2018 Ford Flex

midsize SUV / 4-door SUV

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Headlights (varies by trim/option)
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Optional system	Basic

Seat belts & child restraints

Evaluation criteria	Rating
LATCH ease of use

Other available safety features

Optional blind spot detection

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2009-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Ford Flex SEL 4-door 4wd

The Ford Flex was introduced in the 2009 model year.

Evaluation criteria	Rating

Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics The dummy’s head barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off the left side, leaving the head vulnerable to contact with forward side structure. The side curtain airbag deployed but does not have sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with forward side structure and outside objects. The side torso airbag deployed.

Action shot taken during the small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was not maintained well.

During the crash, the dummy's head and torso barely contacted the airbag before sliding off to the left. The side curtain airbag did not extend far enough forward toward the A-pillar.

Despite considerable intrusion of the door hinge pillar and instrument panel, risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1514
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	20
Footrest (cm)	13
Left toepan (cm)	11
Brake pedal (cm)	10
Parking brake (cm)	18
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	7
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column	11
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	21
Upper dash (cm)	17
Lower instrument panel (cm)	15

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1514
Head
HIC-15	49
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.7
Extension bending moment (Nm)	16
Maximum Nij	0.22
Chest maximum compression (mm)	23
Femur (kN)
Left	2.8
Right	2.2
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	7
Right	1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.53
Right	0.69
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	0.7
Right	0.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	33
Right	60

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2009-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2009 Ford Flex Limited 4-door 4wd

The Ford Flex was introduced in the 2009 model year. Frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Ford.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF0811
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	7
Left (cm)	10
Center (cm)	13
Right (cm)	11
Brake pedal (cm)	9
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	6
Right (cm)	5
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	1
Rearward (cm)	1
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	3

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF0811
Head
HIC-15	102
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.3
Extension bending moment (Nm)	11
Maximum Nij	0.34
Chest maximum compression (mm)	36
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	2.1
Femur force - right (kN)	1.1
Knee displacement - left (mm)	0
Knee displacement - right (mm)	0
Maximum tibia index - left	0.31
Maximum tibia index - right	0.82
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	0.8
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	1.2
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	59
Right	146

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2009-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2009 Ford Flex SEL 4-door 4wd with standard head curtain airbags for all three rows of seats and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Ford Flex was introduced in the 2009 model year.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side curtain airbag.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	CES0833
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-12.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES0833
Head HIC-15	99
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.7
Compression (kN)	0.1
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	28
Lateral force (kN)	1.5
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	30
Average deflection (mm)	25
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	2.53
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.35
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.3
Acetabulum force (kN)	2.6
Combined force (kN)	3.4
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.5
L-M moment (Nm)	74
A-P moment (Nm)	38

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES0833
Head HIC-15	59
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.1
Compression (kN)	0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	26
Lateral force (kN)	1.1
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	26
Average deflection (mm)	17
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	2.22
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.23
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	0.3
Acetabulum force (kN)	3.1
Combined force (kN)	3.2
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.7
L-M moment (Nm)	61
A-P moment (Nm)	19

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2010-19 models built after January 2010

Tested vehicle: 2010 Ford Flex SEL 4-door 4wd

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	4,639 lbs
Peak force	20,917 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	4.51

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power leather seats

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Power leather seats
Geometry
Backset (mm)	34
Distance below top of head (mm)	26
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	10.4
Head contact time (ms)	63
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	77
Max neck tension (N)	554

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Headlights

Ratings are given for 2 different headlight variations available on this vehicle.

Trim level(s)

Limited trim

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Low-beam headlight type	HID projector
High-beam headlight type	HID projector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	No
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was fair on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was good on the gradual right curve, fair on the sharp right and sharp left curves, and inadequate on the gradual left curve.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was fair on the right side of the road and inadequate on the left side. On curves, visibility was fair on the gradual left and gradual right curves and inadequate on the sharp right and sharp left curves.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Trim level(s)	Limited trim
Low-beam headlight type	HID projector
High-beam headlight type	HID projector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	No
Overall rating Applies to 2017-19 models

LOW BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)	Amount glare exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge	79.9 m	None
Straightaway left edge	48.8 m	None
250m radius right curve, right edge	67.8 m	None
250m radius left curve, right edge	47.9 m	None
150m radius right curve, right edge	53.0 m	None
150m radius left curve, left edge	48.7 m	None

HIGH BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge	129.4 m
Straightaway left edge	113.2 m
250m radius right curve, right edge	68.7 m
250m radius left curve, left edge	71.1 m
150m radius right curve, right edge	52.8 m
150m radius left curve, left edge	52.8 m

Trim level(s)

SE trim
SEL trim

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Low-beam headlight type	Halogen reflector
High-beam headlight type	Halogen reflector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	No
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was fair on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was inadequate in all 4 tests.

The low beams created some glare.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was inadequate on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was inadequate in all 4 tests.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Trim level(s)	SE trim SEL trim
Low-beam headlight type	Halogen reflector
High-beam headlight type	Halogen reflector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	No
Overall rating Applies to 2017-19 models

LOW BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)	Amount glare exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge	82.6 m	30.1%
Straightaway left edge	46.3 m	30.1%
250m radius right curve, right edge	50.5 m	None
250m radius left curve, left edge	42.4 m	None
150m radius right curve, right edge	44.4 m	None
150m radius left curve, left edge	39.0 m	None

HIGH BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge	126.2 m
Straightaway left edge	96.8 m
250m radius right curve, right edge	54.4 m
250m radius left curve, left edge	54.1 m
150m radius right curve, right edge	46.6 m
150m radius left curve, left edge	44.9 m

About the headlight evaluation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

Optional Collision Mitigation with Brake Support

Package name

Optional 301A + Adaptive Cruise Control

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2014-19 models

Basic

with optional equipment

This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
Autobrake not available.

About the original front crash prevention test

Child seat anchors

Rating applies to 2014-19 models

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim	Limited
Seat type	leather

This vehicle has 3 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim	Limited
Seat type	leather

Rating icon	Rating
G	Good
A	Acceptable
M	Marginal
P	Poor
	Seating positions that rely on borrowed lower anchors or have only a tether anchor available are not rated.
thether anchor symbol	Tether anchor
lower anchor symbol	Lower anchors
shared lower achors symbol	Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s)
	No hardware available

Details by seating position

Position	Rating
1
1	Tether anchor
	hard-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	too deep in seat
	not too much force needed to attach
	easy to maneuver around anchors
3
3	Tether anchor
	hard-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	too deep in seat
	not too much force needed to attach
	easy to maneuver around anchors
4
4	Tether anchor
	hard-to-find location
	other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	not too deep in seat
	not too much force needed to attach
	easy to maneuver around anchors

Technical measurements for this test

Lower anchor A
Open access rated	No
Depth (cm)	2-4
Force (lbs)	16
Clearance angle (degrees)	63
Lower anchor B
Open access rated	No
Depth (cm)	2-4
Force (lbs)	18
Clearance angle (degrees)	64
Tether anchor
Location	Bottom seatback
Confusing hardware present	No
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	No
Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH	Not measured

Lower anchor A
Open access rated	No
Depth (cm)	0-2
Force (lbs)	15
Clearance angle (degrees)	70
Lower anchor B
Open access rated	No
Depth (cm)	2-4
Force (lbs)	15
Clearance angle (degrees)	70
Tether anchor
Location	Bottom seatback
Confusing hardware present	No
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	No
Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH	Not measured

Lower anchor A
Open access rated	No
Depth (cm)	0-2
Force (lbs)	10
Clearance angle (degrees)	77
Lower anchor B
Open access rated	No
Depth (cm)	0-2
Force (lbs)	12
Clearance angle (degrees)	74
Tether anchor
Location	Bottom seatback
Confusing hardware present	Yes
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	No
Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH	Not measured

About the child seat anchor evaluation