Traveling at 65 or 70 mph on a California highway last summer, the front passenger side air bag deployed (causing pain, bruising, etc. But nothing apparently permanent - no personal injury claim has ever been contemplated). It was shocking in that there was no crash of any kind. The passenger thought the bag deployed for no reason. The driver, not being certain, had the impression that some object (e.g., a small piece of tire rubber) was kicked up against the car from the roadway. There are no signs of any impact with anything. The bag tore part of the leather seat (beyond the seam). This occurred near the 5 year point re: Warranty. The manufacturer, Ford Motor Company, seemed responsive at first and asked that we take the car to the dealer. I did so, and was informed by the service department that Ford informed them it was referred to their legal department and, thus, they could not even look at, let alone repair it. The legal department took several weeks to ultimately send a letter stating they had no responsibility. Our insurance carrier is uncertain as to how to handle the claim. The air bag system in this Lincoln Town car is obviously defective. Is this a known defect with this model, etc." What recourse do we have against Ford Motor Company for failure to fulfill its moral and legal responsibility to replace the air bag and repair the seat? is there not a federal Agency that can be helpful in such matters" note: The damage occurred in early June, 2006 (entered 1st below to allow for transmission of claim).

- Fresno, CA, USA

On Thursday, March 1, 2007, my daughter was driving my Lincoln Town car approximately 55 miles per hour. For no apparent reason, the passenger right side airbag inflated. Also causing injuries to my daughter, injuries includes a bruised ear drum and an asthma attack.

- Marion, AL, USA

: the contact stated while turning left, the vehicle was hit in the passenger side between the tire and the door however the air bag did not deploy. There was no indication before the crash that the air bag would not deploy other than the contact stated the air bag light had been illuminating intermittently for some time. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop who determined the vehicle was totaled however; no determination was made as to why the air bag did not deploy.

- St Joseph, MO, USA

(1) 2002 Lincoln Town car, VIN# [xxx] with approximately 76,000 miles and out original warranty. No previous warnings were given. (2) passenger side air bag inadvertently deployed without being involved in an accident or impact. This incident occurred while driving approximately 45 mph on a gravel county road in cotton county, Oklahoma. When the air bag deployed, it fried the sensor assembly control and the sab sensor. It also ripped the passenger side seat back and side of seat. Estimate at body shop came up with $1,506 damages and I had to pay them $ $73.98 to run test on air bag system. At present, none of the other air bags are working now because of this failure. This according to Ford dealer service and body shops. (3) extended warranty with different company than Ford. Extended warranty company said it would replace if Ford dealer would run test on car and found fault with air bag system. Billingsley Ford of lawton, Oklahoma ran test on this car and came up with conclusion that air bag was working properly. Extended warranty advised me to call my car insurance carrier. I have done this and I am waiting on their decision. Car has not been repaired at this time. Updated 07/16/2012 information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Walters, OK, USA

Contact states vehicle was traveling down a dirt road and the passenger side air bag deployed. He took vehicle to a dealer. The dealer claimed that the air bag repair would not be covered under warranty. The consumer contacted the manufacturer but they provided no assistance.

- Calumet, OK, USA

At approx. 8 pm on sat. Oct.9 my wife and I were returning home, traveling on rt. 95 northbound in the center lane of 3, going at the speed limit of 70 mph. Without warning the side air bag on the driver's side deployed.luckily there were no cars on either side of us, and we managed to get the car under control and off the highway.we inspected the car and could not find any damage.although we were pretty shook up, we were not injured(due to the lack of traffic).after several calming minutes we continued to our home.our car is a 2002 Lincoln Town car.we took the car to where we purchased and serviced the car(wallace Lincoln/Mercury/Volvo-3801 SE federal highway, stuart fl 34997,772-283-6000)on Monday(we have an original and extended warranty contract).wallace gave us a rental car and said they would check it out.the next day wallace service mgr.(russ ellis)reported that nothing was wrong with the car except for the unexplained deployment of the airbag.since the warranty was with Ford, a Ford engineer had to come to inspect the car.finally on Oct. 20 he came and reported a small dent on the car underside was the result of running over something which caused the deployment of the side impact airbag.wallace therefore stated they would not cover repairs because of Ford report.we visited wallace to inspect "dent",and could not understand how this could result in deployment.complained to GM and service advisor who expressed sympathy and agreed to contact Ford upper-level.no reply as yet, but we believe it will be negative.this is certainly a safety problem-deployment of side airbags without a side impact is dangerous.under car impacts could cause accidents-even deaths.

- Stuart, FL, USA