Problems · by component

2012 Ford Escape air bags problems

25 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2012 Ford Escape cite air bags, 4% of all 604 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
25
4% of all complaints
Crashes
20
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
18
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the air bags

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“The contact owned a 2012 Ford Escape. While driving in a parking lot at approximately 18-20 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated, and the brake pedal was depressed but failed to stop the vehicle. The vehicle struck a fence and an apartment building. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained a cut above the nose, right shoulder pain, and a concussion. The contact received medical attention. The vehicle was towed by the insurance company and declared a total loss. The failure mileage was 44,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 2, 2026Air bags, Vehicle speed controlCrash reportedODI 11768604
“The steering wheel came off in my hands. I pushed it back on and went to Ford to get it fixed, they couldn't help me because they had no techs employed that work on my year vehicle, they never told me it was a safety issue and sent me on my way to look for outside mechanic not a FORD specialist. I was driving and the airbag exploded while I was backing up. It caused me injury and could have caused an accident because there was no warning, it suddenly exploded with a loud noise, if this happened when I was on the highway it would have caused severe accident, luckily I was backing the car up when it happened. I didn't hit anything to cause the airbag to deploy. When the steering wheel came off in my hands it was when I was parked, it could have happened when I was driving causing severe injury to myself and those around me. I keep my vehicle maintained by FORD and the steering wheel was never touched or repaired. But when I bought the vehicle brand new from FORD it was missing the Sirius satellite radio it was advertised as coming with, when I brought it back to Ford the seller told me they take it out for import reasons and I could buy it from them for $150 plus…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 14, 2023Steering, Air bagsODI 11527085
“The steering acted like it lost power, it was extremely hard to turn. It showed slide marks on dashboard. It also has airbag light on dashboard. We had a mechanic to run a test, the only thing it showed was that the airbag had no signal to the computer”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 5, 2023Steering, Air bagsODI 11520693
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD ESCAPE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE TURNING A CORNER DURING RAIN WEATHER CONDITIONS, THE VEHICLE SLID OFF THE ROAD CAUSING THE CONTACT TO CRASH INTO A TELEPHONE POLE, SLID INTO A DITCH, AND A CORNFIELD. THE WINDOWS ON THE FRONT DRIVER, BOTH REAR PASSENGER, AND REAR WINDSHIELD ALL SHATTERED. NONE OF THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. THERE WERE INJURIES SUSTAINED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A GARAGE FOR A PICKUP FROM THE INSURANCE COMPANY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND SUGGESTED TO SPEAK TO AN INSURANCE ADJUSTER. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 31,000. *PM *DL”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 12, 2019Air bagsCrash reportedODI 11243338
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD ESCAPE. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V77000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PARTS TO DO THE REPAIR WERE UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME AS THE RECALL NOTICE WAS RECEIVED OVER SIX MONTHS AGO. THE DEALER (COURTESY FORD LINCOLN, 1313 NE 122ND AVE, PORTLAND, OR 97230) WAS CONTACTED AND CONFIRMED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE RECALL REMEDY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT RECENTLY RECEIVED A POSTCARD FROM TK HOLDINGS, ALERTING HIM THAT THEY FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 18, 2018Air bags, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11096776
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD ESCAPE. WHILE THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE WAS IDLING AT A RED LIGHT, ANOTHER VEHICLE CRASHED INTO THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED INJURIES TO THE HEAD, LEFT AND RIGHT WRISTS, BACK, RIGHT KNEES, RIGHT ANKLE AND THE RIGHT FOOT. MEDICAL ATTENTION WAS REQUIRED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 92,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 13, 2018Air bagsCrash reportedODI 11072781

Showing 6 of 25 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.