← NHTSA complaints

2002 LINCOLN LS — AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW

1 injured · 839646 · 2011-01-31

Vehicle

Make
LINCOLN
Model
LS
Year
2002
Manufacturer
Ford Motor Company
Component
AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW
Miles at failure
95,947
Speed
60 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
No
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

WELL I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY WHEN ALL OF SUDDEN FOR NO APPARENT REASON THERE WAS AN EXPLOSION IN THE PASSENGER SEAT NEXT TO ME. I WAS SHOCKED BY THE LOUDNESS AND I JUST SORT OF SAT THERE IN A DAZE AND AS I LOOKED OVER I NOTICED WHITE DUST EVERYWHERE COMPLETELY FILLING THE CAB OF MY CAR. I WAS DRIVING SO I HAD TO SPLIT MY ATTENTION BETWEEN THE ROAD AND THIS EXPLOSION NEXT TO ME. JUST AS I BEGAN TO COME AROUND TO MY FULL SENSES I NOTICED I WAS PARTIALLY DEAF IN ONE EAR FROM THE BLAST AND ALSO SOMEWHAT BLINDED BY THE AMOUNT OF SMOKE AND POWDER WHICH FILLED THE CAB. I REALIZED THAT THE BEST THING WOULD BE TO PULL OVER SINCE MY INITIAL REACTION TO THE BLAST WAS THAT MY CAR WAS ON FIRE. I COULDN'T GET TO THE SHOULDER OF THE FREEWAY SINCE I WAS IN THE FAST LANE. I OPENED THE SUNROOF AND THIS ALLOWED MOST OF THE POWDER AND SMOKE TO ESCAPE FROM THE TOP OF THE CAR. FINALLY WITH SOME OF THE SMOKE CLEARED I WAS ABLE TO FOCUS ON THE ROAD AND ALSO DO A QUICK ASSESSMENT OF THE BLAST WHICH HAD JUST OCCURRED IN MY VEHICLE WITH ME IN IT WHILE I'M DRIVING. I SAW THE CAUSE OF THE BLAST WAS THE PASSENGER SIDE SEAT AIRBAG HAD DEPLOYED. I SAW HOW THE WHOLE SEAT HAD BEEN SHIFTED BY THE BLAST AND HOW THE SEAT ITSELF HAD BEEN COMPLETELY DESTROYED. WHAT I SAW WAS THE CANVAS COLORED BAG RELEASING A WHITER POWDER LIKE A VOLCANO AS THE PRESSURE ESCAPED FROM THE BAG TO DEFLATE. I STILL HAVE A SLIGHT RINGING IN MY EARS. I HOPE THE RINGING GOES AWAY SOON. MY PASSENGER SEAT IS DESTROYED AND I HAVE ABSO

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10379728
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown