1996 Ford Explorer air bags problems
41 owner complaints filed with NHTSA name the air bags on the 1996 Ford Explorer — 3% of all complaints for this model year.
What owners report
“I was driving my ford explorer and my tire on the driver frontside went out and my steering wheel locked up on me and then my vehicle hit the curve and flipped over 15 or 16 times before it stopped I was feeling all over the road I had my set belt on but my air bags never came out and I was only…”
filed May 9, 2017
“On 8 aug 09, my right rear tire blew out while going north on i95 at exit 132 near rocky mount, nc. My suv flipped over a few times and my daughter and I ended up upside down looking at the traffic. I noticed that my air bag did not deploy. *tr”
filed Sep 6, 2009
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Air Bags problems in other Explorer years
| Year | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Explorer | 3 | 3% |
| 2024 Explorer | 1 | 5% |
| 2023 Explorer | 4 | 4% |
| 2022 Explorer | 7 | 3% |
| 2021 Explorer | 6 | 1% |
| 2020 Explorer | 4 | 0% |
| 2019 Explorer | 2 | 1% |
| 2018 Explorer | 10 | 1% |
| 2017 Explorer | 32 | 2% |
| 2016 Explorer | 99 | 4% |
| 2015 Explorer | 84 | 5% |
| 2014 Explorer | 47 | 3% |
Other reported problem areas on the 1996 Ford Explorer
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints naming this component group. Complaints are unverified owner reports; mileage is computed only from complaints that included a usable odometer reading.