Takata recall -- I believe all airbags are defective and more dangerous than riding with seat belts alone. I recommend 100% disabling of airbags and the removal of all airbags and associated hardware from future vehicles.
1997 Ford Ranger airbags problems
22 complaints (5% of all complaints for this car). 19 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 22
- of this car's complaints
- 5%
- crashes
- 19
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Frontal13
- Side/window2
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Ford Ranger airbags problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 1997 Ford Ranger airbags
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
What 1997 Ford Ranger owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Air bags.. Deflating, unserviceable, demand useless, only on passenger side, drivers side dislodged horn fuel/propulsion.. With fuel tank filled, first half(1/2) tank having excessive fuel consumed. Second (1/2) of fuel consumed at owners manual specifications of city and highway miles per gallon. Throttle pedal stiff, sticks, after normal daily warm up, extra foot pressure needed to dislodge pedal and cable, real sluggish as if not receiving enough fuel to injectors, even after regular maintenance completed.. Seat belts.. Drivers side hookup retaining latch malfunctions and " will not remain latched", several attempts need to be made before getting a strong seatbelt clip to latch locked on
We were doing 30mph and we hit a sheet of black ice. Then we hit the guardrail. When we hit the driver side air bag did not go off until the vehicle stopped and the passenger side air bag did not go off.
There was a three vehicle accident at 50 MPH. The consumer's air bag did not deploy. *sc *tc
I had just put my truck into drive when the airbag deploid by itself which caused injury to my hand
Vehicle was in a very severe front/side collision. Vehicle was totaled, but none of the air bags deployed upon impact.
1997 ford ranger xlt extended cab. When I applied my brakes, instead of stopping at this "t" hwy intersection, I ran past it, and hit a 12" diameter tree head on. Ice on the road. I was wearing my seat belt. Neither the driver's side nor the passenger side air bags deployed. The indentation on the front bumper was over two feet deep. My head and right side of my body smashed against the steering wheel, and my I broke my left collar bone, fractured and bruised several ribs on my right side, broke my right foot heel bone, cut my nose, plus numerous other minor cuts, bruises and abrasions. After about 45 seconds, a huge ball of fire erupted from under the crumpled hood. I felt the sudden heat on my face, since the windshield was gone and there was a huge gap between the hood and the trucks body. A lady, an angel of god really, helped me out of the truck and into the back seat of her car. She drove about 100 yards to wait for the ambulance to arrive. Before we came to a stop, I heard the two front tires of my truck blow up. All I could see was a ball of fire burning about 20 feet high. Two things seem technically wrong: the air bags didn't deploy, and the fuel pump must have kept pumping fuel, for the fire to spread so rapidly and burn the front of the truck so very completely. This would seem to indicate the possible failure of the air bag crash sensors and the fuel pump safety cutoff switch. My tires were one month old michelins, so they weren't a factor. The truck was in excellent shape and it was carefully maintained and garaged. Everything worked on it and no malfunction indicator lights of any kind were on prior to the accident. I have very good maintenance records on it. I contacted ford by telephone and via e-mail, to let them know of what I thought could be a potential component defect affecting others also. I also contacted their legal office via phone, and they never returned my call.
While driving, the vehicle was t-boned by another vehicle on the drivers side, the air bag did not deploy, the driver was injured and the vehicle was a total loss. Nlm
While traveling approximately 55 to 60 MPH vehicle was struck on the side by another vehicle changing lanes and traveling in same direction. This impact caused driver's side air bag to deploy. Driver received severe facial injuries and burns. No determination has been made as to why the driver's air bag deployed during a non-frontal crash. Please provide any additional information / documentation.
While driving 45 MPH consumer's vehicle hit another vehicle. Upon impact, neither airbag deployed. Both, driver and passenger sustained injuries, including broken ribs/ neck injuries/ cuts and bruises. Driver hit steering wheel while passenger hit windshield. Vehicle was totalled.
Questions about the 1997 Ford Ranger airbags
Does the 1997 Ford Ranger have airbags problems?
Owners have filed 22 complaints about the airbags of the 1997 Ford Ranger, 5% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 1997 Ford Ranger airbags problems start?
Not enough complaints include the mileage to tell.
Was there a recall on the 1997 Ford Ranger airbags?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Ford Ranger have bad airbags?
The Ford Ranger model years with the most airbags complaints are 2008 (295 complaints), 2007 (236 complaints) and 2011 (196 complaints).
Other 1997 Ford Ranger problems
Fuel system 67Tires 57Brakes 44Lights 44Transmission 42Visibility 36Electrical 28Body 25Suspension 25Acceleration 23Steering 22Engine 19Seats 12Seat belts 9Locks 4Wheels 3Driver assistance 1
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