2016 Ford F-150 · symptom sheet
Airbag warning light or recall
- 35owner reports
- 46,419median miles
- 16involved a crash
Newest report Sep 9, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
35 of the 2,057 complaints on this car describe airbag.
Tick what matches of 35 reports
Airbag on other F-150 years
Report counts are for each model year on its own, so a newer car has had less time to collect them. Model years with too few reports of it for a sheet: 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.
What this problem usually is
Airbag complaints split into a few kinds. The most common is an airbag warning light that won't go out. Others involve the passenger seat sensor switching the passenger bag off with an adult sitting there, an airbag that didn't deploy in a crash, or one that went off without a crash at all. A large share also come from owners waiting on a recall part.
What got replaced
Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the occupant sensor (11 reports) and the clock spring (3 reports).
Recalls and investigations
One recall on the airbags covers the 2016 model year. A recall on the same system isn't always the same failure, so read the defect text.
The front passenger seat Occupant Classification System (OCS) that calibrates the air bag deployment level may incorrectly classify an adult as a child when the seat massage feature is activated.
All 14 recalls on the 2016 Ford F-150, with the owner complaints on each recalled system
NHTSA investigations into the airbags on the F-150
Inadvertent airbag deployment. Closed apr 25, 2011, led to recall 11V-107.
Inadvertent airbag deployment. Closed jan 19, 2010, led to recall 11V-107.
Inadvertent air bag deployment. Closed aug 15, 2000, led to recall 93V-155.
None of these investigations covers the 2016 model year.
When it happens
The middle half of failures fell between 26,000 and 82,000 miles, from the 20 reports that gave a mileage.
Is this a known problem?
The manufacturer has sent NHTSA 1 service bulletin or notice for the 2016 Ford F-150 that deal with this problem. Newest first.
Federal rules make a manufacturer send NHTSA a copy of any notice about a defect that goes to more than one dealer or owner. Most of these are service bulletins, the repair instructions manufacturers send to dealers. NHTSA generally leaves safety recall bulletins out of this file, and recalls are listed separately.
Some 2015-2020 F-150, 2017-2022 Super Duty and 2018-2021 Expedition vehicles may experience a cracked or splitting driver air bag cover. This may be due to the air bag cover tear seam design.
What owners wrote
“Was involved in a head on collision involving 2 cars; one which was hit in the front driver wheel panel and the other was directly head on and the air bags did not deploy. Resulting in major seatbelt bruising and knee injury.”
Filed Aug 13, 2026
“The passenger occupancy sensor is not working correctly, giving an airbag indicator on the dashboard. It is not recognizing when a person is in the seat. This causes a huge safety risk if airbags donât deploy in a collision.”
Filed Dec 18, 2025
“All push button controls on steering wheel are not functioning. Appears the Steering Wheel Clock Spring is going bad. Which in turn affects airbag, steering, cruise control ect.”
Filed Nov 14, 2025
“The F-150 was involved in a car crash. It hit a street sign, an electrical pole and then a tree. The front bumper is split and insurance just devalued it a total loss. I am hereby reaching out to you, to let you know that none of the airbags in the truck went off. I have picture that I can provide to further confirm!”
Filed Aug 6, 2022
Should you keep driving it?
This page can't tell you that. 16 of 35 reports involved a crash and 19 people were hurt. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.
File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation. How reports land on this sheet.
Guide Paid for this repair before a recall covered it? How recall reimbursement works
Other problems on this car
- Brakes grind, pulse or wear early 339 reports
- Engine stalls or loses power while driving 183 reports
- Doors, latches or locks fail 159 reports
- Transmission drops into neutral or downshifts on its own 128 reports
- Transmission shudders, slips or shifts hard 107 reports
- Check engine light or misfire 105 reports
- "Service Transmission" message or wrench light comes on 95 reports
- Infotainment, screen or backup camera fails 92 reports
- Rear window shatters or explodes 90 reports
- Windshield cracks or distorts 82 reports
- Wheel bearing, tires or wheels 57 reports
- Brakes on its own (automatic emergency braking) 41 reports
- Seat belt or seat problems 33 reports
- Windshield wipers stop working 33 reports
- Transmission fails or needs replacement 32 reports
- Power steering cuts out or goes heavy 30 reports
- Loses power when accelerating 29 reports
- Engine failure, knocking or rod bearing 27 reports
- Turbo failure or loss of boost 25 reports