— Ford is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Fiesta vehicles due to air bag problems. Ford says the affected vehicles were manufactured from November 3, 2009, through September 21, 2012.
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents, the right rear passenger side curtain air bag will not deploy in the event of a side impact crash when the front passenger seat is empty.
Although the Fiesta air bag system was designed to suppress the side curtain air bag under this condition, that information is not explained in the owner's manual. A passenger in the back seat would never know their air bag won’t work if the front passenger seat is empty.
Ford hasn’t released a schedule of when the recall will begin, but they will notify owners so a dealer can reprogram the software to make the air bag deploy in a crash even if the front seat is empty.
Owner's can contact Ford at 866-436-7332 and refer to recall number 12C26.
