101 of the
9,504 complaints filed about the Ford F-250 SD
are about the airbag system —
1% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2016.
The leather covering on the instrument panel top pad of my 2022 F-250 Limited has shrunk and pulled away from its substrate on both the driver and passenger sides. On the passenger side, the covering has contracted enough that it has separated at the seam and lifted at the A-pillar corner, leaving an open gap and exposed backing material. The affected passenger-side panel is the airbag deployment cover; the panel is embossed "AIRBAG" directly on the failed surface. I am concerned that a covering which has shrunk, delaminated from its substrate, and separated at the seam will not tear along its designed deployment path. Ford has previously acknowledged this failure mode in the same component family: NHTSA campaign 22V684000 (Ford 22C23) recalled 2022 F-150 vehicles because an incorrectly manufactured right-side instrument panel cover could break and project fragments into the cabin or allow the airbag to deploy improperly, in noncompliance with FMVSS 208. The vehicle was delivered new on 05/16/2022 and is four years old. It has never been in a collision and the dashboard has never been repaired or disturbed. No dressing, protectant, or conditioner of any kind has ever been applied to this panel — it has only ever been cleaned with mild soap and water. The vehicle is garaged or covered roughly half the time, and I have used a windshield sunshade over this panel consistently since delivery. The failed surface is therefore the single most protected surface in the cabin, and it is the one that failed. Nothing about normal driving contacts it. This is a materials or adhesive failure that originated in manufacture. I reported the condition to the selling dealer, Sam Pack's Five Star Ford of Lewisville, TX. Repair was declined on the basis of elapsed time and mileage. No inspection of the deployment integrity of the panel was performed. I am filing this complaint so the condition is on record and so that NHTSA can determine whether this failure is occurring across the Su
NHTSA complaint #11753671 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
A Ford Dealer came on a mobile call the replace the Clock spring in the steering wheel. It was an recall NHTSA # 22V337 ------- Manufactures # 22S35 They replaced it and now nothing works on my steering wheel. Dealer came to pick up my truck and take it to the Dealership. Has not been repaired yet .
NHTSA complaint #11747897 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Left rear seat belt buckle or system failed causing a fault in the Airbag/Restraint system. The fault initially happened in June of 2025 with about 50k miles on the vehicle. I took it to a dealer who told me the buckle was not available and the whole system needed to be replaced for over $1500. Vehicle seldom has anyone in the back seat but that is where my children sit. Looking at posts on the internet, this seems to be a common enough problem that this should be taken care of under recall or customer service warranty.
NHTSA complaint #11743890 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact's former employer owns a 2016 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while exiting the freeway at 45-50 MPH around a bend, the steering wheel failed to move and crashed into a tree. The contact linked the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V337000 (Air Bags). The air bags did not deploy. The contact stated that he sustained injuries to his hand, and medical attention was provided the next day at the emergency room. There was no reported fire. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to his employer's yard. The contact called an unknown local dealer. The contact was unaware whether the vehicle was diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.
NHTSA complaint #11713367 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact called to file a complaint on a 2021 Ford F-250. The contact was a Crash Investigator. The contact stated that the vehicle owner was involved in a crash. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed in the opposite lane, the vehicle was involved in a head-on collision. No other information was available. The contact stated that while inspecting the Air Bag Control Module, it was downloaded; however, there was no reported crash data information of the crash or that the air bags were deployed. The contact stated that there was a pattern with the faulty part being distributed from a manufacturing plant for the manufacturer located in Kentucky. The contact stated that other similar vehicles had experienced similar failures. The contact was concerned that if vehicle owners were involved in a crash, none of the air bags modules would collect or store the data, making it difficult to investigate the crash. The contact stated that the failure was due to Air Bag Control Module, Event Data Recorder, and the Restraint Control Module not being able to download the needed information. The vehicle was towed and taken to the insurance company's lot. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The failure mileage was not available.
NHTSA complaint #11712679 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact called to report a failure on a 2021 Ford F-250. The contact, who is a Crash Investigator, stated that the owner of the vehicle was involved in a crash. While the owner was driving at an undisclosed speed in the opposite lane, the driver ended up in a head-on collision. No other information was available. While inspecting the Air Bag Control Module after downloading the information, there was no crash or air bags deployment information retrieved. The contact stated that there was a pattern of the faulty part being distributed from a manufacturing plant for the manufacturer located in Kentucky, because this was not the first issue with a Ford F-250 vehicle experiencing the exact failure. The contact was concerned that if vehicle owners were involved in a crash, the air bags modules would not collect or store data, making it difficult to investigate the crash. The failure was due to the Air Bag Control Module, Event Data Recorder, and Restraint Control Module, which were unable to download the needed information. The vehicle was towed and taken to the insurance company's lot. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was not available.
NHTSA complaint #11712685 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On September 16, 2025, while driving my 2023 Ford F-250 Super Duty at approximately 65 mph with cruise control engaged, I pressed the brake pedal to disengage cruise. The cruise control did not disengage. I pressed the brake pedal harder, but the truck did not slow down and maintained speed. There was no ABS activation sound or sensation, and no skid marks were left on the roadway. I struck the rear of a tractor trailer because the vehicle failed to slow down or cancel cruise control. In addition, the airbags did not deploy during the collision. This appears to be a failure of the brake pedal input/cruise disengagement system, braking system, and potentially the airbag system. This is a severe safety defect that could result in serious injury or death.
NHTSA complaint #11687682 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
We called our local Ford dealership, Matthew Ford of Pryor (Oklahoma) and made an appointment for the safety recall of replacing the clock spring. They proceeded to attempt the replacement and in the process damaged the steering column module, part no. GC3Z3F791KA. We are now being told that Ford does not have the necessary steering column module part and nobody manufactures it for our trim level, Platinum. Consequently, our truck is not able to be fixed and returned to us in the same condition it was given to the dealership. It is still at the dealership, in pieces. We dropped it off on March 27th, 2025.
NHTSA complaint #11674981 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I hit an elk at 65 mph while pulling a flatbed trailer loaded with 4000 lbs of hay. The crash warning light did not come on nor did the air bags deploy. The whole front end of the truck is badly damaged. I contacted my local Ford dealer with this information and was told by the service agent that the body shop will handle this. As my concern is how hard do you have to hit something to get the airbags to deploy. I’m concerned for my safety while driving this truck again if it can be repaired. I’m taking it to the repair shop today. I wanted to report this as Ford will be ZERO help moving forward.
NHTSA complaint #11671870 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I have a safety concern on my 2023 Ford 250 SuperDuty Pickup. The front passenger seatbelt indicator does not engage when a person sits in the seat. The other 4 seats (front driver & 3 back seats) in the vehicle engage as soon as a person sits in the seat showing the seat red in the on the dash until the seatbelt is engaged and then turns green with a check mark on it. When a person sits in the front passenger seat the seat does not light up on the dashboard like there is no one sitting in the seat. Once the seatbelt is clicked in, the seat then turns to green with a check mark and then if the seatbelt is unclicked the seat will turn red. I took the vehicle in to be looked at. The Ford Dealership put in a new part and it reacted the same way. They then said that they checked and the seat was working as designed and there was no issue. I asked them to confirm that the airbags would still engage. They would not confirm that. I then called Ford's Hotline with my concerns, they said based on what they could see, the airbags would still engage. I feel that all the seats should react the same way and if a person is sitting in that front seat and doesn't use the seatbelt, the vehicle doesn't recognize that a person is in the seat. And if so, possibly the airbags do not work.
NHTSA complaint #11649864 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH and after driving over a bump in the road, the vehicle experienced a "Death Wobble" causing the driver to lose control of the steering and crash into a garbage truck. During the crash, the front end of the vehicle was severely damaged but the air bag did not deploy. The driver sustained a head injury and later received medical treatment which revealed multiple strokes had occurred during the crash. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The contact indicated that prior to the crash the steering arm had been replaced on three separate occasions. The failure mileage was 25,000.
NHTSA complaint #11648179 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving the morning of 13 Jan 2025 my Airbag sensor light on the dashboard illuminated. Shortly after that me and my wife smelled smoke in the vehicle cabin and then we heard a loud explosion and the seatbelt instantly tightened around my chest and waist. It was after I was able to stop safely and research the incident that I realized my drivers side “pretensioner” detonated while I was driving.
NHTSA complaint #11635741 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2022 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, his daughter observed a crack under the Ford emblem where the air bag was located. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was 89,072.
NHTSA complaint #11581349 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-250. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V337000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact back to the dealer for assistance. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
NHTSA complaint #11571908 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50-55 MPH the steering wheel began aggressively shaking causing them to crash into another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. Both the vehicles received damage to the driver-side view mirror. The vehicle was able to be driven from the scene. There were no warning lights illuminated. A police report was filed. There were no injuries and no medical attention was needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it had not been diagnosed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 111,000.
NHTSA complaint #11567228 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER CLOCKSPRING/SPIRAL CASSETTE
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-250. The contact stated that upon a cold engine start up, an abnormal clicking sound was coming from the steering wheel while making left turns. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken twice to a local dealer and the clockspring was replaced under warranty. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided a case number. The vehicle had been repaired. The failure mileage was 10,332.
NHTSA complaint #11563771 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was in a really bad accident nd went off n embankment. My chest hit the steering wheel md broke my sternum. My seatbelt also didn’t do it port by locking me in place and let me hit forward. Everyone at the scene. Could not believ the airbags didn’t deploy and the seatbelt didn’t help more. I am blessed and very fortunate to be alive!! Both doors on passenger side and driver side are hard to open . The damage where the car hit me was in the front.
NHTSA complaint #11559664 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-250. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The contact stated that the dealer had not provided any diagnostic information. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V337000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the parts for the recall repair would not be available for 4 years. Additionally, the manufacturer declined to buy back the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
NHTSA complaint #11553190 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.