updated 12/12/2007 updated 12/12/07
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, the steering wheel seized causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle. As a result, the contact crashed into a fire hydrant and the air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained neck and shoulder injuries but did not require medical attention. The passenger sustained wrist injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000. Updated 02/12/16 updated 05/14/18
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that while driving 10 MPH, the vehicle spun out of control on an icy road and crashed into a river. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained injuries to the ribs and bruises on entire body that required medical attention. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.
I was driving at around 30 MPH, 2 cars in front slammed on brakes, I was approximately 1 1/2 car links back and hit the brakes. ABS failed, airbags failed, and slid into car in front of me. I was on a city street going straight.
During inspection inspecter 38573 reported a diagnostic fault as airbag control module. After failed inspection. I looked for part with the avail. Current part on vehicle is 1f2a-14b321-ee. I cannot find a part number matching. I took it to a second mechanic to verify if he infact was right. And I looked at the diagnostic and the airbag did not show up however what did show up after airbag light came on after a full memory clear was code b234 which points to driver safety belt buckle switch short circuit to ground. Or in lames terms safety belt buckle switch. This should never in a cars life ever happen. If this happened before a accident this could cause death to the consumer. Im the second owner of this vehicle I believe so im not sure if there's a recall for this particular issue as I do know there's one similar. My reinspection is due within 6 days. …
My husband was going through an intersection on a green light with our 2000 Ford Windstar and a vw jetta ran the red light and my husband hit him on the drivers side. The hole front of the van was pushed in and considered totaled. Both of the air bags never deployed. The bumper on the van was basically hanging on the ground and the hood bent up with everything else in the front.
While driving at 60 MPH consumer's vehicle collided with a large cargo box that fell off a delivery truck. Consumer was wearing seat belts, but the air bags did not deploy. Consumer sustained a sprained neck and back . There was extensive front end damage.
Related recalls (2)
Air bags › Frontal › Sensor/control module-inactive
Vehicle description: minivans and passenger vehicles. A restraint control module (rcm) or a side or front crash sensor May have been assembled with one or more of the screws that mount the circuit board in the housing missing. If some or all of the screws are missing, the performance of the occupant restrains could be affected.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the rcm and crash sensors and, if necessary, replace them.
Air bags
Certain passenger vehicles, limousines, and Mini vans were built with a newly designed restraint control module (rcm). In some cases, the rcm does not recognize certain system faults that could result in an air bag or seat belt pre-tensioner unexpectedly activating during the self-test sequence at vehicle start-up.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the rcm in these vehicles. Owner notification began September 14, 2000. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy…
Frequently asked questions
Which Ford Windstar years have airbag problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 1995 (92), 2001 (51), 2002 (36), 2000 (31) and 2003 (30) model years. Airbag complaints make up 3% of all complaints for the 1995.
Is there a recall for Ford Windstar airbag problems?
Yes — 2 recalls, including 00V-412 (sensor/control module-inactive, Dec 6, 2000); 00V-270 (air bags, Sep 13, 2000). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers; check a specific car with the VIN recall check.
At what mileage do Ford Windstar airbag problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 91,000 miles; 21% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the frontal (143 mentions), followed by the side/window (24).
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.