Consumer noticed that driver's seat belt buckle did not lock.
Ford Contour seat belt problems
37 of the 3,151 owner complaints about the Ford Contour describe seat belt won't latch or retract, most of them for the 1995 model year.
- owner complaints
- 37
- worst model year
- 1995
Is there a fix? There are 2 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Check engine light 2Won't start 1Transmission failure 1Sudden acceleration 1Slipping 1Power windows 1Jerking 1Fire or smoke 1
What owners say
Front seat belt did not lock. Consumer made contact with the dealer about this issue, however, dealer refused to assist consumer.
While driving at 45 MPH vehicle was involved in a frontal collision, driver's seat belt buckle released the seat belt. Consumer sustained head injuries. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.
Hvac fan under dash on passengers side has a shortage in the wiring to the fuse box under dash on drivers side. Could open and close fuse box to get fan to work then stopped working at all. Rear seat belt locks all fell apart. Passenger and drivers side doors will not open.
I was rear ended into another car on oct.29 2002 and niether the air bag worked as well as the seatbelt did not lock. I had head, neck, and back injuries at that time. I did't question these things not working because I was not hit hard. Oct. 27,2003 I was involved in the exact same type of accident only this time I was hit hard from behind and hit the car infront of me hard. Again nothing worked and this time the police even questioned the air bag. Again I have injuries to my face, head, neck, shoulder, and back but to what extent I do not know yet. I was at a complete stop in both accidents and hit straight on in the rear. In 2002 I hit the car in front straight on and now in 2003 I hit the front can with the center to passenger side. My car is said to be totaled.
I have had problems with the seat belts in my car for about a year. Both seat belts in the front don't seem to retract and get tangeled and twisted all the time. I have manually adjusted them everytime I drove. Just 5 months ago I was involved in a car accident, I was stopped in traffic at a light and was rear ended causing me to hit the car infront of me. I hit my head on the steering wheel causing me a concusion. My seat belt did not retract to hold me back and the air bag did not deploy. I have called ford and they told me that I should pay for the seat belts to be fixed and they did not metion anything about the airbag. I managed to untangle the seat belts on my car and I have noticed that the buckles are facing the wrong way. This I compared to other cars and fords as well.
Consumer stated that while driving the seat belt on the driver's side broke. Ts
Both rear seat belts failed to extend outward with one of the seat belt retractors trapping a child at one point. Second failure was that seat belt buckles/latches have fallen apart. Rear seat belts were not usable at all except middle lap belt. Please describe details.
I have experience defects with the seat belt buckles as well as the seat belts. The seat belts are constantly jamming. Therefore, I am unable to safely secure my children or myself when driving. Also the buckle does not fasten. Sometimes they would work and sometimes they would not. On this particular day the belt jammed for my six year old and the buckle would not lock for my three year old. I proceeded to turn left (after two cars gave my the right of way) into a parking lot while traffic was at a stand still. All of a sudden a car speeds by and forced me to brake suddenly. When I did this both my children heads hit the front passenger car seats. I began to wonder what would have happened to my children if I would have been involved in the accident. I have contacted a dealer to get them check out and fixed and I am contacting the manufacture.
The passenger side seat belt locked while I was driving on the interstate. The econd time, it just would not release, and I had to cut the seatbeat so the passenger could get out. Air conditioner blower switch just went out one day. The air conditioner will only work if I keep the control turned to "high." I would like to have both of these items replaced by ford, if possible. "
Related recalls
Seat belts
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger vehicles, light duty trucks, sport utility vehicles, and mini vans equipped with trw seat belt buckle assemblies. The buckle base of these seat belt assemblies were not properly heat treated and therefore do not pass the load bearing requirement of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 209, "seat belt assemblies."
- Risk
- In the event of a vehicle crash, the occupant may not be properly restrained.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the date code on certain seat belt buckles of your vehicle and replace all seat belt buckles that fall within the suspect date code range. Owner notification began october 26, 2000. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1‑800‑392‑3673.
Recall number 00V228001 · Recall details
Seat belts: front: anchorage
- What is wrong
- Cracks have been found in the front safety belt outboard anchor tabs due to a combination of hydrogen embrittlement of the tab and stress introduced during attachment of the anchor tab to the seat frame. This does not conform with the requirements of fmvss no. 210, "seat belt assembly anchorages."
- Risk
- Consequence of non-compliance: a fracture or separation in this area would reduce the load that the anchor and the front safety belt anchorages could sustain, increasing the risk of injury in a vehicle collisoin.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and install an anchor tab reinforcement or replacement of the complete front seat belt assembly if an anchor tab is found to have fractured.
Recall number 95V228000 · Recall details
Questions about the Ford Contour seat belt
Which Ford Contour years have seat belt won't latch or retract problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1995 (13 complaints), 1999 (8 complaints) and 1998 (7 complaints).
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