2003 Ford Focus air bags problems

49 complaints about air bags have been filed for the 2003 Ford Focus, which is 4% of all its NHTSA complaints.

Complaints: 49 4% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage: 53,000 miles 35 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires: 35 and 0
Injuries and deaths: 27 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When air bags problems show up

Based on 35 complaints that include mileage. 60% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.

View the numbers

Mileage	Complaints
0k to 20k miles	7
20k to 40k miles	6
40k to 60k miles	8
60k to 80k miles	1
80k to 100k miles	4
100k to 120k miles	0
120k to 140k miles	1
140k to 160k miles	3
160k to 180k miles	2
180k to 200k miles	2
200k+ miles	1

What the data shows

Of the 35 air bags complaints that report mileage, the median is about 53,000 miles, and 60% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 35 crashes, 27 injuries.

What owners wrote

The accident that took place on 5/29/03 involved a 2003 ford focus station wagon driven by my son. There was impact where a parked car and a tree was involved,and the airbags did not deploy at all. I thought airbags were a safety feature that should help prevent bodily injuries. I wrot a letter to ford motor company yet I have received no response to this matter.

May 2003 CrashInjury

I was in a car accident with my 2003 ford focus zts. My airbag did not deploy. The fire dept. And police dept. Both expressed disbelief that the airbag did not deploy. My car sustained extensive damage to the front end. The whole front end has to be replaced including both the frame rails, as well some engine components. I will know more when the repairs start. The vehicle I was involved in the accident with had both of their airbags deploy. If I were not wearing my seatbelt, I would have had serious injuries.

Reported at 30,300 miles, March 2005 Crash

Air bags problems in other years

Air bags problems across all Ford models