The defect
Ford is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Fiesta vehicles, manufactured from November 3, 2009 through September 21, 2012. The vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, "Occupant Crash Protection." The passenger side curtain air bag will not deploy in the event of a side impact collision when the front passenger seat is empty. Although the side curtain air bag system was designed to suppress the side curtain air bag under this scenario, that information is not explained in the owner's guide for these vehicles as required by FMVSS No. 208.
The risk
An occupant in the right rear seating position will not have coverage from the side curtain air bag in a side impact collision when the front passenger seat is empty, increasing the risk of injury to the right rear occupant.
The remedy
Ford will notify owners and dealers will reprogram the vehicle's software free of charge so that it no longer suppresses the passenger side curtain air bag when the front passenger seat is empty, and consistent with the description in the owner's guide. The safety recall began on October 26, 2012. Owner's may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Ford Fiesta | 2011, 2012, 2013 |
Components: AIR BAGS
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Fiesta | 2011 | 730 | 3 |
| Ford Fiesta | 2012 | 617 | 3 |
| Ford Fiesta | 2013 | 668 | 3 |
Other air bags recalls in 2012
22 of the 583 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2012 concerned the air bags; Ford Motor Company filed 737 campaigns in all.
| 12V540000 15 Nov 2012 | VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC |
| 12V527000 8 Nov 2012 | CHRYSLER GROUP LLC |
| 12V528000 8 Nov 2012 | Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing |
| 12V522000 31 Oct 2012 | General Motors LLC |
| 12V492000 9 Oct 2012 | MERCEDES-BENZ USA, LLC. |
| 12V439000 10 Sept 2012 | Volvo Cars of N.A., LLC |
| 12V432000 5 Sept 2012 | HONDA (AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO.) |
| 12V409000 20 Aug 2012 | Coda Automotive |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2012