NHTSA Probes 1.2 Million Ford Explorers Over Airbag Burns

Ford Explorer Side Airbags Under Investigation After Burn Reports

The US safety regulator NHTSA has opened an investigation into roughly 1.24 million Ford Explorer SUVs after drivers and passengers reported burns when the front seat-mounted side airbags deployed in crashes. The preliminary evaluation, numbered PE26008, covers the 2021-2026 model years, Motor1 reported on 10 November. No recall has been announced.

Key takeaways

Probe PE26008 by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation covers about 1,236,155 Explorers.

11 incidents are on file, 10 of them with second- or third-degree burns that needed medical treatment.

Only the side airbags mounted in the front seats are under review.

NHTSA can close the case, upgrade it to an engineering analysis or push for a recall.

What the regulator is looking at

The investigation targets one component in one model. NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation is examining the side airbags built into the outer bolsters of the front seats on the current, sixth-generation Ford Explorer, sold in the US from the 2020 calendar year. The complaints describe burns to occupants after these airbags fired in a collision. The regulator says it has no indication of problems with the rear-seat airbags, the steering-wheel airbag or the curtain airbags that drop from the roof.

How many people were hurt

The case rests on 11 incidents drawn from owner complaints and Ford's own reports. Ten of them involved second- or third-degree burns that required medical care. Set against the size of the fleet, that is about 0.00089% of covered vehicles, as Motor1 calculated, but repeated burns of that severity from a safety device are the kind of pattern the defects office exists to examine. Neither the regulator nor Ford has said what might cause the injuries, and the published summary names no suspected cause.

What happens next

A preliminary evaluation is the first formal step in the US defect process. NHTSA will request data from Ford, and the case can end in one of three ways: it can be closed with no action, upgraded to an engineering analysis, or used as grounds to seek a recall. Ford has not publicly addressed the burn complaints. The Explorer has already had two unrelated recalls in 2025, one for rear suspension toe links that can fracture and one for loose roof rail covers.

What it means for owners

There is no action for owners yet, and no advice from NHTSA to avoid using the front seats or to disable the airbags, which remain a key protection in side impacts. Owners who have suffered a burn from an airbag deployment can file a report on NHTSA's website, which feeds directly into this case. Families comparing seven-seat SUVs and MPVs can follow the outcome before buying a used Explorer, and the rest of the line-up is in the Ford catalogue.