New Vehicle Demonstration/Delivery Hold - Compliance Recall 21C19 - Seat Side Air Bag Attachment Studs (21C19)

SUBJECT

NEW VEHICLE DEMONSTRATION/DELIVERY HOLD - Compliance Recall 21C19 

Certain 2021 Model Year Explorer and Aviator Vehicles

Seat Side Air Bag Attachment Studs

AFFECTED VEHICLES

Affected vehicles are identified in OASIS and FSA VIN Lists.

REASON FOR THIS COMPLIANCE RECALL

All of the affected vehicles may not conform to the requirements specified by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 214 Dynamic performance requirements Section 7.2.5 and Section 9.2.1 and 9.2.2. The attachment studs on one of the seat side airbags (SAB) may detach during deployment preventing the SAB from fully inflating or positioning correctly. If the SAB does not fully inflate or position correctly, it may increase the risk of injury in a crash event that necessitates a SAB deployment.

SERVICE ACTION

Before demonstrating or delivering any new in-stock vehicles involved in this recall, dealers are to confirm which SAB, either left-hand (LH) or right-hand (RH), is suspect per Attachment IV - repair table. After confirming which side, replace the respective suspect SAB module in the affected vehicles. This service must be performed on all affected vehicles at no charge to the vehicle owner.

OWNER NOTIFICATION MAILING SCHEDULE

Owner letters are expected to be mailed the week of September 06, 2021. Dealers should repair any affected vehicles that arrive at their dealerships, whether or not the customer has received a letter.

PLEASE NOTE: 

Federal law requires dealers to complete this recall service before a new vehicle is delivered to the buyer or lessee. Violation of this requirement by a dealer could result in a civil penalty of up to $21,000 per vehicle. Correct all vehicles in your new vehicle inventory before delivery. 

ATTACHMENTS

1. Attachment I: Administrative Information
2. Attachment II: Labor Allowances and Parts Ordering Information
3. Attachment III: Technical Information
4. Attachment IV: Repair Table
5. Owner Notification Letters

QUESTIONS & ASSISTANCE

For questions and assistance, contact the Special Service Support Center (SSSC) via the SSSC Web Contact Site. The SSSC Web Contact Site can be accessed through the Professional Technician System (PTS) website using the SSSC link listed at the bottom of the OASIS VIN report screen or listed under the SSSC tab.

Sincerely,

David J. Johnson

OASIS ACTIVATION

OASIS will be activated on August 23, 2021.

FSA VIN LISTS ACTIVATION

FSA VIN Lists will be available through https://web.fsavinlists.dealerconnection.com  on August 23, 2021. Owner names and addresses will be available by September 20, 2021.

SOLD VEHICLES

• Ford has not issued instructions to stop selling/delivering or driving used vehicles under this compliance recall. Owners should contact their dealer for an appointment to have their vehicles remedied as soon as practicable. Owners can continue to safely drive their vehicles.
• Immediately contact any of your affected customers whose vehicles are not on your VIN list but are identified in OASIS. Give the customer a copy of the Owner Notification Letter (when available) and schedule a service date.
• Correct other affected vehicles identified in OASIS which are brought to your dealership.
• Dealers are to prioritize repairs of customer vehicles over repairs of new and used vehicle inventory.

TOCK VEHICLES

• Correct all affected units in your new vehicle inventory before delivery.
• Use OASIS to identify any affected vehicles in your used vehicle inventory.

DEALER-OPERATED RENTAL VEHICLES

The Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act law effective June 2016 prohibits a rental company from selling, renting or leasing vehicles subject to a safety or compliance recall. Please consult your legal counsel for legal advice.

TITLE BRANDED/SALVAGED VEHICLES

Affected title branded and salvaged vehicles are eligible for this recall.

OWNER REFUNDS

Refunds are not approved for this program.

RENTAL VEHICLES

Rental vehicles are not approved for this program.

LINCOLN PICKUP AND DELIVERY

Owners of 2017 MY and newer Lincoln vehicles have the option of requesting pickup and delivery service with a Lincoln loaner (up to 2 days), from their dealership. For details, reference EFC08708, 2021 Lincoln Pickup & Delivery Updates.

ADDITIONAL REPAIR (LABOR TIME AND/OR PARTS)

Additional repairs identified as necessary to complete the FSA should be managed as follows:

• For related damage and access time requirements, refer to the Warranty and Policy Manual/Section 6 - Ford & Lincoln Program Policies/General Information & Special Circumstances for FSA's/Related Damage.
• For vehicles within new vehicle bumper-to-bumper warranty coverage, no SSSC approval is required, although related damage must be on a separate repair line with the "Related Damage" radio button checked.
  • Ford vehicles - 3 years or 36,000 miles
  • Lincoln vehicles - 4 years or 50,000 miles
• For vehicles outside new vehicle bumper-to-bumper warranty coverage, submit an Approval Request to the SSSC Web Contact Site prior to completing the repair.

CLAIMS PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION

• Claim Entry:  Enter claims using Dealer Management System (DMS) or One Warranty Solution (OWS) online.
  • When entering claims, select claim type 31: Field Service Action. The FSA number (21C19) is the sub code.
  • For additional claims preparation and submission information, refer to the Recall and Customer Satisfaction Program (CSP) Repairs in the OWS User Guide.
• Related Damage/Additional labor and/or parts:  Must be claimed as Related Damage on a separate repair line from the FSA with same claim type and sub code as described in Claim Entry above.
  IMPORTANT: Click the Related Damage Indicator radio button.
• Lincoln Pickup & Delivery:  Claims for Lincoln Pickup & Delivery with a Lincoln loaner (up to 2 days) should be submitted on a separate line from the FSA. Refer to EFC08708, 2021 Lincoln Pickup & Delivery Updates for details.

LABOR ALLOWANCES

PARTS REQUIREMENTS/ORDERING INFORMATION

SSSC Web Contact Site: 

To place an order for SAB modules, submit a VIN-specific Part Order contact via the SSSC Web Contact Site.

Dealers will be notified via a DOES II communication if circumstances warrant a change in part supply strategy and when open ordering resumes.

DEALER PRICE

For latest prices, refer to DOES II.

PARTS RETENTION, RETURN, & SCRAPPING

Follow the provisions of the Warranty and Policy Manual, Section 1 - WARRANTY PARTS RETENTION AND RETURN POLICIES. If a replaced part receives a scrap disposition, the part must be scrapped in accordance with all applicable local, state and federal environmental protection and hazardous material regulations. Federal law prohibits selling motor vehicle parts or components that are under safety, compliance, or emissions recall.

EXCESS STOCK RETURN

Excess stock returned for credit must have been purchased from Ford Customer Service Division in accordance with Policy Procedure Bulletin 4000.

REPLACED FSA PARTS INSPECTION AND SIGN OFF

Effective March 1^st 2021 all parts replaced as part of an FSA repair with a repair order open date of March 1^st 2021 or later must be inspected and signed off on the repair order by a member of your dealers fixed operations management team or an employee the task has been delegated to. If the task is to be delegated to a non-management employee, the employee needs to be someone other than the technician who completed the repair and needs to understand the importance of completing this task consistently and accurately.

• All parts replaced as part of an FSA repair should be returned to the parts department following the Warranty Parts Retention and Return Policies.
• Inspect the replaced parts to verify the FSA repair was completed.
• If the FSA repair is found to be complete, the designated employee signs the repair order line or parts return stamp area (electronic or hand signed) for the FSA repair indicating the parts were inspected and validated to have been replaced.
• After the parts have been inspected, they should be handled based on the guidance in the parts status report in the Online Warranty System (Hold, Return, CORE, Scrap, etc.).
• This process is subject to review during warranty audits for FSA repairs with a repair order open date of March 1^st 2021 or later. Any eligible FSA claims requiring parts replacement, found not to have been inspected and signed off during a warranty audit will be subject to chargeback and consideration for enrollment into the Dealer Incomplete Recall Repair Process.

SERVICE PROCEDURE

1. Use Attachment IV - Repair Table to determine if left hand (LH) or right hand (RH) side air bag (SAB) needs replacement per Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). Per build data, it will only be one (1) side.
   NOTE: The seat(s) do not need to be removed to complete this procedure. See Figure 1.
2. Based on Attachment IV Repair Table, remove and replace either the front driver or front passenger seat side air bag. Please follow the Workshop Manual (WSM) procedures in Section 501-20B.
   NOTE: Attachment nuts are to be included with SAB module kit. Original SAB attachment nuts are to be discarded.
   NOTE: Aviator shown, Explorer similar.

   IMPORTANT NOTE: Federal law prohibits selling motor vehicle parts or components that are under safety, compliance, or emissions recall. Unless a part is requested to be returned to Ford, all parts replaced under this FSA must be scrapped in accordance with all applicable local, state and federal environmental protection and hazardous material regulations. Refer to the Parts Retention, Return, & Scrapping section of the FSA dealer bulletin for further information. 

ATTACHMENT IV

NEW VEHICLE DELIVERY HOLD-Compliance Recall 21C19 

Certain 2021 Model Year Explorer and Aviator Vehicles-Seat Side Air Bag Attachment Studs

REPAIR TABLE

The following chart is arranged by VIN, to identify the seat side airbag (SAB) repair action:

• Explorer Left-hand (LH) SAB module and fastener (nuts) replacement.
• Explorer Right-hand (RH) SAB module and fastener (nuts) replacement.
• Per investigation, only one SAB per vehicle is suspect, therefore no VIN should have both SABs replaced.

To search for a VIN: 

• Press the Ctrl key and the F key simultaneously, insert the VIN, and then press ENTER.
• Or use the Search Function (magnifier icon) in the Menu bar above.