When it was time to develop the all-new 2015 Mustang, Ford’s engineers went back to the drawing board to create an all-new airbag design for the front passenger seating area. 

The airbag design is built into the glovebox door and significantly reduces system size and weight, allowing the interior to be larger and offer more comfort. Ford has been granted fifteen patents on the system, with more still pending, showing the level of engineering expertise behind the construction of the all-new Mustang.

The new Mustang features a comprehensive safety system with more strategically-placed sensors, safety belt anchor pretensioners, improved exterior lighting, and double the number of total airbags as the previous generation vehicles used.

The glove box door has an inflatable plastic bladder integrated into the cover, which provides passenger knee protection similar to a conventional knee airbag, but with a much simpler, lighter, more efficient design.

“We provide a high level of safety, quality, and design for our customers and their passengers,” said Sean West, Ford restraints manager. “With this innovative airbag design, we have developed technology that provides protection for vehicle occupants while also reducing weight and enabling greater design flexibility.”

The plastic bladder is sandwiched between the inner and outer glove box door panels, and after an applicable vehicle impact is detected by the crash sensor system, an inflator fills the bladder and extends the entire outer glove box door panel toward the passenger’s legs. 

The new car uses eight airbags – the glove box knee airbag, driver and passenger front and seat-mounted side airbags, a driver knee airbag , as well as two side curtain bags in the fastback and seat-mounted head airbags on each side of the convertible.