— A Ford Maverick side airbag recall has caused a class action lawsuit that alleges Ford's recall repairs won't truly fix the vehicles.
The class action lawsuit includes the "2022 Ford Maverick vehicle or any other Ford vehicle equipped with the same Safety Canopy side curtain airbags."
The Maverick side curtain airbag recall was issued in August 2022 for about 65,000 model year 2022 Ford Maverick trucks.
According to Ford:
"The Safety Canopy deploys during significant side crashes or when a certain likelihood of a rollover event is detected by the rollover sensor. The Safety Canopy is mounted to the roof side rail sheet metal, behind the headliner, above each row of seats. In certain sideways crashes or rollover events, the Safety Canopy will be activated, regardless of which seats are occupied. The Safety Canopy is designed to inflate between the side window area and occupants to further enhance protection provided in side impact crashes and rollover events."
According to documents Ford filed with the government regarding the side airbag recall, the airbags failed to meet federal safety standards due to the "displacement requirements...for the first row lower primary target location."
Ford Maverick Side Curtain Airbag Tests
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration contacted Ford in June 2022 regarding the test results of a vehicle audit of a 2022 Ford Maverick truck.
The displacement results for the front lower primary target was 111.9 mm (millimeters) which exceeds the federal regulation of 100 mm. Ford’s certification test from December 2020 indicates a displacement of 82.5 – 88.4 mm which meets the regulation of 100 mm and the Ford Acceptance Criteria (FAC) of 93.1 mm.
Ford's engineers could not find a reason for the different test results, but in July 2022 Ford conducted certification testing on a 2022 Maverick equipped with the new current batch of side curtain airbags from the assembly plant.
The displacement results of three samples tested at the front lower primary target were between 102 and 107.3 mm.
Engineers had not determined a root cause of the issue when the Ford Maverick side airbag recall was announced.
Ford said it wasn't aware of any crash or injury reports, but the 65,000 Maverick trucks would receive new "left and right side curtain airbag modules."
Ford told Maverick owners "that parts are anticipated to be available January 2023."
According to the class action lawsuit, there is no guarantee that replacing the side curtain airbags will fix the problem because Ford hasn't determined a root cause of the issue. In addition, the lawsuit asserts Ford hasn't offered Maverick owners rental vehicles as replacements.
The Ford Maverick side airbag lawsuit was filed by New York plaintiff John Solak who owns a 2022 Ford Maverick All Wheel Drive XL. The plaintiff does not claim his side airbag failed, but he sent Ford a notice in October 2022 informing them of his decision to file the class action lawsuit.
The Ford Maverick side airbag class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan: John Solak v. Ford Motor Company.
The plaintiff is represented by Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman.
