Problems with 2002 Ford Escape AIR BAGS

The airbag light came on on the dashboard. it continues to stay on and beeps five times repeating five times. this occurs during start up of the vehicle, and it also occurs about 30 minutes after continuous driving.

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. the contact stated that the air bag warning indicator illuminated. the contact did not take the vehicle to the dealer. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in a recall. the approximate failure mileage was 90,000.

Airbag light stays on and also i have a issue with the steering wheel and suspension there are other issues with the car and never was fixed by previous owner now im stuck with a car that has past recalled issues. if you own a car and just purchased it by previous owner make sure that recalls have been fixed on vehicle. now i dont know what to do with my vehicle.

Tl* the contact owned a 2002 ford escape. while driving approximately 5 mph and attempting to make a left turn, another vehicle struck the front end of the contact's vehicle. the contact's vehicle spun around and struck the other vehicle again. the air bags failed to deploy. the contact received chest injuries that needed medical attention. a police report was filed. the vehicle was destroyed and towed. the approximate failure mileage was 177,000. the vin was invalid. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure.

I bought my car on sept 28, 2015. the airbag light came on about 2 weeks ago. at first it would come on when i start the car and shut off. now it blinks then stays on. i am worried that if i get into an accident my airbags will not deploy. i have read a lot of reviews about this and it seems to be a very big issue. i have searched this website with my vin # and there are no recall. i bought this as a family car but now i am in fear of putting my children in it.

The air bag readiness system on the car is troubling. the red light indicator on the dash either flashes, or remains on. the manual says the system should be serviced immediately. i called a local ford dealer in my town and they say they won't pay for it. have there been problems with this vehicle make/model/ year? since it is a serious safety issue, wouldn't the manufacturer be required to fix it?

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. while driving at 45 mph, the contact's vehicle crashed into another vehicle due to ice and gravel on the highway. the air bags did not deploy. the vehicle was destroyed. a police report was filed. the contact sustained a bruised head and fractured thumb that required medical attention. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 131,000. the vin was not available.

Air bag warning light continually illuminates; cable coupling under passenger seat does not complete the circuit which triggers the air bag warning light. this condition occurs in all weather and driving conditions.

For the past year and a half the abs warning light has been illuminated. i took it to the ford dealership to have the latest recall fixed regarding the reservoir cap. ford couldn't get the abs warning light to turn off...so, hence the light still intermidantly comes on and off. also, the oil pressure light keeps coming on when i start my car and when i am slowing down. i just had my mechanic change the oil a week ago and and still having the problem. one last thing, the air bag illumination light has been on for the past two years. i took it to my dealer and they couldn't get it to turn off. am i safe in thinking that my air bag won't deploy just for the heck of it? not sure what to do? but it scares me.

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. the contact stated that the vehicle was traveling approximately 45 mph before crashing into the rear of a utility truck. the contact indicated that during the crash, the air bags did not deploy. the driver suffered head, chest, and leg injuries and was transported to the hospital. a police report was taken at the scene. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 181,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. the contact stated that the air bag and abs warning lights illunimated on the instrument panel. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 110,000 and the current mileage was 166,000.

On 12/20/2013 i had the lower control arms replaced, and had to pay 1,279.79. in april 2014 you announced a recall for this same item. for some treason you excluded my car. considering my car required the exact item replaced only 4 months prior, i am requesting to be reimbursed for the cost of that repair. also a complaint i have is the warning light for the airbag will not go out. a defect that does not seem repairable. in light of the airbag recall i am concerned i am sitting in front of a loaded gun. i will keep this complaint where my family can find it and respond accordingly if something happens to me after you have been notified of this complaint

I have had my 2002 ford escape since june 2002. i bought it brand new and i have never had any problems with my airbags before and have never been in any accidents that would cause the airbags to deploy. all of a sudden in early january 2013, i started to notice my check airbag light on my dashboard illuminate. i thought this was odd since it had never done so before and i had never been in any accidents so i didn't really think anything of it and thought the light would just go off. the light continued to go on and so i finally brought it to the dealership on february 15, 2003. the dealership performed a diagnostic test on the airbag system only to find out that both of the pre-tensioner connectors that clip to the wire harness that makes the airbag system work had high resistance and needed to be replaced. without a fix, the airbag system no longer worked. they claimed that over time with the wear and tear of the vehicle, this will happen and the clips will no longer clip as they said. i find that hard to believe that a major safety feature of a vehicle such as airbags would all of a sudden stop working creating a potentially hazardous situation if there was an accident and the airbags did not deploy. i just wanted to share my story with you in case there have been other similar situations with this make and model of vehicle that might warrant a model recall in the future. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. the contact stated that the air bag warning lamp illuminated intermittently. the dealer was contacted who did not offer any assistance since her vehicle was not included in any recalls. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 108,500 and the current mileage was 108,600.

The cable connections for the passenger side front airbag is faulty causing the airbag sensor light to come on occasionally indicating that the connections are lose. this happens especially in cold weather. i did some research on this issue. this issue has been reported by many ford owners. the dealership wants to charge $300 to replace the cabling, but the issue is with a $30 connector under the seat. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. when the contact applied the brakes at a traffic light, the brake pedal extended to floor causing the contact to crash into a light pole at 25 mph. the air bags failed to deploy. the vehicle was towed to the contacts home. the vehicle had not been inspected, but the contact was certain that the vehicle was destroyed. the contact referenced nhtsa recall campaign 07v156000, service brakes unit control module; however, the recall repair was performed two years prior to the crash and the repair caused the crash to occur. the failure and current mileages were 220,000. updated 3/8/11 *cn updated 12/14/11 *cn

my wife's 02 ford escape (with less than 50k miles) just had one of the gas tank straps break due to corrosion. major fire/safety hazard if the gas tank hits the ground. very similar issue known with f150. the dealer is charging us $1k to fix!!! this same car is also in the shop every other month for a faulty airbag switch/relay that we've spent hundreds of dollars to fix. the ford motor company makes me sick! why is it so hard for these guys to do the right thing? it blows my mind. *tr

My airbag light keeps coming on every time i start my ford escape. upon review of this it's been on complaint websites several times by hundreds of people. how many of these people need to die due to malfunction of the air bags before we have a recall. this light has been on since i've owned the vehicle. also my window stopped going up. the dipstick can't give a clear reading of the oil amount. these things lead to death, constant and costly repair, and constant problems. *tr

Escape was hit on front left bumper by another vehicle, causing escape to exit highway and crashing into and sliding down a concrete overpass pillar; damaging the front bumper, light, and complete left side of escape. the airbag did not deploy! *tr

In march 2004 while driving at a low rate of speed, i clipped the corner of a parked vehicle which caused my ford escape to overturn. no airbags deployed. in september 2009 while entering a freeway during a heavy rainstorm, driving at a low rate of speed, the escape hydro planed, slammed into the cement barrier rendering the vehicle useless. despite the vehicle having spun multiple times and being slammed into the barrier at such an impact the transmission dropped several inches, no airbags deployed. this vehicle was purchased new from butterfield ford in salt lake, at a cost of $22, 200. in the 5+ years of owning this vehicle, i spent more than $10,000 in repairs - for a brand new vehicle. despite my pleas to the dealer ship, i was never provided any remedy. despite a dpf sensor going out 3 times and only being covered once by warranty, calipers going out and then brakes shortly after the vehicles warranty expires which ford will not cover despite the calipers having just been replaced. the exhaust manifold, the latch to the tail gate did not work. this vehicle was a lemon and ford never even tried to provide a remedy. my primary concern, the air bags did not deploy despite the vehicle turning over during the first accident nor when i hit a cement barrier with such force the transmission dropped several inches. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. the contact stated that the air bag light stayed illuminated and would not shut off. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where they stated that they repaired the vehicle but the light continued to illuminate. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure mileage was 94,959.

My 2002 ford escape is experiencing its second major airbag problem. the wiring under the seat has now "burnt up" for the second time and i can't afford to have them replaced again to the tune of $450 so i drive without active airbags. the wiring has been replaced once already just 4 months ago but i live in a different state than i did 4 months ago so i'm stuck. in researching this problem online i see that it is a common problem. shouldn't there be a recall when it involves a safety issue like this? *tr

Air bag lights go on and off. *tr

Air bag trouble light began blinking after turning the engine on one morning. a series of blinking......6 times, 4 times, 6 times, 4 times and then remained on. only went off when turning engine off. local repair shop said only dealer could handle this. dealer quoted price to just investigate. and that it would depend on what they found if the quote would be applied to the total repair cost. hmmm. dealer also said that most likely while the warning light is on that the airbags will not deploy in the event of a collision. i have seen the number of complaints here at this website and elsewhere and merely want to add mine to the growing list. the more we complain maybe we'll get some results. thanks. *tr

I purchased my 2002 ford escape in february 2006. within a few days the airbag light came on and stayed on. i took it to the ford dealership and they said that the seatbelt pretenser needed to be replaced, but i can not afford to pay almost $500. the dealership says that because i can't have it fixed, my airbags may not deploy in an accident. i have reported this to the ford company and got no help. so, basically they are saying that i deserve to be hurt or killed in an accident because i can't afford to have the pretenser fixed. i for one do not think that is fair. *tr

Air bag light illuminated continuously indicating that the air bags may not work properly in a collision. ford dealer performed air bag self test and code b1881 was obtained. i had to have wiring revisions to both seats at a cost of $292.86. the dealer representative informed me that the wiring revision was necessary because the original wiring under the seats was incapable of accommodating the full range of normal seat adjustments allowed by the electric seat adjustor. this is obviously a manufacturer defect involving a safety feature of the 2002 ford escape. should not the manufacturer have to pay for correcting this safety defect? *tr

Srs airbag lamp on on the dashboard, it will blink for 30 seconds when you start the engine. then it will stay lit. i brought this to the dealer where i bought this suv and after 1 year it came on again. i had it checked to a dealer and they reset the lamp and it came back again. it worries me because i do not know if the airbags will work during an accident. *tr

Air bag light started blinking when i started vehicle blinked for about 30 sec then went solid, took escape to ford dealer and the got a code from the air bag system and informed me i had faulty wiring on the seat belt connector and there was a replacement wiring harness i needed to install . told then to order it and was informed that air bags were functioning ok even though light was still on. the said i just missed the warranty by 4 days so i had to pay the $200.00 for parts and labor. you would think ford would give a little leeway since this is a faulty part first installed on production line. please advice ford of this thank you. *jb

(1) airbag light came on (2) cables defective - airbags will not deploy during crash (3) cables replaced - $450 total *tr

My granddaughter was operating my 2002 ford xlt escape and was involved in an accident recently in august 2007. an individual ran a stop sign and she hit his vehicle broadside at 50 miles per hour. the automobile has been classified as totaled at 10k plus damage. the problem is that none of her airbags deployed in the vehicle. she was wearing a seat belt but received injures including a partially collapsed lung, which may have been a direct result of the airbags not stopping her forward motion. *jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. after picking up her vehicle from being serviced, the air bag light began blinking intermittently while driving 50 mph. a few minutes later, the air bag light stopped blinking and remained lit each time the vehicle made a turn. she took the vehicle back to the dealer and they informed her that the connector harness needed replacing. the vin, engine size, and number of cylinders were unknown. the current and failure mileages were 76,000.

Air bag light comes on and stays on. dealer says air bags are disabled when the light is on. he wants about $400 to fix the problem. this problem has been reported frequently on the internet. *jb

In april 2007, i took my 2002 ford escape because of constant clicking noise that i heard coming from the left front side of the car for about 3 months. i was told that it was my sway bar end link, but the right side. the left end link had been replaced in april 2006, so i had to pay for the right end link to be replaced. the clicking noise persists. now, the dealer is saying that it is the right lower control arm that is making the noise and i must have done something to it, even though it is the same noise and started only 2 days after being serviced. also, the car has stalled twice. the front brake rotors have been replaced twice and needs a third replacement. the transmission has been replaced. the air bag light comes on intermittently and remains on for months at a time; started in 2004. the windows and door locks have been serviced for intermittently not working three times before the problem was resolved.

I have had many problems with the airbag light coming on and off randomly in my 2002 ford escape & have read on the internet that other people are experiencing the same problem. i have taken my vehicle to the dealership for the 2nd time and they replaced the airbag pretensioner, as it had gone bad. i was advised that if the light were on, the airbag would not deploy. i do not believe this is a "wear-and-tear" part and ford needs to look into the situation to make sure a recall is not needed.*jb

I have a 2002 ford escape with the same problems with the air bag light. the air bag light began blinking then it would stay on. i believe it has to do with the side air bag connectors under the driver seat. i have tried cleaning them with contact cleaner. the light will go off but will come back on sometime later. the light comes on every time i start the engine or just have in the 'on' position. i believe this is a safety issue and should be recalled!!! *tr

Air bag light came on. it stays on. i was told by the dealer that when this happens the air bags are immediately shut off as there is a error code. this has happened three times before and each time the passenger side pretensioner was replaced. twice the dealer covered it and the third time the dealer said it was out of warranty and they wouldn't fix it. seems like if they fixed it right the first time it wouldn't have happened again. now it has happened again. and once again the dealer said i am on my own. now i am driving a car with no air bags and i specifically brought it because of the airbags.

Recently, i was involved in an accident where the front end of my 2002 ford escape was totaled. the airbags never released. luckily, i had been wearing my seat belt, and did not suffer from an injury. summary: 1. event(s) leading to failure: collision with another vehicle 2. failure: air bags did not release; consequences: none 3. correction: n/a. *nm

In april 2005 my airbag light came on. took it to ford autoland and was told i needed to pay to have some switch or module replaced cost over 400.00 dollars. had the repairs completed and now 18 months later same problem and i am told i have to pay another $400 to fix same problem. *jb

Since having my 2002 ford escape, i have had ongoing problems with my airbag light staying on. on occasion it goes off, but always comes back on again. the problem began within a few months of purchasing my escape and took 4+ visits to rectify. the problem resurfaced again last year. i was recently quoted $400.00 to get this fixed. it seems unreasonable to have to pay so much money to get this fixed when there is a clear pattern of it being a problem with escapes, and is an issue that is not related to driver recklessness or usage patterns. *nm

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford escape. the contact stated that while driving the air bag light erroneously illuminated. the vehicle was not taken to a mechanic. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure mileage was 80,060 and the current mileage was 130,000.

Small impact under 5 miles per hour and my air bags deployed. no damage to my car at all. was having a problem for a year with my srs air bag light coming on. took it to ford several times and nothing resolved the issue. seems that the sensor was not working properly and my air bags should not have deployed. ford will not cover the "high" cost of replacing the air bags under warranty. dealer was shocked that there was no damage at all to my car and the air bags deployed. *nm

Car lost control coming toward me, she went into my lane sideways. i t-boned her on her passenger side of vehicle. seat belt saved my life, but the airbags were of no use. why don't the airbags deploy on these vehicles. if i had been traveling at a much faster speed or her, i probably would have been seriously hurt or killed. *jb

Airbag light is on and airbags not working. according to complaints found on the internet and in chat rooms and with ford issuing diagnostic trouble codes this is a long term ongoing problem which the dealership has difficulty fixing. so i am at risk of injury or death because ford made a faulty airbag system. please investigate and issue a recall. *jb

Bumped the bumper of the car in front of me at a traffic light, no visual damage to the front of my vehicle. both airbags deployed. speed at the point of impact near 5 miles per hour or less. airbag deployment broke the windshield and caused slight injury to left arm. *jb

Air bag light came on i was told it was several different problems on several different occasions all resulting in the dealer replacing my safety harness which was oh by the way not covered under the electrical wiring extended warranty. they replaced the safety harness and guess what the air bag light is back on. i was told it would happen every time i adjust the seat. ( a defect in design). *tr

I purchased my escape in 2004, with 15,000. miles. shortly after that i received an noticed that it had been recalled for something with the safety belt which they replaced/repaired frr of charge. now the airbag light came on and the dealer told me it was some type of senor, and it would cost about 250.00 to fix. now the airbag light is off but the chime remains. i have been observing that this issue one of safety, and it isn't the first complaint. when will ford get off their corporate behind and get this fixed before someone gets killed? *tr

2002 frod escape seat belt tensioner failure causes failure of the air bag safety restraint system. seat belt tensioners (both at once!) failed, part numbers 1l8z78610e22aaa and 1l8z78610e23aaa.

Airbag/restraint system warning lamp is on. initially, it flashed for about 30 seconds, then remained on. vehicle has been to ford dealer for this condition on four previous occasions. previously diagnosed to be a problem with the sensor in the passenger seat and reportedly repaired, but the problem returns in 3 to 9 months. unknown whether airbag and restraint system would properly deploy in a collision.*jb

Restraint system - airbag sensor light continually on, potential failure of airbag system would not deploy in a crash

Driving westbound approximately 35 miles per hour, another vehicle turned left in front of me resulting in front end damage to my car. sustained whiplash, treated at hospital and released. continuing care with primary care physician. airbags did not deploy. contacted ford motor company directly to report airbag non-deployment and was told that the airbag system needed to be checked after vehicle repairs are made and results sent directly to ford at my cost. ford then referred the complaint to their legal department. situation currently ongoing. *nm