Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2001 Lincoln Town Car owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2001 Lincoln Town Car. The contact stated while driving 35 mph, the passenger's side curtain air bag inadvertently deployed without warning. While the contact was startled by the deployment of the air bag, there was no injury sustained. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the vehicle was not under recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 50,930.
I lost control of the Car when it hit ice at 9:20a- 1/25/2013 on I-94 near chesterton, in, spun around and crashed twice (front/rear) into the left concrete barrier parallel to the roadway. None of the 4 air bags deployed. I (age 77) and my passenger (age 83) wore seat belts that saved us. Car front smashed; Car rear less damaged. Sides are o.k.. Isp report id:201300021141. Neither of us sought medical treatment. My chest still hurts! Air bags would have helped had they deployed. Lake shore Ford, chesterton, in [phone] said Car was "totaled." isp officer weems reported that I May receive a ticket for "too fast for conditions." tc failed the only air bag test it ever had. Seat belts did not. No other cars were involved on busy I-94. We were lucky!
Driver's side air bag inadvertently deployed while driving at 65 MPH. Upon deployment, the air bag busted driver's eye glasses. As a result, driver lost control of vehicle, and ended up on the shoulder on the opposite side of the highway. Driver sustained minor cuts.
While I was driving our 2001 Lincoln Town Car south on i95 north of baltimore, the left front tire passed over a piece of debris which triggered only the driver's side air bag. Fortunately, I didn't loose control. However, I appear to have sustained some "moderate ,permanent" hearing loss in my left ear between 250-1800 hertz. I have been under a doctor's care since the event and have taken 5 hearing tests without any signs of healing of the inner ear. Local Lincoln dealers indicate that they are not authorized to do the repairs under the warrenty guidelines and refused to fix the air bag/seat even though the Car is still under factory warrenty. They directed me to my insurance (geico) .I asked them about having them read out the "black box" hidden analog and pre-even data-they responded that they do not have the software to read this data. …
While driving on a gravel road at approximately 10 MPH, airbag from the side of front passenger seat deployed. There was no warning. We heard a loud explosion, followed by smoke and a foul odor. My daughter, who was sitting in the seat was screaming in pain. I immediately stopped the Car and exited the vehicle to attend to her injuries. At first we thought she had been shot. She had burns, cuts, and bruising on her back and right side. We both had trouble breathing. We found a police officer and he told us to seek medical attention. Which we did. We contacted Lincoln/Ford while on our way to the emergency room. We were directed from a recording to contact local dealership with any complaints. We contacted the cavenaugh Lincoln dealership in jonesboro, arkansas. …
Tl contact owns a 2001 Lincoln Town Car. While driving 5 MPH, the side air bags on the passenger side seat deployed. There was no impact or crash. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that the air bag sensor deactivated and caused the air bag to deploy. The manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign id number 00V412000 (air bags:frontal:sensor/control module). The purchase date was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 102,068. Updated 04-07-08
I was driving 1-16 west, going speed limit (70) with cruise control when I heard a loud explosion in my left ear (I thought I had been shot), I was so stunned for a moment I didn't realize what had happened, but I turned my head slightly to the left and realized the air bag in my back rest had blown up. Smoke was pouring out of it and I thought my Car was on fire. The air bag slammed into the left side of my face, neck & shoulder. I was traumatized the rest of the day.
Tl contact owns a 2001 Lincoln Town Car. While driving 65 MPH, the air bag on the driver's side deployed without warning. After the deployment, the driver's side seat sustained damage on the left side. The contact was not injured. He called the manufacturer and they stated that the air bag module was already replaced under the recall remedy; therefore, no compensation would be provided. The failure mileage was 56,600 and current mileage was 56,637.
Tl contact owns a 2001 Lincoln Town Car. While driving 40 MPH, the side air bag deployed for no apparent reason. As a result, the contact's wife was pushed across the front seat. The dealer and manufacturer stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA campaign id number 00V270000 (air bags). The air bags were repaired at the cost of $800. The failure and current mileages were 89,000. Updated 03/11/08.
While my father was driving down the road at highway speed the passenger front side airbag deployed with no warning or impact. The deployment of the airbag at highway speeds without a crash or impact startled the driver which caused him to cross into the lane next to him. This could have been serious had another Car been beside of him. Serious injury or even death could be caused if the conditions are right.
Related recalls
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…
NHTSA investigations
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…
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…
Airbag complaints in other Town Car years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2001 Lincoln Town Car?
NHTSA has 54 complaints about the air bags of the 2001 Lincoln Town Car, 34% of the model year's 161 complaints. The component named most often is side/window (17 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2001 Lincoln Town Car airbag problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 00V-412 (sensor/control module-inactive, Dec 6, 2000); NHTSA recall 00V-270 (air bags, Sep 13, 2000). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2001 Lincoln Town Car airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 89,000 miles, and 9% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 9 crashes, 0 fires and 15 injuries to air bags problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
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.