There are 50 owner-reported air bags & restraints complaints for the 2016 Ford Explorerin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I have an airbag light on as well as the 2nd row inflatable seatbelt has stopped working. I took it into the dealership and they said it was generating codes B141B and B141C. Ford issued a Customer satisfaction program 21B11 specifically to fix this problem in 2022 but it expired less than a year later. Now my air bag and my seatbelt don't work. Ford knows about the safety defect and their dealers are charging people to fix it ($2400 in this case) rather than stand behind the safety of their product and do the right thing. This is clearly a safety issue that Ford should be addressing yet they are trying to slide by and get their customers to pay for it. The car only has 49,000 miles on it.
air bag light illumination on occasion, ford confirmed and suggested $1000 repair. seems like a safety issue that is a manufacturer defect. vehicle has been maintained and rear seat rarely used.
As I was driving the vehicle the airbags deployed without a collision. I was in the car with my wife and 2 month old son. Had we been going full speed it could've been much worse than it was. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. The car has not been inspected in any way. The insurance company is currently attempting to deny the claim based on pictures alone. There were no warning lamps prior to the airbag deployment regarding the airbags. We did not hit another car. I was able to stop the car in the middle of the onramp.
The passenger side knee airbag went off in an accident causing my dad to have severe lacerations to both legs and a sprained ankle. Those were his only injuries from the accident. All caused by one airbag. There is a good chance he will need a skin graft on one of his legs. The emt and firefighters all said that they have never seen an airbag down there and loon like that. What it did to his legs is horrible. And should have never of happened.
Air Bag light on. Per Dealer service center diagnostics, driver side air bag module FB5Z*78043B13*AA defective. Module replaced, however air bag light on persists. Additional diagnostic determined that air bag clockspring component defective.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the contact was informed that the failure was related to the front passenger's side seat and the second-row rear passenger's side seat. The mechanic plugged an unknown wiring; however, the failure persisted. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the exterior A-pillar trim had detached from the front windshield and the metal studs were showing. The contact stated that the seat belt light warning light was illuminated. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V031000 (Structure) and 25V347000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was started, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the seat belt retractor was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 106,000.
Airbags notification is on
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver's side air bag warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred intermittently, however, the failure had occurred three times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
2016 Ford Explorer. the air bag warning light was illuminated it was coming off and on and now stays on. took the vehicle to the dealer who confirmed that the vehicle was not under recall for the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired.
Back up camera went out and later came on. Today we have been driving the last hour with airbag indicator on. Camera incident was 10-29-2023.
Middle row, passenger side seat belt buckle is broken & will not latch. This is where my 9yr old sits & there is no reason or cause for this to break. My vehicle has the inflatable airbag seatbelts on this row.
Car has inflatable seatbelt in the second row bucket seats. I am unable to find any car seats that are safe to use in this vehicle once you move from tether position Have visited local dealership and called Ford for assistance. None of which are able to assist with this which puts children in great harm as no car seat can be safely used
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while crossing an intersection at 35 MPH, another driver crashed on the driver's side of the vehicle resulting in a T-bone collision. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. Both driver-side doors failed to open after the accident and special equipment was used by the authorities to extract the contact from the vehicle. The contact was taken to the hospital and was treated for minor scrapes, bruises, and soreness. The other driver sustained lacerations to the abdomen from the seat belt and also sought medical treatment. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it remained in their possession. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 109,000.
Recently noticed a yellow airbag light appearing on the instrument panel. Took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that there was previously a recall for this issue, and that a repair was performed. However, the issue has now resurfaced. We are afraid to continue driving the vehicle in this condition, as we feel that it would put us at risk. Dealer refuses to pay for the repair, claiming that the recall 'expired' in January 2023. Hoping that the NHTSA can assist me in resolving this issue, since there is nothing that I as a consumer could have done differently to prevent this, yet the dealer is demanding that I pay to fix it. Thank you.
In July 2023 my airbag light appeared on my instrument panel. I checked seat belts but all was good. I had the ford dealer diagnose and they said that the rear seat belt airbag was out of compliance. I am the original owner of the vehicle and asked if this was under any recall or TSB. They checked and said that it was no longer under any repair order and that it would cost me approx. $1100 to fix. They also said that no air bags would work in my vehicle and that they could not just turn the light off on the instrument panel. My vehicle is available for inspection and repair. I no longer feel safe for myself, my wife or my grandchildren riding in the vehicle. The airbags are critical safety feature and should last the life of the vehicle. My vehicle sits in the garage mostly and only has approx. 67000 miles.
The airbag fault light on the dash of my 2016 Ford Explorer recently illuminated. I took it to Christian Brothers Automotive, who did a complete diagnostics check. They determined that the inflatable seat belt should read 2.2 Ohms but it reading at 5.5 Ohms, which is causing the light to illuminate. They stated that the inflatable seat belt needs to be replaced. This appears to be the same issue with a Ford recall notice issued on January 21, 2022 under Customer Satisfaction Program 21B11 related to 2014, 2015, and 2016 Ford Explorers. However, my VIN does not appear on the list of effected vehicles and Ford is refusing to repair it under the recall until it is added to the list.
The seat belt buckle for the second row passenger-side broke, making it impossible for the seat belt buckle to lock. Ford said the part was back ordered. When the part arrived and the car was being fixed, we received a call from the service manager advising the second row driver-side buckle broke as well. This seems to be a recurring issue.
The contact owns 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the passenger’s side air bag wiring harness was faulty. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.
Showing 1–20 of 50 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026