The 2009 Ford Flex has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 695 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 271 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
AIR BAGS16V2470002016-04-26695 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2009-2012 Ford Flex, 2008 and 2010-2012 Ford Taurus, 2008-2009 Ford Taurus X, 2008 Mercury Sable, 2009 and 2011 Lincoln MKS vehicles. The driver frontal air bag may improperly inflate during second-stage deployment in the event of a high speed crash. As…
Consequence
An improperly inflated air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the driver's frontal air bag module, as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on June 13, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C06.
Complaints by component
ENGINE
36
1fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
30
1fires
POWER TRAIN
19
1crashes
STEERING
17
1crashes
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
17
1crashes1injuries
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
15
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
15
SERVICE BRAKES
14
3crashes2injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
13
1fires2injuries
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
10
Total complaints271
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Rear subframe rusted at bolt mount. Vehicle could have experienced catastrophic failure wihle driving. Independent service center diagnosed and documented rusted area and potential for failure. Noise would happen during acceleration/deceleration but not in wet weather conditions. Until diagnosed…”
“The door ajar sensor malfunctions and is crazy expensive to fix. There are numerous posts and videos online of workarounds bcz it’s so common but they don’t seem safe since that’s a safety feature and the workarounds are simply a way to trick or bypass the warning sensors since the doors are…”
“The door ajar sensor malfunctions and is crazy expensive to fix. There are numerous posts and videos online of workarounds bcz it’s so common but they don’t seem safe since that’s a safety feature and the workarounds are simply a way to trick or bypass the warning sensors since the doors are…”
“Was driving and the steering wheel became stiff. I received no warnings indications or lights on the dash. I had to give it a hard turn to get it to a parking lot and have it towed to a dealership.”
“About 5 miles from home with no warning.the car went from regular temp to hot then stopped.water mixed with the oil.the tech said the water pump just failed.I did not have any problems with it running hot or anything.”
“While driving around february 20th, 2022 we started swerving uncontrollably and almost ran into the curb and flipped while going about 40 mph. My husband put on breaks but it felt like we were sliding on ice....without any ice on the road. We almost flipped and were very shaken, and lucky. We got…”
“The contact owns a 2009 ford flex. The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle, the odor of fuel was present coming from the vehicle. After parking inside the garage, there was fuel leaking from the seam of the fuel tank on the passenger’s side. The cause of the failure was not yet…”
“My flex has repeatedly lost power while driving. I can feel the car lose power, and the yellow wrench light comes on. After reading up on it, I learned that you have to turn the vehicle off, wherever you are, and restart it after a few minutes. The wrench light turns off, and the car runs as…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2009 Ford Flex as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.