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NHTSA campaign 21V081000 · Ford campaign 21S05

Ford Motor Company Recall 21V-081: Frontal Air Bag Inflator May Explode

  • Recall influenced by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation

NHTSA recall 21V081000 (Ford campaign 21S05) was reported by Ford Motor Company on February 16, 2021, with 1,067 vehicles potentially affected (per NHTSA). NHTSA's record lists the Ford Mustang, Ford Ranger, Ford Fusion and more for model years 2004–2014. Owners were notified on March 17, 2021, per NHTSA.

Updated daily from NHTSA's recall files

Is my vehicle included?

This page lists, by model year, the vehicles NHTSA's recall record names for campaign 21V081000 in the model years try.vin imports (1995 and later); NHTSA's own record can list more. A model year on the list doesn't mean every vehicle of that year is included, and some may already have been repaired.

To see whether a specific vehicle is included and still needs the repair, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.

Key facts

NHTSA campaign
21V081000 (also written 21V-081 or 21V081)
Filed by
Ford Motor Company
Ford campaign number
21S05
Report received
Potentially affected
1,067 vehicles (per NHTSA)
Component
Air Bags — Frontal
Owners notified

Repair completion: 42.83% (latest rate the manufacturer reported to NHTSA; dataset updated October 21, 2026)

NHTSA cautions against comparing completion rates across recalls or manufacturers. How try.vin reads them.

Vehicles listed for this recall

NHTSA's recall record lists these vehicles for recall 21V081000. try.vin imports model years 1995 and later, so NHTSA's own list can be longer. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to it. Build dates are NHTSA's range for a model year (per NHTSA); a vehicle built in that range is not necessarily included.

Ford

All Ford recalls

Lincoln

  • Lincoln MKX

  • Lincoln MKZ

    • 2009, 2010 · Vehicles built June 25, 2008 – September 19, 2010 (per NHTSA)
All Lincoln recalls

Mercury

  • Mercury Milan

    • 2009, 2010, 2011 · Vehicles built June 25, 2008 – May 27, 2011 (per NHTSA)
All Mercury recalls

NHTSA's recall notice

As NHTSA's recall record states it for campaign 21V081000.

Defect description

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2005-2014 Mustang, 2004-2011 Ranger, 2009-2011 Mercury Milan, 2006 Ford GT, 2008-2012 Fusion, 2007-2010 Edge and Lincoln MKX, and 2009-2010 Lincoln MKZ vehicles. These vehicles may be equipped with a driver or passenger frontal air bag inflator used as a replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

Safety consequence

In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the frontal air bag, an inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Manufacturer remedy

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the driver and passenger air bag module, and replace either the module or the inflator, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 17, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S05.

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Sources

Official NHTSA notice for recall 21V081000

Campaign details come from NHTSA's recall files, which try.vin imports once a day. The plain-language subject and the completion rate come from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Recalls Data dataset. How try.vin reads recall data.