FORMAL SAFETY COMPLAINT To: the federal safety agency U.S. Department of Transportation Subject: Complaint Regarding Ford's Mileage-Based Denial of Passenger-Side Airbag Recall Repair Office of Defects Investigation, My name is [XXX], and I am the owner of a 2012 Ford Mustang. I am requesting assistance and review concerning Ford Motor Company's refusal to perform the passenger-side airbag recall repair on my vehicle. Vehicle Information: - Owner: [XXX] - Year: 2012 - Make: Ford - Model: Mustang - VIN: [XXX] - Campaign number provided by Ford: 19K01 (to be verified) In May 2023, Ford replaced my driver-side airbag under a manufacturer-issued recall. At the time of that repair, my vehicle already had more than 150,000 miles. I subsequently contacted Ford regarding the passenger-side airbag recall. Ford's corporate customer service department informed me that the passenger-side repair would not be covered because my vehicle exceeds 150,000 miles. I am questioning this decision because Ford previously performed a driver-side airbag recall repair on this exact vehicle despite its mileage. I am requesting that the federal safety agency review the circumstances surrounding this denial and determine whether Ford is properly applying the applicable recall and campaign requirements. I am particularly concerned about the inconsistent treatment of the driver-side and passenger-side airbag repairs and whether the mileage restriction being applied is consistent with the applicable safety recall requirements. I also request that the federal safety agency review the applicability of Ford Quality Inspection Program 22B05 and its revisions to my vehicle. This is a matter involving an important vehicle safety system. I do not believe an owner should be left without a clear explanation when a manufacturer denies a safety-related repair based on mileage. I respectfully request that the federal safety agency review INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
2012 Ford Mustang airbags problems
159 complaints (34% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 42,845. 9 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 159
- of this car's complaints
- 34%
- typical mileage
- 42,845
- crashes
- 9
- recalls
- 4
Which part fails
Owners did not name a specific part.
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Ford Mustang airbags problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2012 Ford Mustang airbags
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2005-2014 Mustang, 2004-2011 Ranger, 2009-2011 Mercury Milan, 2006 Ford GT, 2008-2012 Fusion, 2007-2010 Edge and Lincoln MKX, and 2009-2010 Lincoln MKZ vehicles. These vehicles may be equipped with a driver or passenger frontal air bag inflator used as a replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the frontal air bag, an inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the driver and passenger air bag module, and replace either the module or the inflator, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 17, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S05.
Recall number 21V081000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, Ford is recalling certain 2011 Ford Ranger and Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles and 2011-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Ford is also recalling certain 2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2010-2011 Ford Ranger and Mercury Milan vehicles, 2010-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, and 2010-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bags), that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began February 13, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall 19S01.
Recall number 19V001000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2012 Ford Fusion and Mustang and Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Ford is recalling certain 2009 Ford Ranger, Edge, Fusion and Mustang, Lincoln MKX, MKZ and Zephyr and Mercury Milan vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Ford is recalling certain 2007-2008 Ford Ranger, Edge and Lincoln MKX, 2006-2008 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ, 2005-2008 Ford Mustang and 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Interim letters informing owners of the recall and that parts are not yet available began mailing March 1, 2017. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S01.
Recall number 17V024000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: driver side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2005-2014 Mustang vehicles manufactured April 6, 2004, to June 21, 2014, and 2005-2006 GT vehicles manufactured February 20, 2004, to September 22, 2006. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
- Risk
- In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front driver side air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on June 10, 2016. Even if interim repairs were performed under safety recall 14V‑802, owners must bring their vehicles in for the final remedy. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S21. Note: This recall supersedes safety recall 14V‑802.
Recall number 15V319000 · Recall details
What 2012 Ford Mustang owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
I am the owner of a 2012 Ford Mustang GT currently located in Kuwait. My vehicle has an open Takata airbag safety recall, which is a life-threatening defect. I contacted the authorized Ford dealer in Kuwait and Ford Middle East, but both refused to perform the recall repair, stating that the vehicle is a “gray market import” and not eligible. They also attempted to condition the repair on paid service, which is unrelated to safety recalls. Additionally, the authorized dealer informed me that my vehicle has a total of four open recalls, not just the Takata airbag recall. Despite this, they still refused to perform any of the recall repairs due to the vehicle being a “gray market import.” This refusal leaves me driving an unsafe vehicle with no official repair solution. Safety recalls should not be denied based on geographic location, as they are a manufacturer responsibility tied to the vehicle. I am requesting investigation into this issue.
I bought the car on Dec 20th 2024. The dealership informed me of the recall and turned off the passenger side airbag. I returned to the dealership as scheduled about 2 weeks later. When I went to pick up my car after work the service center said they couldn't fix the problem because the airbag didn't exist and sent me on my way. I tried calling the sales person but had to leave a message. There has been no other communication.
driver and passenger airbags were replaced under a recall and now theres a airbag warning light showing up on my dash.
2012 ford mustang. Consumer writes in regards to airbag safety recall. *ld the consumer stated he continuously received airbag recall notices. The dealer was contacted and informed the consumer to disregard the notices, as the recall did not include this vehicle.
I went to get a diagnostic in my car at the ford dealership and they told me they had a recall on the air bag I paid for the diagnostic and they did the recall on my car then time passed and my air bag light came on and hasn't gone away ever since also I had my electrical power rack and steering changed months later from the previous visit! And my stability control lights are on I literally have the air bag ,stability control ,and engine light on ! I don't get it I do oil change on time I change my brakes I keep my car well maintained and keeps getting worser ! I almost had a accident lost control of the car and spun out on the highway thank god I did not crash or caused damages to the car it was a very scary experience I have ever had I could of died or been hurt !
Air bag recall and iam having a code for electronic throttle body control issues that should be a recall from what I heard but my local ford dealer said it wasnt.
I was recently involved in a front end collision and the airbags did not deploy.
'takata recall'
Takata recall - I was at a stoplight during rush hour on a busy city street. The light turned green and before I made it 10 feet the car in front of me slammed on his brakes. I hit him from behind, it was a very minor impact but my airbag deployed and exploded/ruptured over my lap. It shattered my iphone and burned my left leg about 6 inches above my knee. Upon inspection of the front end of my car I saw virtually no visible damage, only a 2cm paint chip and a very slightly bent license plate. My car drives perfectly, there are no indicator lights except for the airbag light. This leads me to believe that I am dealing with a faulty defective takata airbag. I also want to add that I already had my passenger side airbag replaced due to a recall notice I received about 6 months ago.
Questions about the 2012 Ford Mustang airbags
Does the 2012 Ford Mustang have airbags problems?
Owners have filed 159 complaints about the airbags of the 2012 Ford Mustang, 34% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2012 Ford Mustang airbags problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 42,845 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2012 Ford Mustang airbags?
Yes, 4 recalls: 21V081000, 19V001000, 17V024000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Ford Mustang have bad airbags?
The Ford Mustang model years with the most airbags complaints are 2007 (348 complaints), 2014 (245 complaints) and 2008 (240 complaints).
Other 2012 Ford Mustang problems
Transmission 177Acceleration 35Engine 33Body 23Fuel system 22Electrical 21Steering 16Suspension 16Driver assistance 13Brakes 11Wheels 6Lights 5Seats 5Visibility 5Seat belts 2Tires 2
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