2001 Ford F1 XLT review from North America

This is my third Explorer in 9 years, and I do love the car. The usual/customary issues:

BRAKES have had to be replaced 2x on each car.

ELECTRONIC issues: electric windows froze; radio had to be replaced twice;

MOST SERIOUS ISSUE: SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYED WHEN PASSENGER DOOR SLAMMED!!

My car was parked when my 12 year old (85 pound) daughter got into the front passenger seat and slammed the door (to get away from a dog), when her seat's side airbag deployed! Her injuries were minor, and she was OK. The car was taken to the dealership, where the service techs walked around the car, and said that it had to be a defect -- they had never seen anything like that before.

When the car's "black box" was formally inspected by the dealership, I was told that (1) there was a scrape on the front right fender (happened 3 months prior to the incident), (2) the black box code revealed "an impact," (3) the side sensors are in the front bumper, and that there was no defect! They never determined the speed of a PARKED car, nor did they take into consideration that the airbag deployment could have caused the "impact" on the black box! This is currently under investigation.

I LOVED this SUV, and felt completely safe in it up until this incident, but am fearful that the same situation could happen again if another door is slammed. There is definitely a problem with the airbags.