Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEAT BELTS | ||||||
| PE02007 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 01/23/2002 | 07/02/2002 | SAFETY BELT ASSEMBLY | ||
| Allege safety belt release buckle assembly | ||||||
| EA02011 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 07/02/2002 | 05/21/2003 | SAFETY BELT ASSEMBLY FAILURE | ||
| Odi received 18 consumer complaints and ford identified another four reports associated with the alleged defect.most of the complaints indicate inability to latch the driver seat belt buckle caused by a broken latch release spring.none of these 22 reports resulted in any injuries or crashes.no complaints have been received in the past 6 months.ford conducted life-cycle testing on 6 field sample buckle assemblies.the results of that testing demonstrated that the tested buckle assemblies could be expected to operate properly beyond the expected life of the vehicle.based on the limited number of reports and complaints received, and a declining complaint trend, this investigation is closed.a safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect exist does not exist.the agency will take further action if warranted by the circumstances.see additional information | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEAT BELTS | |||
| 08/01/2010 | 80000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 1995 ford explorer. while driving approximately 25 mph the front drivers side seat belt became unbuckled. the failure recurred intermittently while driving at any speed. he also mentioned that it sometimes takes repeated attempts to get the seat belt to initially buckle. the vehicle was not taken to be examined for the cause of failure, but an authorized dealer was notified and he was informed to replace the seat belt. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 80,000 and the current mileage was 83,000. the vin was unavailable. sm. | |||
| 12/20/2008 | 1 | ||
| Seat belt just popped out took it to ford dealership to require about it and was told that it was broken and it would cost me 112.00 to have the seat belt replace. what if i was in a car accident and the seat belt didn't hold up to the requirements it would be to late to complain. *tr | |||
| 11/01/2008 | 150000 | 1 | |
| 1995 ford explorer - driver's side seat belt no longer latches. i fear the others will fail in the event of an accident. i am currently trying to find a replacement. *tr | |||
| 03/01/2001 | 1 | 08/01/1995 | |
| Driver's side seatbelt buckle comes loose without prior notice. dealership is aware of problem.*ak | |||
| 2 | |||
| Seat belts do not retract fully when disengaged. catch in doors and causes tears in belts. *ak | |||
| 12/01/2000 | |||
| After seat belt buckle is locked in place and vehicle is in motion, seat belt while automatically unlock and retract without any help from driver. *ak | |||
| SEAT BELTS - FRONT | |||
| 10/14/2002 | 120000 | 1 | 08/19/1998 |
| While leaning back to buckle seat belt the back of the seat collasped. dealer was contacted. the extra whole was punched out below the bolt whole. *ts | |||
| 10/03/2002 | |||
| Consumer states that the driver's side seatbelt will not stay connected, it slides out. consumer does not feel safe driving this way. please provide any further information. *mr | |||
| 09/16/2002 | |||
| Consumer states that the front seat belt buckles will not latch properly. dealer notified. *mr | |||
| SEAT BELTS - FRONT - ANCHORAGE | |||
| 10/14/2002 | 25 | 02/01/2095 | |
| Left driver side seat belt female recepticle does not secure lap and shoulder safety belt at all. clip in recepticle broke and will be properly secure safety belt restraint system for drivers side. mr | |||
| 02/08/2001 | 1 | ||
| Consumer was involved in an accident in which the airbags did not experience deployment and the seat belts did not lock, consumer states the vehicle has been fixed, however the seat belts still do not lock in place, consumer was injured in the accident. *slc | |||
| 1 | |||
| The four seat belts in the vehicle are broken and cannot be used properly, the consumer believes th manufacturer should pay for repair since its safety related . nlm | |||
| 02/01/2000 | 1 | 11/23/1997 | |
| Seat belt on driver side/passenger side, and both on in rear were shattered and were splitting. could not find what was cause of this problem.*ak | |||
| 06/01/1998 | 1 | ||
| Since purchase of vehicle in 1998 following components had to be replaced: transmission/fuel pump/ all 4 tires blew and not on recall/ cruise control/ radio quit, and no longer able to buckle drivers seat belt.*ak *et | |||
| 08/01/1999 | 1 | ||
| The defective firestone atx tires failed causing the vehicle to rollover while driving, as a result the seat belts failed to properly restrain the driver causing injury to her back by breaking 8 vertebrae (attorney for client). nlm | |||
| 06/06/2000 | 03/01/1995 | ||
| The driverside safety belt repeatedly disengaged/became unfastened for no appearant reason. we had it replaced at tom wood ford, after waiting at least 1 week!!!! my husband is an emergency room doctor; we never go anywhere without a safety belt!!! this defect is completely unacceptable and the replacement time was outrageous!!! | |||
| 10/15/1999 | 50 | 05/01/1995 | |
| Seatbelt releases when leaning forward and fails to secure driver in place | |||
| 10/05/1998 | |||
| While driving front driver's seat belt latch just loosened without warning. also, seat belt no longer works. *ak | |||
| 08/01/1995 | 1 | ||
| Rear seat belts difficult to unbuckle due to the anchors being too close together with the release buttons facing. *dsh | |||
| SEAT BELTS - FRONT - BUCKLE ASSEMBLY | |||
| 06/06/2006 | 100 | ||
| The driver seat belt latch for the restraint has failed to stay secure. it latches and locks but then does release without warning and without interference from the operator while the vehicle is in motion. this is a potentially life threatening condition in the event of an accident. i have reported this to my local ford dealership and to ford customer service (monica) on june 7th. neither have offered to replace the defective latch without cost. i feel this is not a cosmetic defect but a potentially lethal problem with the equipment. the vehicle is a 1995 ford explorer limited edition. *jb | |||
| 07/13/2005 | 118759 | 25 | 07/02/1995 |
| Driver's seatbelt does not latch. the spring which presses the latch in place does not return to its intended position, keeping the seatbelt from being latched securely. normal use has led to this failure. fortunately, there have been no consequences yet. i plan on taking the vehicle into the dealer sometime soon, but unfortunately it may be a couple of days before i can get it serviced. | |||
| 08/15/2003 | |||
| Driver's side seat belt latch is defective. it is difficult to latch (like it has a broken spring inside) and it repeatedly unlatches during use. i have bought a replacement part, but have not installed it yet. | |||
| 06/03/2005 | |||
| Driver seat belt latch unlatches while driving. no consequences. replacing asap. | |||
| 01/29/2005 | 124000 | 1 | 12/19/2001 |
| Driver's seat belt will no longer stay in latched position. i suspect a spring or spring-like mechanism that holds the seat-belt release button in the latched position has failed. | |||
| 02/15/2005 | 195200 | 25 | |
| Driver's side seat-belt latch seems to have failed due to the spring mechanism. first, the belt would detach without warning (while driving) and then difficult to latch at all. seems to be similar to other complaints found on your web vrtc-dcd2038 (ea02-011) i called ford customer service (worthless - but they did confirm my car was manf. in april 1995 which seems to track with the batch of springs which have failed in other complaints.) my issue is that, even though the seat belt now is unlatchable, before it had spurious unlatchings while driving, leading one to suspect maybe i didn't latch it completely - so in an accident, not knowing this is a potential defect of this year of this component at time of manf., in an accident, the failure could have catastrophic effects of death and injury due to the failure of this primary safety restraint system. it seems a known potential issue with these specific date/components. why wouldn't ford at least inspect them and avoid this???? *nm | |||
| 10/15/2004 | 154480 | 1 | |
| Seat belt on the driver's side is defective. when the seat belts are latched together the seat belts will separate inadvertently. consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, who stated that the defect was in the buckle which will not hold the latch once engaged. *ak | |||
| 05/13/2004 | 104000 | 1 | |
| Front passenger seat belts will not stay locked in the belt buckle, and will release without warning. dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak | |||
| 05/15/2004 | 85000 | 1 | 05/29/1995 |
| 1995 ford explorer driver's seat belt buckle return spring appears to have suddenly broken, same as described in prior odi action no. ea02011. serious safety issue created: appears to latch, then unlatches suddenly while driving. problem occurs frequently, so buckle/belt will be replaced asap. *ak | |||
| 08/05/2003 | 1 | ||
| The driver's side seat belt latch will not stay engaged in the buckle. the latch continues to unlock and release from the buckle. dealer has been notified of the problem. *ak | |||
| 05/20/2003 | 1 | 05/24/1995 | |
| The driver side seat belt buckle failed to latch properly. *jb movement by the driver caused the buckle to release. this was a sudden permanent failure of the seat belt lock. *scc *jb | |||
| 05/01/2002 | 1 | 04/15/1995 | |
| The drivers side seatbelt latch failed while driving releasing the seatbelt, the seatbelt could be rebuckled but the latch continued to release intermittently and eventually failed altogether. nlm | |||
| 07/06/2002 | 1 | 05/01/2000 | |
| Called downey ford, and asked if there was a recall on seatbelt latch failure or warranty and was told no, so odered new seat belt and was billed 37.00. *ak | |||
| 06/02/2002 | 07/01/2095 | ||
| Driver side seat belt buckle fails to engage clip. appears to be a broken sping return in the buckle assembly. ford customer care contacted and problem noted.*ak | |||
| 12/24/2001 | 1 | 05/01/1995 | |
| The spring in the seat belt release button does not work. there is no tension or resistance on the button. the button flops up and down in the buckle. the seat belt will not stay fastened in the buckle. the seat belt tongue does not catch and remain fastened in the buckle. | |||
| 11/08/2001 | 1 | 03/01/1995 | |
| Numerous attempts to release the belt buckle from the locking housing mechanism failed and the fabric portion of the seatbelt had to be cut off, leaving the buckle in the locking mechanism. *ak | |||
| 09/30/2001 | 04/01/1995 | ||
| Original front driver side seat belt buckle fails to latch. replaced with ford part no. f57z-7861203-c.*ak | |||
| 05/15/2001 | 2 | ||
| Driver's side seat belt intermittently would not latch. dealer was notified, and unwilling to assist because vehicle was not covered under a manufacturer's recall, and vehicle out of its warranty.*ak *slc | |||
| 06/01/1998 | 1 | ||
| Since purchase of vehicle in 1998 following components had to be replaced: transmission/fuel pump/ all 4 tires blew and not on recall/ cruise control/ radio quit, and no longer able to buckle drivers seat belt.*ak *et | |||
| 10/17/2000 | 1 | 06/01/1995 | |
| Driver seat belt buckle will not latch. locking mechanism is broken which prevents buckle from latching. dealer /manufacturer notified, and informed consumer that vehicle was not under a recall or warranty. repairs would be at consumer's cost. *ak the cause for the failure of the locking mechanism of the seat buckle is possibly faulty engineering and a poor design. *yh | |||
| 08/19/2000 | 01/01/1995 | ||
| Seat belt will not stay latched. seat belt button has lost its spring locking action. | |||
| 04/04/2000 | |||
| Driver's side seat belt will not release from buckle. seatbelt would get stuck, and will not release at all. *ak | |||
| 02/05/2000 | 05/01/1995 | ||
| Seat belts do not lock at all times. when hitting a bump they easily loosen. *ak *ml | |||
| 12/14/1999 | 2 | 01/01/1997 | |
| This seat belt latch was made by trw and has failed to un latch on a number of occasions. my contact at fulton ford in canal fulton, oh 44614 said there was nothing they could do i would have to by a new part. i feel this is wrong this is a safety issue! it is against the law to drive without a seat belt. being this is a safety issue ford/trw should have to fix this problem! how many times should you have to crawl out of the seat belt because it want come un done. *ak | |||
| 06/01/1995 | 06/01/1995 | ||
| The original seat belts in the rear are extremely difficult to unbuckle. grown adults take up to 1 minute to unbuckle. this is a such a potential hazard. *ak | |||
| 04/29/1999 | |||
| Driver's side seat buckles would not unlatch. two incidents on same day when i had to manipulate buckle tongue and bottom for approx. 5 mins. to get buckle to release. | |||
| 04/01/1999 | 07/01/1995 | ||
| Driver's side seat belt buckle will not latch. *ak | |||
| Driver seat and shoulder belt would not release from the locking mechanism, trapping the occupant in the vehicle, causing the driver to cut the seat belt. please give any further details. *ak | |||
| 11/15/1998 | |||
| When trying to buckle the seat belt it takes three or four times to get the seat belt to work. driving down the road the seat belt will come off without anything touching the seat belt. *ak | |||
| 09/01/1995 | |||
| Release button on the two rear seat belt buckles jam between the fold down seat back, and the occupie seat. | |||
| 09/23/1996 | |||
| The consumer was in an accident and the front seat belts unlocked from the buckle. *ak | |||
| SEAT BELTS - FRONT - RETRACTOR | |||
| 02/08/2002 | 3 | 05/01/1995 | |
| Thought the guy in front of me was going to go through a yellow light, so i figured i would follow in suit. then he just suddenly stopped, with me hitting him directly in the rearend. my seatbelts did not deploy, as my head hit and broke the windshield, and obviously the airbag did not go off. suffering chest bruising and trouble breathing.*ak | |||
| 02/08/2002 | 2 | 05/01/1995 | |
| I rearended someone after trying to stop and my seatbelt did not lock in, nor did the airbags go off. i ended up with bruised ribs and heart.*ak | |||
| 02/08/2002 | 1 | 05/01/1995 | |
| I put on the brakes when i realized i was going to rear-end the car in front of me and when the accident happened the airbags and safety belt restraints failed, leaving me hitting the steering wheel and my head hitting the windshield.*ak | |||
| 08/01/2001 | 1 | 07/01/1999 | |
| Driver's side seatbelt will not go into retractor. dealership is aware of problem.*ak | |||
| 01/13/2001 | 1 | ||
| Seat belt retractors do not work properly. they do lock on sudden stopping situations. contacted dealer, and dealer will inspect vehicle to check whats wrong. *ak the dealer decided to replace the back seat belts to solve the proble. *yh | |||
| 03/12/2000 | |||
| In the rear seat, the two outboard seatbelts do not retract, which won't protect the occupant in event of a crash. please provide further information. *ak | |||
| 08/18/1995 | 8 | ||
| Driver's seat belt fails to coompletly retract. *aw | |||
| 07/18/1995 | |||
| Vehicle was at complete stop, impact 6:00 position, lap/shoulder did not retract. tt | |||
| SEAT BELTS - REAR | |||
| 08/29/1998 | 1 | ||
| Seat belt will not release. | |||