NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE09-046: INADVERTENT AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE09-046 on September 24, 2009 and closed it on January 19, 2010. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2005 Ford F-150 for it and links recall 11V-107 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE09-046 (also written PE09046)
- Investigation type
- Preliminary Evaluation The first stage of most defect investigations: NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation gathers basic information about a possible safety defect, including from the manufacturer.
- Status
- Closed January 19, 2010
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Ford Motor Company
- Components
- Air Bags; Air Bags — Frontal; Air Bags — Frontal — Driver Side — Inflator Module; Air Bags — Frontal — Sensor/Control Module-Inactive
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 11V-107: INADVERTENT DRIVER AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2005 Ford F-150
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE09-046.
FORD REPORTS THAT THE INADVERTENT AIRBAG DEPLOYMENTS ARE MOST LIKELY CAUSED BY THE AIRBAG HORN MOUNTING PLATE'S SHARP METAL EDGE THAT EVENTUALLY CAN CHAFE/CUT THE AIRBAG CLOCKSPRING JUMPER WIRE LEADING TO A SHORT-TO-GROUND CONDITION.ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY TWO (182) OF THE 230 REPORTS WERE FOR AIRBAG DEPLOYMENTS RESULTING IN 56 INJURIES WITH REMAINING 48 REPORTS FOR AN AIRBAG LIGHT ILLUMINATION CONDITION.INJURIES INCLUDE ABRASION, CONTUSION AND CUTS TO THE ARM/HAND/FACE AND/OR UPPER BODY REGIONS.ONE OWNER REPORTED A BROKEN TOOTH AND TWO OWNERS REPORTED BEING KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS AS A RESULT OF THE AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT.IN ADDITION, MY2004 AND MY2006 F-150 VEHICLES ALSO CONTAIN THE SAME DESIGN THAT RESULTED IN AN ADDITIONAL 89 REPORTS WITH 37 AIRBAG DEPLOYMENTS AND NINE INJURIES. FORD MADE AN INTERIM DESIGN CHANGE TO THE HORN MOUNTING PLATE IN JANUARY 2006 AND THEN MAJOR CHANGES TO THE HORN MOUNTING PLATE, AIRBAG MODULE AND CLOCKSPRING JUMPER WIRE DESIGNS IN JUNE 2006 FOR THE MY2007 VEHICLES.THIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION IS UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA10-001) TO INCLUDE MY2004-2006 F-150 VEHICLES AND TO FURTHER EVALUATE THE CONDITION.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE09-046. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Ford
Ford F-150
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Ford VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE09-046
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.