2019 Ford Flex

midsize SUV / 4-door SUV

2019 Ford Flex 4-door SUV
2017 Ford Flex shown

Crashworthiness

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

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Headlights (varies by trim/option)
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Optional system
Basic
Front crash prevention: pedestrian (day)
Not available

Seat belts & child restraints

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.

Overall evaluation
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

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

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

Driver injury measures

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.

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

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

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

Driver injury measures

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.

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

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

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.

Driver injury measures

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

Passenger injury measures

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 weight4,639 lbs
Peak force20,917 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio4.51

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
Low-beam headlight typeHID projector
High-beam headlight typeHID projector
Curve-adaptive?No
High-beam assist?No
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam 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
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
Low-beam headlight typeHalogen reflector
High-beam headlight typeHalogen reflector
Curve-adaptive?No
High-beam assist?No
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination Some glare

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
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
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

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trimLimited
Seat type leather

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

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trimLimited
Seat type leather
1 3 6 4
GGood
AAcceptable
MMarginal
PPoor
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

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
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
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

Seat position 21

3

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

Seat position 23

1

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

Seat position 33

4

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