Ford Air Bags: Sensor/Control Module-Inactive

Ford is recalling about 20 vehicles over a problem with the air bags. Unexpected air bag deployment can result in personal injury.

Campaign
98V303000
Manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Reported
1 December 1998
Vehicles
20
Built between
Sep 1998 – Sep 1998
Models
4
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
3 January 1999
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between September 1998 and September 1998. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1999 Ford F-250Built September 1998 to September 1998
  • 1999 Ford F-350Built September 1998 to September 1998
  • 1999 Ford F-450 SDBuilt September 1998 to September 1998
  • 1999 Ford F-550 SDBuilt September 1998 to September 1998

What the defect is

Vehicle description: light duty trucks. The cast tow hooks changes the crash pulse of the vehicle in frontal barrier impacts and the air bag sensor was not calibrated to this new crash pulse which may cause the air bags to deploy in lower speed impacts than design intent.

What could happen

Unexpected air bag deployment can result in personal injury.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE CAST TOW HOOKS WITH FORGED HOOKS.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtSeptember 1998 to September 1998
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA1 December 1998
  3. Owners notified3 January 1999

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 1 December 1998.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
98S34
Recalling manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Owner notification is expected to begin january 3, 1999.OWNERS who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.ALSO contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand