1997 Ford F-150 Air Bags Problems
Owners have filed 99 complaints with NHTSA about air bags problems on the 1997 Ford F-150, 4% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 142,000 miles. The words owners use most often: “air bags deploy” (18% of reports).
- 99air bags complaints
- 142,000median miles at failure
- 82mention a crash
- 44mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- 25%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Air bags deploy: mentioned in 18 of 99 complaints (18%)
- Driver passenger: mentioned in 16 of 99 complaints (16%)
- Dual airbags: mentioned in 8 of 99 complaints (8%)
- Consumer involved: mentioned in 8 of 99 complaints (8%)
At what mileage do air bags problems happen?
Based on 14 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 99 complaints, 82 mention a crash, 44 an injury.
Ford F-150 air bags complaints by model year
| Model year | Air Bags complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 F-150 | 1 | 1% | — |
| 2024 F-150 | 4 | 2% | — |
| 2023 F-150 | 1 | 0% | — |
| 2022 F-150 | 4 | 1% | 15,400 |
| 2021 F-150 | 5 | 0% | 59,000 |
| 2020 F-150 | 10 | 1% | 39,000 |
| 2019 F-150 | 24 | 2% | 51,407 |
| 2018 F-150 | 38 | 2% | 27,500 |
| 2017 F-150 | 23 | 2% | 27,220 |
| 2016 F-150 | 35 | 2% | 46,419 |
| 2015 F-150 | 35 | 2% | 52,128 |
| 2014 F-150 | 31 | 2% | 45,892 |
| 2013 F-150 | 39 | 1% | 76,750 |
| 2012 F-150 | 37 | 2% | 49,500 |
| 2011 F-150 | 14 | 1% | 60,992 |
| 2010 F-150 | 19 | 2% | 75,000 |
| 2009 F-150 | 12 | 4% | 78,000 |
| 2008 F-150 | 29 | 8% | 98,000 |
| 2007 F-150 | 27 | 6% | 62,000 |
| 2006 F-150 | 48 | 8% | 82,150 |
| 2005 F-150 | 101 | 9% | 79,500 |
| 2004 F-150 | 85 | 4% | 68,500 |
| 2003 F-150 | 29 | 7% | 90,000 |
| 2002 F-150 | 35 | 4% | 84,000 |
| 2001 F-150 | 66 | 5% | 62,000 |
| 2000 F-150 | 69 | 6% | 91,000 |
| 1999 F-150 | 69 | 7% | 108,450 |
| 1998 F-150 | 42 | 3% | 165,569 |
| 1997 F-150 | 99 | 4% | 142,000 |
| 1996 F-150 | 23 | 7% | 100,000 |
| 1995 F-150 | 35 | 6% | 100,000 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists air bags for the 1997 Ford F-150. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
I was on my way to work the morning before thanksgiving. I shifted from 2nd to 3rd gear and the back tires hit a patch of water and i started fishtailing. I went off the road and hit a patch of oak trees. One head on. On impact, the seatbelt did not retract and i hit the steering wheel, the dash…
I was in a wreck traveling 25 mo making a turn to head west and i collided with a simi and my air bags did not deploy at all i was told but emts that the were shock that the air bags did not deply they told me that they should have.
Tl* the contact owns a 1997 ford f-150. The contact stated that the horn on the vehicle did not sound and the air bag light remained illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The vin was unknown. The failure mileage was 186,000.
Frequently asked questions
Do all 1997 Ford F-150s have air bags problems?
No. NHTSA has 99 owner complaints about air bags for the 1997 Ford F-150 (4% of the 2,758 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 1997 Ford F-150 air bags?
No recall currently lists air bags for this vehicle.
At what mileage do air bags problems start?
The median reported mileage is 142,000 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about air bags problems on the 1997 Ford F-150?
The most frequent phrase is “air bags deploy”, in 18 of 99 complaints, followed by “driver passenger” (16).
Other 1997 Ford F-150 problems
See all 1997 Ford F-150 problems or air bags problems across all F-150 years.