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Problems with 2004 Ford Explorer AIR BAGS

On average, the 2004 Ford Explorer starts to “feel” problems with the AIR BAGS and its various aspects after 138 927 miles.

Components Affected by AIR BAGS Issues

We have classified the 28 complaints from 2004 Ford Explorer about AIR BAGS into the following categories.

SIDE/WINDOW 5 FRONTAL 3

Recently reported AIR BAGS problems on 2004 Ford Explorer

The vehicle was moving at a slow rate of speed (approx 5-10 mph) on a bumpy road. the driver was looking for a parking space. the side airbags deployed. the insurance company has determined that there was no collision or reason for the airbags to deploy and therefore they will not cover the damage.

Tl* the contact owned a 2004 ford explorer. while the contact's son was driving 40 mph, he lost control of the vehicle and struck a tree, a light post, and an electrical box. the air bags did not deploy. the contact's son was not injured. a police report was filed and the vehicle was towed to a tow yard. the vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be diagnosed and was deemed a total loss by the tow company. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 291,000.

Takata recall i was driving about 5 miles per hour when the side air bags deploy on there own making a big blast without been involving in accident i don't know watt cause the air bags to deploy this could been a big accident if i was driving on the main highway at normal speed resulting in possible death

Takata recall i had an accident on hwy 701, i went off the road and hit a cement culvert going 45mph and my driver side airbag didn't deploy i suffered 2 spinal fractures.

2004 ford explorer traveling 40-45mph on a rural road. driver lost control of the vehicle at a "s" curve and hit an utility pole with the front end. the pole was snapped in half. airbags did not deploy. driver was the only person in the vehicle. 35 lb dog was on the passenger seat. driver was wearing a seat belt. driver hit his chest on the steering wheel bruising his lung. driver also hit his head on the windshield causing a laceration (approximately 1.5") down to his skull. driver was transferred via ambulance to the nearest hospital and admitted for 48 hours. the canine broke her back and had to be put down the following day.

The airbag on the drivers side did not deploy during the crash. the vehicle was traveling at 50 mph as indicated on the speedometer. vehicle was on the highway at the time of impact. this failure resulted in multiple injuries to the driver.

Significant front end impact with no airbag deployment. vehicle was moving forward at the time of the accident on a city street.

The car was involved in an accident on 3/20/2016 - the air bags did not deploy on impact.

Takata recall i was traveling home on a local city street. i was coming to an intersection with cars stopped at the traffic light. i had to have been going no more than 35 mph at the most when the "side" airbags deployed. the drivers and dash airbags did not deploy. only the four side airbags deploy. the road was smooth and not bumpy. i did not hit the brakes hard. i did not hit anything nor did anything hit me. i do not know what caused them to deploy. no accident happened because of the deployment because i was not traveling at a speed that would cause an accident. i have made calls to ford and my vin number is not one listed for the recall at this time.

On friday, august 7th at 1:00 pm i was going north on highway 52 out of rochester when the side airbags in my 2004 ford explorer spontaneously deployed. it sounded like a bomb went off in my vehicle and the driver side airbag struck the side of my face. after realizing what happened i could not see out the passenger windows of my truck (safety hazard as the airbags are now blocking vision of the highway), so i was forced to pull off on the left side of the highway (very dangerous). because i was so shaken up i had to stand outside of my vehicle as i was so scared that the front airbag was next. i had someone come pick me up. i left the vehicle there and went to the ford dealership to let them know about what happened. i was told that there is probably nothing they can do because my truck is out of warrantywhat??? on monday i called the ford motor company and explained the situation. i was told that the case was being escalated to the regional level and that they would contact me within 24 hours. i called again on tuesday afternoon and was told they would send an e-mail to have the rep call me as soon as possible. wednesday i called again and was told they would send an email and they also connected me to a voicemail so i left a message. i finally received a call at 5:00 on thursday and was told that ford will pay for the cost to download the data i am responsible for any repairs because the vehicle is out of warranty. i want compensation and i want answers! i could have been killed, i could have killed others if i had lost control, this could have been a very bad and dangerous situation and something needs to be done.

My daughter was driving our ford explorer, had come to a complete stop and was waiting to exit the freeway, traffic in front of her had also stopped. she got hit from behind by a car who failed to stop and was going at unsafe speed, according to police report, and pushed our explorer onto a truck. the front passenger airbag deployed but there was no other passenger in the car. the driver side airbag did not deploy and my daughter hit her face against the steering wheel. we have been the only owners of the vehicle. *tr

Driver #1(me) was traveling south on statesville rd. driver #1 stated that she was initially a few car lengths behind vehicle #2. driver #1 stated that vehicle #2 made a sudden stop. driver #1 stated that she could not stop in time and struck vehicle #2 in the rear. driver #2 stated that he stopped to turn into center and was rear ended by vehicle #1. witnesses, stated that the driver of the honda (vehicle #2) appeared to have over shot his turn, and slammed on his brakes to make a right turn into the pva. *tr

The morning of the incident my wife turn the car on to warm it up before taking the kids to school and she was sitting in the driver's side when the airbag pop by it self she hurt her left arm and right arm called ford the same day of the incident and they told me to wait a couple of days for they could send a letter to me for i could take it to a dealer waited and took it they took a look at it and pulled the restraints control module and installed a new one and waited for ford to look at the module they pulled they send me a letter saying nothing was wrong with the module and they could not tell me why airbag pop. *tr

The morning of the incident my wife turn the car on to warm it up before taking the kids to school and she was sitting in the driver's side when the airbag pop by it self she hurt her left arm and right arm called ford the same day of the incident and they told me to wait a couple of days for they could send a letter to me for i could take it to a dealer waited and took it they took a look at it and pulled the restraints control module and installed a new one and waited for ford to look at the module they pulled they send me a letter saying nothing was wrong with the module and they could not tell me why airbag pop. *tr

The morning of the incident my wife turn the car on to warm it up before taking the kids to school and she was sitting in the driver's side when the airbag pop by it self she hurt her left arm and right arm called ford the same day of the incident and they told me to wait a couple of days for they could send a letter to me for i could take it to a dealer waited and took it they took a look at it and pulled the restraints control module and installed a new one and waited for ford to look at the module they pulled they send me a letter saying nothing was wrong with the module and they could not tell me why airbag pop. *tr

The morning of the incident my wife turn the car on to warm it up before taking the kids to school and she was sitting in the driver's side when the airbag pop by it self she hurt her left arm and right arm called ford the same day of the incident and they told me to wait a couple of days for they could send a letter to me for i could take it to a dealer waited and took it they took a look at it and pulled the restraints control module and installed a new one and waited for ford to look at the module they pulled they send me a letter saying nothing was wrong with the module and they could not tell me why airbag pop. *tr

The morning of the incident my wife turn the car on to warm it up before taking the kids to school and she was sitting in the driver's side when the airbag pop by it self she hurt her left arm and right arm called ford the same day of the incident and they told me to wait a couple of days for they could send a letter to me for i could take it to a dealer waited and took it they took a look at it and pulled the restraints control module and installed a new one and waited for ford to look at the module they pulled they send me a letter saying nothing was wrong with the module and they could not tell me why airbag pop. *tr

The morning of the incident my wife turn the car on to warm it up before taking the kids to school and she was sitting in the driver's side when the airbag pop by it self she hurt her left arm and right arm called ford the same day of the incident and they told me to wait a couple of days for they could send a letter to me for i could take it to a dealer waited and took it they took a look at it and pulled the restraints control module and installed a new one and waited for ford to look at the module they pulled they send me a letter saying nothing was wrong with the module and they could not tell me why airbag pop. *tr

The morning of the incident my wife turn the car on to warm it up before taking the kids to school and she was sitting in the driver's side when the airbag pop by it self she hurt her left arm and right arm called ford the same day of the incident and they told me to wait a couple of days for they could send a letter to me for i could take it to a dealer waited and took it they took a look at it and pulled the restraints control module and installed a new one and waited for ford to look at the module they pulled they send me a letter saying nothing was wrong with the module and they could not tell me why airbag pop. *tr

With no warning or abnormal instrument indications, both side air bags inadvertently deployed during vehicle operation. vehicle was on a level paved state highway, between intersections, operating between 30-35mph. *kb *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. the contact was driving 65 mph when a crash occurred. the air bags failed to deploy and both the driver and passenger were injured. the passenger was ejected through the windshield and injured. the vehicle was destroyed. prior to the crash, the brakes, rotors and wheel bearings were repaired. the vin was not available. the police were notified and a report was filed. the failure mileage was 85,000. the vin was unavailable.

2004 ford explorer xlt side air bag deploy without any reason. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. while driving 45 mph she hit a deer. the air bag only opened in the column of the steering wheel. powder residue came out of the air bag but the air bag did not come out at all. no one was injured; yet, there was damage to the front end of the vehicle. the vehicle was drivable to her residence. the dealer was contacted and informed her to bring the vehicle in for inspection. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 109,000.

On 1-17-2010 @ approx 5:30 am i was enroute to work, it was raining heavily, i hit a puddle of water in the road, hydroplaned and hit head-on with a large tree. my 2004 ford explorer received over 12000.00 in damages and was totaled. i received chest/breast injuries. no air bags ever deployed. i contacted ford motors who stated they would respond to me within 15 days regarding this defect. to this date i have not received any response. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer. the contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, another vehicle hit the rear. the crash caused the air bag light to flash on the instrument panel. the contact drove the vehicle to an authorized dealership to have the air bag light inspected. the dealer informed the contact that the air bag sensor needed to be replaced. upon starting the vehicle, the engine malfunctioned and the vehicle became completely inoperable. the failure mileage was approximately 105,000. updated 11/03/10. *lj

I've had two (2) accidents (rear-ended and front accident), in which the air bags did not deploy. i didn't think of it at the time, but both accidents sustained extensive damage to my vehicle, yet the air bags didn't deploy. i hit the wheel hard and went to the hospital for x-ray, but it wasn't an injury that required anything further. my concern is that the air bags don't work. what should i do? i'm the original owner.

Vehicle involved in a collision with major front end damage and drivers side air bag did not deploy-the impact however did cause the passenger side air bag to deploy. *tr

Side air bags deployed while just driving down the road. that's what happened to me and ford is not willing to help at all. they say it's not their problem. they will not pay for anything. (repair or rental). *nm

Tl*- the contact owns a 2004 ford explorer with an odometer reading of 38000 miles. the contact stated that while driving, both side airbags deployed for no reason. the contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer, and when the dealer diagnosed the vehicle the computer indicated that the vehicle was in a crash. the contact and the dealer knew that the was no crash and when this information was given to the manufacturer, they stated that the diagnoses machine was the information that they considered and that it was no longer their problem. *ak

Side curtain air bags popped out after the passenger side door was shut. *jb

My wife was involved in a fairly severe side-impact collison that knocked our 2004 ford explorer, equipped with optional side-impact curtain airbags, 4 feet sideways, destroyed the driver's door (direct impact to the driver's door) collapsed it into the driver's seat, and resulted in $6,000 of insurance-estimated damage. the side curtain airbags failed to deploy. the local ford dealer that has the vehicle for repairs indicated that they have no idea why the side curtain airbags failed to deploy, and that the on-board check system does not indicate any faults. my wife did knock her head on the driver's side window during the collision, but does not appear to have sustained any lasting injuries. i'm very concerned that this safety system we paid extra for does not operate as intended, and does not appear to afford the protection promised by ford. i have digital pictures of the damaged vehicle and the accident if your department would like to inspect them...just need to know where to upload them to.

Consumer was hit head on by another driver that was heading south and went left of center, hitting consumer who was headed north. this caused consumer's vehicle to become airborne, flipping, rolling and landing on passenger side. *bf *nm

2004 explorer 4dr; driver's airbag poor fit, coming off steering wheel.*ak

While driving 37 mph vehicle slipped on a patch of ice, went over an embankment, and dropped fifty feet. upon impact, dual airbags did not deploy. passenger's seat belt broke, and passenger suffered from a concussion, and had to get twenty stitches. driver sustained a broken back. *ak

During a 45 mph frontal collision front air bags did not deploy. consumer sustained minor injuries, and had the vehicle towed. dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak

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