Photo: Ford
Back in September 2021, the Ford Motor Company reviewed a report of a front passenger knee airbag that exhibited a weld separation during testing. The concern was identified a few days prior by the supplier, Michigan's Faurecia Interior Systems Saline, after testing 25 airbags.
Weld separation between the bladder and outer door was exhibited by one of those airbags, a condition that resulted in pressure loss within the bladder. The remaining 24 performed as intended, as did an additional three units.
The supplier immediately conducted a root cause analysis of the weld separation. Faurecia identified a set-up issue on the airbag hot plate welder during a retooling from August 2021. Only the airbags produced between August 20th and 24th are considered suspect because the supplier gingerly reset the process parameters and conducted weld testing on August 24th.
The Dearborn-based automaker’s Vehicle Crash Safety team simulated crash tests with the suspect airbags in December 2021. Ford’s engineers reported “a small kinematic effect.” Given these circumstances, the Field Review Committee approved a safety recall a little earlier this month.
Ford isn’t aware of accidents or injuries related to this defect.
A grand total of 327 examples of the Mustang are called back, split between 324 units of the 2021 MY and three units of the 2022 MY. Authorized dealers have been instructed to replace the recalled airbags with front passenger knee airbags that meet the weld strength specifications.
Known customers will be notified between March 7th and March 11th.
On that note, it’s worth remembering the Ford Motor Company has disappointed Mustang customers in the past as well. Yesterday, for example, the NHTSA published a 330,000-strong recall due to rearview camera issues affecting 2015 through 2017 models. Ford is currently aware of 7,035 warranty claims, 35 VOQs, as well as two reports of minor crashes.
The supplier immediately conducted a root cause analysis of the weld separation. Faurecia identified a set-up issue on the airbag hot plate welder during a retooling from August 2021. Only the airbags produced between August 20th and 24th are considered suspect because the supplier gingerly reset the process parameters and conducted weld testing on August 24th.
The Dearborn-based automaker’s Vehicle Crash Safety team simulated crash tests with the suspect airbags in December 2021. Ford’s engineers reported “a small kinematic effect.” Given these circumstances, the Field Review Committee approved a safety recall a little earlier this month.
Ford isn’t aware of accidents or injuries related to this defect.
A grand total of 327 examples of the Mustang are called back, split between 324 units of the 2021 MY and three units of the 2022 MY. Authorized dealers have been instructed to replace the recalled airbags with front passenger knee airbags that meet the weld strength specifications.
Known customers will be notified between March 7th and March 11th.
On that note, it’s worth remembering the Ford Motor Company has disappointed Mustang customers in the past as well. Yesterday, for example, the NHTSA published a 330,000-strong recall due to rearview camera issues affecting 2015 through 2017 models. Ford is currently aware of 7,035 warranty claims, 35 VOQs, as well as two reports of minor crashes.
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