The contact owns a 2004 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while driving on the highway in rainy weather at 60 MPH, she lost control of the vehicle and drove off the road. The contact stated that she could not recount what happened moments after she drove off the road; she did recall that she pulled up to a stop sign and her air bags had deployed. The police arrived at the scene and assisted the contact with moving the vehicle out of the road; a police report was not filed. The contact did not seek medical attention but suffered burns to her right arm and chest. The contact also sustained bruising to her face. The vehicle was towed the next day to an independent mechanic, where the vehicle remained in the possession of the mechanic and had yet to be repaired. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. Upon investigation, the contact discovered that the vehicle was under recall for the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V306000(Air Bags). The failure mileage was approximately 270,000.
2004 Ford Ranger airbags problems
189 complaints (47% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 89,000. 24 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 189
- of this car's complaints
- 47%
- typical mileage
- 89,000
- crashes
- 24
- recalls
- 8
Which part fails
- Frontal3
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Ford Ranger airbags problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2004 Ford Ranger 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 2004-2006 Ranger vehicles that received replacement front passenger air bag inflators under a previous recall. The replacement front passenger air bag inflators may have been installed incorrectly.
- Risk
- An incorrectly installed inflator may not properly inflate the passenger air bag, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and reinstall the front passenger air bag inflator, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 22, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23S08. This recall expands and replaces previous recall number 23V‑125.
Recall number 23V306000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2004-2006 Ranger vehicles that received replacement front passenger air bag inflators under a previous recall. The replacement frontal passenger air bag inflators may have been installed incorrectly.
- Risk
- An incorrectly installed inflator may not properly inflate the passenger air bag, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and reinstall the front passenger air bag inflator, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 5, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23S08. This recall has been fully superseded by recall 23V‑306.
Recall number 23V125000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2004-2006 Ranger vehicles that 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 21V076000 · Recall details
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: driver side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is superseding a previous recall for certain 2004-2006 Ford Ranger trucks to implement a final repair. Upon deployment of the driver side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may 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 vehicle occupants potentially 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 driver's frontal air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began January 16, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17S42. Note: This recall supersedes recall 16V‑036 which was an interim repair. Vehicles that received a replacement air bag inflator under the previous campaign need to return to a dealer to have an alternate inflator installed.
Recall number 17V787000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is superseding a previous recall for certain 2004-2006 Ford Ranger trucks to implement a final repair. Upon deployment of the passenger side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
- Risk
- In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants, potentially 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's frontal air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began January 16, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17S42. Note: This recall supersedes recall 15V322 which was an interim repair. Vehicles that received a replacement air bag inflator under the previous campaign need to return to a dealer to have an alternate inflator installed. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17S42.
Recall number 17V788000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: driver side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2004-2006 Ranger vehicles manufactured March 24, 2003, to May 4, 2006. Upon deployment of the driver side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may 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 vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began February 26, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S03. Note: This recall supersedes 14V‑343 and only applies to Rangers manufactured in North America.
Recall number 16V036000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2004-2006 Ranger trucks manufactured March 24, 2003, to May 4, 2006. The affected vehicles are equipped with a passenger side 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 passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on December 4, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S22. Note: This recall partially supersedes recall 14V‑787.
Recall number 15V322000 · Recall details
Related investigations
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.During the course of PE14-016, ODI determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by Takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.Nonetheless, at ODI's insistence, all 10 vehicle manufacturers initiated a regional recall within approximately two weeks of the opening of the investigation.The regions recalled initially included Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, areas with high absolute humidity and climatic conditions believed to be a significant factor in the inflator ruptures.As part of the recall actions, inflators removed from remedied vehicles are to be returned to Takata for testing.Takata's initial test results on passenger inflators from remedied vehicles indicated a much higher than anticipated rupture frequency for inflators returned from Florida.Accordingly ODI requested all 10 manufacturers expand the regional recalls for passenger inflators to include other geographic areas where high absolute humidity conditions exist, including the Gulf States and other coastal areas.Takata's testing of the passenger inflators to date continues to indicate this geographic area as having the highest risk, with no ruptures occurring from inflators returned from outside the expanded recall regions.During PE14-016 four additional passenger inflator field events occurred, all in vehicles from the same expanded geographic region.Also during PE14-016 four additional driver inflator field events occurred including two in vehicles from regions not known for high absolute humidity, specifically California and North Carolina.Accordingly, ODI requested all five of the affected vehicle manufacturers currently using the subject Takata driver inflators expand to nationwide recalls.Significantly, neither of the affected vehicle manufacturers or Takata provided any explanation to account for these two driver air bag inflator ruptures outside the area of high absolute humidity.Takata testing of returned driver inflators indicates a lower rupture frequency as compared to passenger inflator testing.All test ruptures reported by Takata to date have occurred on inflators returned from high absolute humidity areas.The investigation now includes all manufacturers and vehicles known to be affected at this time.ODI's investigation will focus on, among other things, root cause analysis, other potential defect consequences, identification of affected vehicles scope, and adequacy of the remedy.The five ODI reports cited above can be reviewed online at http://www-odi.the federal safety agency.dot.gov/owners/Searchreference under the following identification numbers: 10537899, 10568848, 10585224, 10605877, 10651492
EA15001
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.During the course of PE14-016, ODI determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by Takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.Nonetheless, at ODI's insistence, all 10 vehicle manufacturers initiated a regional recall within approximately two weeks of the opening of the investigation.The regions recalled initially included Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, areas with consistently high absolute humidity and climatic conditions believed to be a significant factor in the inflator ruptures.As part of the recall actions, inflators removed from remedied vehicles are to be returned to Takata for testing.Takata's initial test results on passenger inflators from remedied vehicles indicated a much higher than anticipated rupture frequency for inflators returned from Florida.Accordingly, ODI requested all 10 manufacturers expand the regional recalls for passenger inflators to include other geographic areas where high absolute humidity conditions exist, including the Gulf States and other coastal areas.Takata's testing of the passenger inflators to date continues to indicate this geographic area as having the highest risk, with no ruptures occurring from inflators returned from outside the expanded recall regions.During PE14-016, four additional passenger inflator field events occurred, all in vehicles from the same expanded geographic region.Also during PE14-016, four additional driver inflator field events occurred including two in vehicles from regions not known for high absolute humidity, specifically California and North Carolina.Accordingly, ODI requested all five of the affected vehicle manufacturers currently using the subject Takata driver inflators expand to nationwide recalls.Significantly, neither of the affected vehicle manufacturers or Takata provided any explanation to account for these two driver air bag inflator ruptures outside the area of high absolute humidity.Takata testing of returned driver inflators indicates a lower rupture frequency as compared to passenger inflator testing.All test ruptures reported by Takata to date have occurred on inflators returned from high absolute humidity areas.The PE is now closed/upgraded to an Engineering Evaluation (EA15-001) to include all manufacturersand vehicles known to be affected at this time.ODI's EA investigation will focus on, among other things, root cause analysis, other potential defect consequences, identification of affected vehicles scope, and adequacy of the remedy.The recalls related to this PE are: 14V343, 14V344, 14V348, 14V351, 14V353, 14V655, 14V700, 14V701, 14V752, 14V763, 14V770, 14V773, 14V787, 14V802 and 14V817.The number of vehicles affected are an estimate since some vehicles may have both the driver and passenger side inflators recalled. The five ODI reports cited above can be reviewed online at http://www-odi.the federal safety agency.dot.gov/owners/Searchreference under the following identification numbers: 10537899, 10568848, 10585224, 10605877, 10651492
PE14016
What 2004 Ford Ranger owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
The contact owned a 2004 Ford Ranger. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number:Â 17V788000 (Air Bags) and would like to be removed from the recall distribution list. The local dealer and manufacturer were contacted.
I dropped the vehicle off in April, Bought it off facebook marketplace in March. Since then, I have dropped the vehicle off at Big Star Ford in Pearland texas, and it has been there until today [XXX]. They FINALLy called me to tell me they cannot get parts for this 2017, or the 2023 recall that must be performed, and that I was "Free to come pick my vehicle up from them" It has been over six months with lack of communication, and me sacrificing time to complete in person visits, this is insane. I cannot believe they are still allowed to service vehicles INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
See attached document for complaint
See attached document for complaint
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Ranger. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V0810000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
My husband was involved in a single-vehicle accident where he left the highway at around45 mph, went downhill for 50+ feet where he crashed into a concrete culvert, front impact. The airbags did not deploy. We bought the Ranger from friends, who believed that the Takata recall was completed before we bought it. There have been no accidents since the recall. The truck remains at the service lot where it was towed. It appears to be a total loss.
The contact owned a 2004 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that his daughter was involved in a head-on collision; however, the air bags failed to deploy. The contact's daughter sustained injuries to her knee and received medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
The contact owned a 2004 Ford Ranger. The contact stated while driving at 10-15 MPH and making a right turn, a vehicle from the opposite lane crashed into the driver's side of the vehicle and the vehicle rolled over about 10 ft in the air, rolled over in a ditch, and landed on its wheel. The air bags did not deploy. The emergency units were unable to assist the contact out of the vehicle as the roof had caved in and was resting on her head. The contact crawled out of the vehicle and was transported to the hospital. The contact sustained a concussion and severe pain in the neck between her shoulder blade which has limited her movements. Additionally, the contact sustained damaged nerves on the left hand and left leg, and chronic lower back pain. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot where it was totaled. A police report was filed. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was included in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V081000 (Air Bags). The manufacturer also informed the contact that she did not receive a recall notification because recall notifications were not sent to each vehicle owner of the affected vehicles. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford ranger. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 21v081000 (air bags). The vehicle was taken to stearns ford inc., (602 alamance rd, burlington, nc 27215) where it was diagnosed that the air bags needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the air bag warning light remained illuminated. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
Questions about the 2004 Ford Ranger airbags
Does the 2004 Ford Ranger have airbags problems?
Owners have filed 189 complaints about the airbags of the 2004 Ford Ranger, 47% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2004 Ford Ranger airbags problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 89,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2004 Ford Ranger airbags?
Yes, 8 recalls: 23V306000, 23V125000, 21V076000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
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 2004 Ford Ranger problems
Body 46Suspension 29Transmission 27Engine 24Brakes 23Fuel system 21Acceleration 19Electrical 17Tires 17Visibility 9Seats 6Lights 5Seat belts 3Steering 3Wheels 3Locks 2Driver assistance 1
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