Preliminary Evaluation · FRONTAL AIR BAG NON-DEPLOYMENT IN CRASH · Opened 2003-01-06 · Closed 2003-07-02
Investigation
Action number
PE03002
Type
Preliminary Evaluation
Open date
2003-01-06
Close date
2003-07-02
Manufacturer
Ford Motor Company
Affected makes
FORD; MERCURY
Affected components
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
Affected model years
2000, 2001
Affected (make, year) variants
4
Summary
FORD MOTOR COMPANY HAS IDENTIFIED 260 REPORTS ALLEGING FRONTAL AIR BAG NON-DEPLOYMENT FOR ANY (SEVERITY) FRONTAL OR NEAR-FRONTAL CRASH ON MODEL YEAR 2000-2001 FORD TAURUS AND MERCURY SABLE VEHICLES.ADDITIONAL CRASH REPORTS ARE CONTAINED IN NHTSA'S FATALITY ANALYSIS REPORTING SYSTEM (FARS) DATABASE.THE SINGLE ODI REPORT LISTED IN THE REPORT SUMMARY IS NHTSA'S SPECIAL CRASH INVESTIGATION'S CASE NO. CA00-020 THAT INVOLVED A HIGH-SPEED CRASH NON-DEPLOYMENT INVOLVING A DRIVER FATALITY AND FRONT PASSENGER INJURY.THIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA03-010) AND ODI WILL COLLECT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CERTAIN CRASH REPORTS AND CONDUCT FURTHER STUDY OF THIS ISSUE.