Three consumer complaints submitted to federal safety regulators allege that the exhaust port of the seat-mounted side airbag vented inward toward the seated occupant rather than outward toward the vehicle door.
Investigators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have reached no formal conclusion on whether the airbag vents pointed in the wrong direction. The agency opened a preliminary evaluation on Nov. 6, 2026, covering an estimated 1,236,155 Ford Explorer utility vehicles across the 2021 through 2026 model years.
According to federal safety records, thermal gas escaping from a side airbag burned through a police officer's vest and multiple layers of clothing during a crash between a 2022 Police Interceptor and a delivery truck, requiring surgery and a skin graft for third-degree burns.
Regulators opened the inquiry after receiving eight consumer questionnaires and four early-warning death and injury notices describing burns. The agency has counted 11 incidents and 10 reported injuries, with zero fatalities linked to the deployments.
Drivers, front-seat passengers, and police officers in Explorer Police Interceptor fleet vehicles suffered second-degree and third-degree burns after seat-mounted side airbags deployed during collisions.
Investigation Status and Next Steps
The evaluation does not constitute a recall, regulators have authorized no repairs, and no formal fix is currently associated with the matter. Ford had not issued a public response or formal comment regarding the safety probe as of the morning of Nov. 9, 2026.
Federal safety regulators typically seek to finish such reviews within eight months.
