Both rear shoulder belts will not retract; leaving occupants without any restraint. Dealer notified and informed that vehicle was out of its warranty, and any repairs would be at consumer cost. Please feel free to provide any further details.
1996 Ford Escort seat belts complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 77, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Both rear seat shoulder belts will not retact in retractors; dealer notified and informed that vehicle was not covered under a recall. Any repairs would be at consumer's cost.
The cable that operates the driver's side passive restraint seatbelt stopped working and then literally snapped in two. The shoulder belt is now no longer operable. If I am in an accident, I will likely go through the windshield because of the defective cable. I contacted ford and they refuse to fix it. The dealer also said he didn't want bothered with it 'cause it's a tough one to fix and will take a long time to do. He told me to go to a junkyard, buy the part and put it in myself. Ford motor co. Refused to do anything. In documenting my complaint, they indicated I am angry because I cannot afford the repair. That is not true. I want them to pay to repair it because their product is faulty and puts my life at risk every time I have to drive the vehicle. Please initiate a recall soon, before someone dies. There are dozens of other ford owners listed on your site as having the same problem.
Rear seat belts on driver side failed to retract to original position. Had placed child seat in seat belt that kept coming loose. It needed a locking for child seat to tighten & shorten the belt.
Tracking of seat belt got stuck. Driver side seat belt is automatic adjustment, which has to be disconnected for the seatbelt to retract. Seatbelt must be manually clipped.
Seat belt became stuck midway on numerous occasions, finally it came off the track. I do not have a seat belt to wear now. Engine check light problem began at under 10,ooo mi vehicle was brought into dealer was repaired (maybe? Or was it only reset?) oxygen sensor' s (2 )had to be replaced to pass emission test. Not covered under warranty. Passenger door had problem took to dealer who sort of fixed it. At least one could open it from the inside. But it was difficult. Eventually problem resurfaced. I have noticed that many of the problems I have had with the seat belts and with the check engine light are not an uncommon occurence. I am a chicago police officer and I notice that the check engine light is always on in the ford squad cars. There are problems which needs to be addressed. The seat belt issue needs to be addressed immediately. Until I saw your web info in a magazine, I was not aware there was any recourse other than to complain to the manufacturer which is fruitless. Perhaps your number and information need to be listed on the vehicle information books that are supplied to new car buyers. I only wonder how many other consumers have had similar problems that have not been reported other than to ford's customer service. *ak .
Seat belt track malfunctions inconsistently.
When I closed the door to my car, the seatbelt activation cable jumped the track and quit half way. I contacted several ford dealers in oklahoma city, and the final answer to me was that the warranty had expired. I forced the belt to the end of the track and pulled the fuse, disabeling both the driver and passenger seatbelts. My question is have there been any fatalities due to this condition, and if there have how many does it take to warrant a safety recall.
Driver's shoulder belt does not properly return into retracting mechanism, causing the seat belt to become inoperable, cause unknown. Please give any further details.
Drivers side shoulder belt motor is stuck midway. This will not allow the belt to properly restrain a passenger. 3fasp11j8t. *ak
I started up the vehicle and the retractable seat belt stopped half-way through its normal track. The motor is audible, however, the belt continues to stay stationary half-way through its track. The motor is constantly "making an attempt" to move the seat belt through the rest of its track, but to no avail. The seat belt light is on also.
Both rear retractor belts were twisted across body, and was unable to straighten them out. Believed this problem was due to parts installed backward. Dealer notified, and refused to repair unless cost goes to consumer.*ak
Both the driver's side and passenger's side motor seat belts stopped working. Driver's side motor stopped moving. The seatbelt in the middle of the track. Sometimes I get hit in the head when I get out. The tool that came with the car to manually move the seat belt does not work. Luckily, the passenger side seat belt motor stopped when it was in the normal position. When going faster than 45 MPH the speedometer jumps to 70 MPH or faster and makes a weird noise.
The motor driven shoulder harness stopped in a forward position, making the shoulder harness unusable. It stopped in a position where you would bump your head on the belt lock as you entered the vehicle. I have talked with other escort owners that have had the same failure. Given the amount of money paid to crash victims of much older vehicles, I think it is incumbent upon the manufacturer to guarantee the safety of passengers by providing a restraint system that works correctly for at least the average lifetime of a vehicle, not just three years. By the way, after being charged $250 for a repair, the belt worked once before failing again. Should I be in an accident between now and monday when I can return to the dealers, I will not be protected by a shoulder harness. Being that an escort is such a small car, I believe I'm at significant risk of injury should an accident occur. These kinds of failures should be fixed free, no questions asked.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
Driver's shoulder belt got stuck which caused the driver's seatbelt to become inoperative and will not protect occupant in the event of a crash. Then the passenger's seatbelt malfunctioned. Currently, the driver's seatbelt malfunctioned again.
The belt stopped in the track on drivers side. It is stuck. The motor cant be turn as indicated in the owners manual.
Both seatbelts failed within a month of each other. They just quit retracting. When I contacted the dealer, they said that they were not liable any more because after 36000 miles, the warranty was out. I cannot take my children in this vehicle because I cannot belt them in properly. Will it take an injury or fatality before something is done? No one has been hurt -yet. Manufacturers should be liable for any safety related devices to at least 100,000 miles on vehicles that are built today.
Both rear seat belts are broken and won't move or lock into plac. Dealer has been aware of the problem.
Automatic front seat belts don't work properly. The belts are attached to door. Will not move along door track. Shorted out after following instructions. Taking vehicle to dealer to have them check it.
Driver side and passenger side automatic shoulder safety belts will only go half way up the door, then they appear to be stuck. The passenger side shoulder belt cable is out side of the track and appears to be frayed. Neither should belt works properly and would not restain driver or passenger if a crash should occur.
Driver's side seat belt retractor does not work. It gets stuck on the track. Vehicle repaired by dealer, and currently the passenger side retractor is having the problem. Owner believes a recall should be issued. *ak
I have had the seat belts fixed 3 times now and they have continued to tear up. They are now stuck the drivers side is stuck in the back position and the front passenger side is now stuck in the forward position. I do not think that I should have to continue to have this repaired. My son was involved in a crash and hit a road sign with the car head on and neither air bag deployed although the car had a lot of damage to the front. And now I am having problems with the cooling fan not coming on. I feel that this car should be checked out for these defects before someone gets hurt bad or even killed. I am just thankful that my child was not injured in the crash. I would have written sooner but I just found this web site.
Driver's side seat belt is not functioning properly. Nlm
The passenger and driver defective passive seatbelt restraint malfunctioned causing the track to be worn out in 41,000 miles for right side and 51,000 mils for left side, which will not protect the occupant in event of a crash.
Driver's side motorized seat belt inoperable which resulted in failure to pass state required safety inspection, and car is illegal to drive except for repairs. Dealer replacement cost: $600+. Manufacturer contacted and related there is nothing they would do as warranty is 5 yr/50,000.
I filled out a questionnaire before and made a mistake in the VIN number.
My driverside automatic seatbelt has come off track, therefore leaving me with no driverside seatbelt. If I was to get in an accident, I would have to rely on the airbag only. If I get stopped by the police, then I will get a seatbelt ticket. Then I would have to pay a fine for something I couldn't control or better yet that ford couldn't control. I called them and since my 50,000 mile safety restraint warranty was expired there was nothing that they could do for me. Now all I can do is hope I don't get in an accident or get pulled over because now my life is in ford's hands (by their choice, not mine). I mean plain and simple, that's a lifesaving device that's just not there for me.
Automatic seat belt failed to operate. Dealer notifed, and informed consumer that the cost would go to consumer because vehicle was out of warranty.
Passenger was leaning forward when the brakes were applied and the shoulder belts did not retract or extend. The belts locked in postion after occupants heard a loud rattle and clunk sound from the rear cargo compartment.
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