The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2007-2011 Ranger, 2006-2012 Fusion, Lincoln Zephyr, Lincoln MKZ, 2006-2011 Mercury Milan, 2007-2010 Ford Edge, and Lincoln MKX vehicles. The driver's side air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
The risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver-side airbag inflator or module with an alternate one, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on April 9, 2021 for the passenger side, and November 14, 2022 for the driver side. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S12.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Ford Edge | 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 |
| Ford Fusion | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| Ford Ranger | 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
| Lincoln MKX | 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| Lincoln Zephyr | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| Mercury Milan | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
Components: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
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 Edge | 2007 | 989 | 5 |
| Ford Edge | 2008 | 1,120 | 6 |
| Ford Edge | 2009 | 261 | 6 |
| Ford Edge | 2010 | 673 | 6 |
| Ford Fusion | 2006 | 730 | 4 |
| Ford Fusion | 2007 | 1,064 | 4 |
| Ford Fusion | 2008 | 1,353 | 5 |
| Ford Fusion | 2009 | 1,023 | 6 |
| Ford Fusion | 2010 | 5,130 | 11 |
| Ford Fusion | 2011 | 2,794 | 7 |
| Ford Fusion | 2012 | 2,517 | 5 |
| Ford Ranger | 2007 | 270 | 5 |
| Ford Ranger | 2008 | 326 | 5 |
| Ford Ranger | 2009 | 169 | 7 |
| Ford Ranger | 2010 | 156 | 8 |
| Ford Ranger | 2011 | 235 | 5 |
| Lincoln MKX | 2007 | 298 | 5 |
| Lincoln MKX | 2008 | 253 | 6 |
| Lincoln MKX | 2009 | 66 | 6 |
| Lincoln MKX | 2010 | 111 | 6 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 2006 | 0 | 4 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 2007 | 259 | 4 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 2008 | 281 | 4 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 2009 | 114 | 6 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 2010 | 170 | 7 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 2011 | 145 | 5 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 2012 | 146 | 5 |
| Lincoln Zephyr | 2006 | 229 | 4 |
| Lincoln Zephyr | 2007 | 3 | 4 |
| Lincoln Zephyr | 2008 | 7 | 4 |
Other air bags recalls in 2021
65 of the 988 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2021 concerned the air bags; Ford Motor Company filed 737 campaigns in all.
| 21V980000 16 Dec 2021 | Ford Motor Company |
| 21V925000 24 Nov 2021 | Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) |
| 21V923000 24 Nov 2021 | Ford Motor Company |
| 21V892000 17 Nov 2021 | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
| 21V874000 10 Nov 2021 | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
| 21V873000 10 Nov 2021 | Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) |
| 21V868000 9 Nov 2021 | Tesla, Inc. |
| 21V860000 5 Nov 2021 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2021