Air Bag Issue Prompts Ford Recall

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By News Department

Story Created: Oct 16, 2012 at 10:18 PM EDT

Story Updated: Oct 16, 2012 at 10:19 PM EDT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (ABC) - Ford is recalling more than 154,000 Fiesta subcompacts to fix a problem with the side air bags.

The company says that if the front passenger seat is empty, the side air bag won't inflate to protect rear-seat passengers in some crashes.

The recall affects Fiestas from the 2011 through 2013 model years. They were built in Mexico from Nov. 3, 2009 to Sept. 21, 2012.

Dealers will reprogram the computer that controls the side air bag so it
inflates even if no one is in the front passenger seat. The repair will be
done for free.

Ford says it doesn't know of any crashes or injuries linked to the problem.