Ford Explorer Rollovers

Ford SUVs and their safety became a topic of discussion in 2000 when a rash of rollovers caused by tire failures was spotlighted by the national media. Over 200 deaths and 700 injuries were blamed on Ford Explorer rollovers in The United States. In many of these cases, tire separation was a contributing factor in the rollover.

The Ford Explorer was built to replace the Bronco II in 1990, which had a long-history of rollover injuries and deaths due to its narrow wheel base and top heavy design.

 

Frontline, PBS - Isn't forcing manufacturers, not to eliminate SUVs, but to build them lower and wider, a partial solution both to the highway and the off-highway problem? "The first thing is, if they did that, I would shoot them personally." -Jerry Curry, a retired major general in the U.S. Army, he headed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) from 1989 to 1992.

At first, Firestone took some of the blame for the increase in rollovers, as tire separation on Ford Explorers occurred over and over again. Evidence, however proved that the Ford Explorer's instability was an equal culprit in the rollovers caused by the failure and tire separation.

Ford Escape Rollovers

The Ford Explorer was the replacement for its predecessor, the Bronco II. As an alternative to the larger Explorer, the Ford Escape was designed to entice a younger crowd into buying a Ford SUV. The Escape is smaller than the Explorer and doesn't come with as large a price tag.

The Ford Escape has been the focus of many recalls, including seat belt buckle covers that may not latch correctly, faulty O-rings that posed a potential fire hazard, issues with steering control, stuck throttles and incorrect 4x4 hubs that could cause the loss of stability of the vehicle.

Alongside the Ford Explorer, the Ford Escape also has a roof that does not compare to those that are being manufactured by European auto manufacturers. The risk of serious spinal or brian injury or death is increased by the vehicle's weak roof design.

Ford F-150 Rollovers Poorly designed roofs, unsafe door latches, and an abnormally high rate of ejections in rollovers, has plagued the Ford F-150. Ford Motor Co. has settled many lawsuits in regards to the strength of the roof of its F-Series SuperCab pickup.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, IIHS, gave the Ford F-150 its lowest rating in crash testing. In the IIHS crash tests, a barrier is set up to the left of the hood. This is called an offset test. An offset test is used to determine a vehicle's structural strength.

 

Brian O’Neil, President of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said “the F-150 exhibited major collapse of the occupant compartment in the offset test.” This results in a collapse and the test dummy’s movement was not well controlled.

 

The test's results showed serious injury to the head and neck of the test dummy. The airbag also deployed late, which increased the amount of damage to the dummy.

 

"This is as bad as it gets in terms of crash performance," O'Neill commented. When asked what he (Mr. O’Neil) would do if he owned a Ford F-150 O'Neill replied, "I'd get rid of it, I wouldn't put my family, in a vehicle like this."

 

Although the Ford F-150 was designed for driving off-road, the truck is not prepared to do so. The lack of a roll bar, cage and proper roof support poses potential roof crush harm to passengers in the case of a rollover. Even worse yet, the four door F-150 does not have a B-pillar between the doors on each side of the truck. In a rollover, roof crush can then put extra pressure on the area between the A-pillars and C-Pillars, causing the door latches to malfunction. This could easily result in driver passenger ejection. In vehicle rollovers, passenger ejection is the #1 cause of death.