Ford: deaths and injuries reported to NHTSA, by model

7,301 incidents on file across 24 Ford models in Ford’s quarterly Early Warning reports (49 CFR 579.21), through 2026 Q1: 541 killed, 8,567 injured, as claimed. Each is an allegation the manufacturer received, not a finding.

Photo: Dmitrii Filatov / Unsplash

By model

Source: manufacturer EWR death and injury reports

Model	Incidents	Killed	Injured	Model years	Most-named system
F-150	1,278	119	1,455	2001–2025	Air Bags
Explorer	1,210	81	1,527	2001–2026	Engine and Cooling System
Escape	847	36	987	2001–2025	Air Bags
Focus	793	36	885	2001–2018	Air Bags
Fusion	649	39	773	2006–2020	Air Bags
Edge	430	16	478	2007–2024	Other
Mustang	378	20	406	2001–2025	Air Bags
Expedition	331	53	488	2001–2025	Air Bags
F-250 Super Duty	302	45	342	2001–2025	Air Bags
Taurus	223	9	250	2001–2019	Air Bags
F-350 Super Duty	190	26	208	2001–2025	Air Bags
Fiesta	130	9	151	2011–2019	Air Bags
Flex	107	2	123	2009–2019	Structure
Transit	86	16	95	2015–2023	Power Train
Bronco Sport	60	0	73	2021–2025	Fire
Transit Connect	46	1	46	2010–2022	Engine and Cooling System
Mustang Mach-E	41	7	42	2021–2025	Air Bags
EcoSport	39	6	51	2018–2021	Engine and Cooling System
Ranger	37	3	36	2019–2025	Other
Bronco	36	1	40	2021–2025	Structure
E-Series	35	12	56	2004–2022	No System/Component Specified
C-MAX	34	4	32	2013–2017	Other
Maverick	18	0	22	2022–2025	Other
GT	1	0	1	2006–2006	Power Train

What these reports are, and are not

Source: 49 CFR 579.21

The manufacturer’s own quarterly report

Under NHTSA’s Early Warning Reporting rule, Ford must report every claim or notice it received alleging a death or injury in one of its vehicles: the model and model year, the incident date, the state, how many were killed or injured, and the systems the claimant named. The manufacturer files it; NHTSA publishes it.

An allegation, as received

A row is a lawsuit, a claim letter or a consumer notice that named a death or injury. It is not a finding that the vehicle caused anything, and NHTSA does not verify it. The systems named are the claimant’s, not an engineer’s.

Counts scale with sales

A model that sold two million will have more reports than one that sold fifty thousand. These pages count; they do not rank. Set a figure against the model’s production and its peers before reading anything into it.

Where the complete list is

Every report on a model and system, dated and numbered beside the recalls, investigations, bulletins and owner complaints, is exhibit F of the defect dossier. The same records are free to read here; the dossier is the file you can cite.

Questions about these reports

Source: NHTSA Early Warning Reporting

Where does NHTSA publish Early Warning Reporting data?

On the Early Warning Reporting page under Vehicle Manufacturers at nhtsa.gov, through a search box that asks for the manufacturer, the report type and the quarter. WhichTrim reads the same tables every night and lays them out by model.

Does a report here mean the Ford has a defect?

No. It means the manufacturer received a claim or notice alleging a death or injury and named this model in its quarterly report, as the rule requires. NHTSA reads these reports for patterns; a recall or an investigation is where a finding would appear.

Why is the incident date sometimes blank?

The manufacturer did not report one. The quarter the report was filed in is always shown.

Can I get every incident as a spreadsheet?

The defect dossier for a model and system includes them in its exhibits CSV, each with its date, state, the counts and the systems named.