Federal safety regulators opened an investigation Monday into more than 1.2 million Ford Explorer vehicles after side airbags deployed accidentally and left drivers, passengers and police officers with severe burns.

Regulators Open Preliminary Evaluation

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced the preliminary evaluation on Monday, targeting the seat-mounted side airbags in certain Ford Explorer models from the 2021 through 2026 model years. The agency said the inquiry centers on airbags that inflated without a crash, a malfunction that turned a device built to protect occupants into a source of injury. A preliminary evaluation is the first formal step in the agency’s defect review process.

NHTSA reported receiving eight consumer complaints and four early warning reports describing burn injuries tied to the deployments. Early warning reports come from manufacturers, who must send the agency information about injuries, deaths and other safety concerns. The agency has not said whether it has identified a cause, and it has not announced a recall.

Injuries Include Third-Degree Burns

According to the agency, the reported injuries include second- and third-degree burns. Third-degree burns are the most severe category, destroying the full thickness of the skin and often requiring surgery, skin grafts and extended recovery. Victims include drivers and front-seat passengers in civilian vehicles, which places ordinary families directly within the scope of the problem.

Law enforcement officers also appear among those hurt. NHTSA said some officers driving Ford Explorer Police Interceptor vehicles suffered burns after side airbag deployments. The Police Interceptor is the law enforcement version of the Explorer and is widely used by police departments and sheriff’s offices across the country, so the findings could affect public safety agencies that depend on those fleets every day.

How Side Airbags Work

Side airbags are designed to deploy only during certain crashes, cushioning occupants during side impacts and reducing the risk of serious injury. In the Explorer, the airbags are mounted in the seats rather than in the doors or roof rails. That design places the inflation hardware close to the occupant’s body, a factor investigators will likely examine as they try to determine why the devices deployed when they should not have.

Airbags inflate in a fraction of a second using a rapid chemical or gas-powered reaction. When that process happens at the wrong moment, or when hot gases escape in an unexpected direction, occupants can suffer burns even without any collision. Regulators have not said which of those factors, if any, played a role here.

What Happens Next

The preliminary evaluation allows NHTSA to gather data from Ford, review complaints and examine the airbag components. The agency can later upgrade the review to an engineering analysis, and that step can lead to a recall request if investigators find a safety defect. Many investigations end with a manufacturer-initiated recall before regulators reach a final determination.

With more than 1.2 million vehicles in the probe’s scope, the potential cost to Ford could be substantial, covering repairs, replacement parts and possible legal exposure. Owners of 2021-2026 Ford Explorers can check their vehicles for open recalls at NHTSA’s website using the vehicle identification number, and they can report problems to the agency directly.