Ford Investigates 1.2 Million Explorers After Reports Of Airbag-Related Burns

NHTSA’s preliminary evaluation focuses on seat-mounted side airbags in 2021-2026 Ford Explorer SUVs, with burns reported only in the front row.

By: Brian Potter

Nov 10, at 7:29am ET

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary investigation into 2021-2026 Ford Explorer SUVs after drivers and front passengers suffered burns when a side airbag deployed. The probe covers roughly 1,236,155 vehicles.

Ford has not issued a recall. The agency's review is still gathering information, and its scope is narrower than the vehicle count alone suggests.

Airbag Probe Covers 2021-2026 SUVs

2025 Ford Explorer Platinum Front Seats With Side Airbags

NHTSA's preliminary evaluation names the 2021-2026 Ford Explorer, covering six model years built with the same side airbag design now under review.

The agency's own filing lays out why it opened the case now. According to NHTSA's opening summary, the Office of Defects Investigation received owner and manufacturer reports of burn injuries after the front seat-mounted side airbag deployed in crashes involving these Explorers. The filing describes injuries diagnosed as second- or third-degree burns that required medical treatment.

The component under scrutiny is the seat-mounted side airbag in the front row, not the steering-wheel or curtain airbags. NHTSA says it has no indication the issue extends to rear seating positions or to other airbags up front.

A preliminary evaluation is the agency's fact-finding stage, before it decides whether a defect exists across the fleet. Ford has faced other Explorer-related actions this year, including a rear suspension fracture recall and a separate roof rail recall, both unrelated to this airbag inquiry.

NHTSA Reports 11 Incidents And 10 Burn Injuries

2025 Ford Explorer ST Front Passenger Seat With Side Airbag

The agency has logged 11 separate incidents, 10 of which resulted in second- or third-degree burns serious enough to require medical treatment. Against the 1,236,155-vehicle population, that works out to about 0.00089 percent of covered Explorers.

That ratio is the core tension here as the injury count is small in absolute terms. But burns of that severity from an airbag meant to protect occupants are the kind of complaint that pushes a preliminary evaluation open quickly.

No recall has been announced, and a preliminary evaluation doesn't guarantee one will follow. NHTSA can close such reviews without further action, escalate to an engineering analysis, or move straight to a recall request if Ford's own data points that way.

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Owners who want to check whether a specific vehicle identification number carries any open action can search NHTSA's recall lookup tool directly, since the agency's database updates as filings like this one progress.

Ford has not issued a public statement addressing the specific burn complaints described in the filing.