Investigation EA02017: 2000–2001 Ford Focus

Status

CLOSED

Opened

Aug 16, 2002

Closed

Aug 15, 2003

Model years

2000–2001

Subject

Burn injuries due to air bag deployment

Component: Air bags

Summary

All of the consumer complaints allege an incident in which deployment of the driver frontal air bag caused some type of burn injury.most of these injuries are due to contact and/or abrasion with the air bag and are of relatively minor to moderate severity.it is possible that some drivers may have sustained burn injuries to the skin as a result of hot gases exhausting from the vents of the air bags in the subject vehicles, but the number of such incidents appears to be low.further details of the investigation are contained in subsequent pages of this report.based on the above, further expenditure of agency resources on this investigation does not appear to be warranted.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency may take further action if warranted by the circumstances.

An NHTSA investigation looks into whether a safety defect exists. Opening one is not a finding. Outcomes can include a recall, closure without action, or further inquiry.

Model years covered

• 2001 Ford Focus1,761 complaints
• 2000 Ford Focus3,686 complaints