The key facts

  • NHTSA is investigating 1,236,155 Ford Explorers of 2021–2026 model years after 8 owner complaints and 4 reports of injuries and deaths related to burns from side airbag deployment
  • Some of the complaints concern police Ford Explorer Police Interceptor vehicles
  • A separate investigation covers 2,895 Waymo vehicles: violations involving school buses continued after the software update under recall 25E084

Ford Explorer investigation

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a preliminary investigation into more than 1.2 million Ford Explorer crossovers following reports of serious burns when side airbags deploy. According to the agency's estimate, the probe covers 1,236,155 vehicles of the 2021–2026 model years, Anadolu reports.

What is known about the injuries

The basis for the probe was eight owner complaints and four reports of deaths and injuries filed through the Early Warning Reporting system with the Office of Defects Investigation. Drivers and front-seat passengers reported burns in crashes in which the seat-mounted airbags deployed; the injuries were described as second- or third-degree burns requiring medical treatment. Some of the complaints involve police officers injured in Ford Explorer Police Interceptor vehicles. The investigation, opened on November 6, is intended to determine the scope and frequency of the alleged defect and its possible safety consequences.

Parallel Waymo probe

The same day, NHTSA opened a separate investigation into 2,895 vehicles equipped with the fifth-generation Waymo autonomous driving system. The regulator documented numerous cases in which Waymo vehicles drove past stopped school buses with their red flashing lights activated or stop arm extended. Waymo issued recall 25E084 on December 10, 2025, and by November 17, 2025 reported completing the installation of a software update that was supposed to keep the vehicles stationary when required. However, according to NHTSA, most of the incidents identified during the previous investigation occurred after that date. The new probe is to assess whether the fix was sufficient and to find out why the violations continued.