The contact owns a 2006 Ford Ranger. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 17V788000 (Air Bags). The contact stated that while stopped at a red light, both driver and passenger front air bags deployed without impact. The contact lost control and the vehicle then crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The contact received shoulder and neck injuries, medical attention was needed. The second vehicle occupant also sustained a back injury and medical attention was sought. A police report was filed but the information was not available. The contact cut the air bags out with a pocket knife and the vehicle was taken to the resident. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the dealer refused to diagnose or repair the vehicle under the recall until the SRS system and passenger seat belt were repaired since it was locked. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and was transferred to the federal safety agency Hotline. The failure mileage was 220,000.
Ford Ranger seat belt problems
105 of the 8,202 owner complaints about the Ford Ranger describe seat belt won't latch or retract, most of them for the 2001 model year.
- owner complaints
- 105
- worst model year
- 2001
- typical mileage
- 89,000
By model year
Often reported together
No deployment 13Airbag light 2Overheating 1Jerking 1Hesitation 1Fuel leak 1Coil spring 1
What owners say
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while parking and removing the seat belt, the belt retracted quickly wrapping around their child's neck. The contact was able to stop the vehicle and release the child; however, the seat belt still failed to retract properly. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.
The contact’s husband owns a 2010 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that the driver’s side seat belt was retracted and damaged. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the seat belt needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the seat belt was replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,952.
My seat belt buckle stopped working (part number KB3Z-2161203-AB) and despite the fact that my truck is less than 5 years old and has less than 60K miles on it Ford's service system says this part is not covered under the 5 year 60K mile Safety Restraint System nor the Premium Care extended warranties I have on the truck. Documentation for the warranties suggests it does but the system the Ford service techs use says no. When I've escalated to Customer Care, they claim "there is nothing they can do." Ford Protect (warranty department) says the same thing. A helpful Ford tech on the internet claims he looked into it and says the problem is that the Ford service system has the part misclassified as a "trim" part and not a "safety" part so it only recognizes it as something covered by the 3 year 36K mile bumper to bumper warranty. When I pressed and they sent me to Ford Financial Assistance for a "Goodwill Repair" I was told they would only cover 40%. I have presented pictures to Ford of their own warranty documentation that clearly states the seat belt buckles are covered and they repeatedly have pushed back saying "there is nothing we can do, it's denied." Bringing it to your attention in the hopes you can help me find the right folks at Ford to remedy this issue as anyone who has a Ford with this same base part number (2161203) is going to have this problem. I'm attaching a copy of the Ford Warranty Safety Section and a copy of the online listing for the Seat Belt Buckle.
Front Passenger seatbelt locks up every single time it is used. It has been an issue since day one of purchasing the vehicle. (There is a recall for this issue, however my specific VIN is not listed.) This is a major concern of safety.
Drivers side seat belt buckle does not work. The tongue on the long strap does not lock into the buckle at the seat. I think this may be a recall problem with other models and/or years, but not 1996 Ford Rangers.
Drivers side seat belt buckle does not release. Broken about ten years. Currently using middle seat belt buckle.
Possible Drivers side seat belt problem on 2019 Ford Ranger. Incident occurred on Monday 12/20/202, ABOUT 9:20 AM. After rounding a corner at low speed I hit a patch of ice and, spinning about 90 degrees, ran head on into a very tall power pole, anchored to its concrete base with many very large bolts. This stopped me. No damage to the post. Air bags did not deploy, but I was thrust forward, hitting the steering wheel hard. I bruised my chest, not visibly, in the sternum area. I think my seat belt must have failed. The force on the belt ripped the plastic paneling covering it from the sidewalls. My truck is now in the body shop being evaluated. I pointed out the seat belt problem and they said they can give me a new one if there is a problem.
The contact owns a 2001 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that the front passenger’s side seat belt would not latch properly. The contact also stated that the vehicle would hesitate upon the depression of the accelerator while driving at various speeds. The contact noticed that the temperature gauge would indicate the vehicle was hot once the hesitation started. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic where both failures were linked to recalls. The mechanic linked the seat belt failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 01V227001 (Seat Belts) and the overheating failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 09V399000 (Vehicle Speed Control). The dealer was notified of both failures and informed her that the VIN was not included in either recall. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
The passenger seat belt doesn't latch and the airbag light illuminates sporadically. Occasionally for the entire trip and sometimes it goes on and off throughout the trip, yet other times it functions properly!
Related recalls
Seat belts: front: webbing
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Ford Ranger Super Cab vehicles. The front passenger outboard seat belt may not have been assembled properly, allowing the seat belt to be misrouted. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 208, "Occupant Crash Protection" and 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies."
- Risk
- A misrouted seat belt may not adequately restrain an occupant in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Ford will provide owners with instructions to perform a preliminary inspection of their front seat belts. Owners that detect an issue with the driver's seat belt, are unsure of the results, or do not want to perform an inspection, should not drive their vehicles and contact a Ford dealership. Dealers will inspect the front row outboard seat belts and replace them, if necessary, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed on November 5, 2021. Owner notification letters were mailed December 22, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21C25.
Recall number 21V811000 · Recall details
Seat belts
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2019 Ford Ranger vehicles with a SuperCab body style. The front passenger seat belt may have been improperly assembled.
- Risk
- Improperly assembled seat belts may not adequately restrain occupants in a crash, increasing their risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the right front seat belt assembly, free of charge. The recall began July 29, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S23.
Recall number 19V518000 · Recall details
Seat belts: front: buckle assembly
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger and sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, and minivans. Equipped with seat belts supplied by trw. It is possible that the driver's and/or front passenger's outboard seat belt buckle may not fully latch. Ford crown victoria built at st. Thomas assembly plant from 4/17/00 - 5/29/01 mercury grand marquis built at st. Thomas assembly plant from 4/17/00 - 5/29/01. Lincoln town cars built at wixom assembly plant from 3/27/00 - 5/30/01. Lincoln navigators built at michigan truck plant from 4/11/00 - 5/31/01. Ford windstars built at oakville assembly plant from 3/23/00 - 5/30/01. Ford rangers built at twin cities plant from 3/28/00 - 5/30/01, and also at the edison plant from 3/13/00 - 5/25/01. Ford f-150 truck built at norfolk plant from 4/18/00 - 5/25/00; at ontario plant from 5/10/00 - 5/28/01; at kansas city plant from 9/11/99 - 5/25/01; and at cuautitlan plant from 5/16/00 - 6/9/01. Ford super duty f-250, f-350, f-450, and f-550 trucks built at kentucky plant from 4/17/00 - 5/27/01; and at cuautitlan plant from 5/16/00 - 6/19/01. Ford excursions built at kentucky plant from 4/17/00 - 10/2/00. Ford expeditions built at michigan truck plant from 4/11/00 - 5/31/01.
- Risk
- In the event of a crash, the restraint system may not provide adequate occupant protection, increasing the risk of personal injury to the seat occupant.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the front outboard seat belt buckles and if the buckle fails the inspection process, it will be replaced. Owner notification began july 25, 2001. 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 1‑866‑436‑7332.
Recall number 01V227001 · Recall details
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
Questions about the Ford Ranger seat belt
Which Ford Ranger years have seat belt won't latch or retract problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2001 (20 complaints), 1996 (17 complaints) and 2000 (13 complaints).
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