Ford Windstar seat belt problems

Filed Apr 6, 2013 · Seat belts · 110,000 miles · PA

Purchased vehicle january 2012, passenger front seat belt latch was broken, I purchased a new one from dealer for $170.48. March 2012, it broke again with same problem. It does not latch, or when it does latch, it opens on its own with or without anyone in the seat. Dealer refuses to warranty the 3 month old latch, but offered to order me another for $170.48 +labor without having to pay for it first. Aftermarket dealers say its a common problem with 2001/2002 windstar's and 2001's had a recall on it. 27 junk yards between buffalo, ny,cleveland, ohio & pittsburg pa all have defective seat belt latches in their 01/02 vans. So my option is to either not use the front passenger seat or pay $233.43 every 3 months to have a new latch assembly installed. I have paperwork from champion ford, confirming that the seat belt is broken dated 4/6/2013. But the female service writer conveniently lost my paper work for the original seat belt latch from 2012. Also searching net brings up over 23,000 reported issues with 2002 windstar seat belts. Why has there been no recall on the 2002 windstar as there was with the 2001. Its not fair that I should have to pay $233.43 every 3 months to the ford dealer to have a working seat belt. Clearly this is a safety and manufacturing defect.. Its unreasonable to make me decide if I feel safer hunched over in my electric wheelchair in the rear of my van only belted into the wheelchairs safety belt having to hope that it doesn't flip over squish me during an accident or if I would rather be ejected thru the front windshield!! How can I be asked to put my life at risk every time I get into the van!! I always thought that seat belts were the most important safety feature in a vehicle. How can this be allowed to continue? I thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this matter.

Filed Oct 6, 2008 · Seat belts · 141,000 miles · FL

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford windstar. The contact stated that the seatbelt would not latch on the driver's side. A mechanic inspected the seat belt and stated that the latch components were defective. The manufacturer stated that her VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign id number 01v227001 (seat belts:front:buckle assembly). The current and failure mileages were approximately 141,000.

Filed Sep 5, 2007 · Seat belts · CT

1995 ford windstar lx with seatbelt problems customer states that the passenger side seat belt retractors no longer work**cc the consumer stated there should be a safety recall issued for this defect. The consumer created a temporary fix by attaching a clip to the anchor point. The consumer stated, when a person is propelled forward, the retractors are supposed to seize the seat belt and keep it from unwinding.

Filed Jul 10, 2007 · Seat belts · 160,000 miles · NJ

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 ford windstar. The contact stated that the front driver side seat belt and the rear middle seat belt will not lock. Ford stated that nothing could be done because it was not a safety issue and advised her that she would be responsible for any costs. The current mileage is 169,000 and failure mileage was 160,000.

Filed Feb 21, 2006 · Airbags · 59,500 miles · KY · crash · 1 injury

Dt*: the contact rear ended another vehicle at 25 MPH. Upon impact the passenger's air bag deployed but the driver's air bag did not. There was no occupant in the passenger seat. The driver sustained minor injuries as a result of the air bag not deploying. The contact was wearing a seat belt. Extensive damage was sustained to the right side of the vehicle. The police were contacted and a report was taken. The vehicle was seen by an independent repair shop for the body damage. The mechanic suggested replacing the left front seat belt retractor because the seat belt would not retract properly after the accident. They did not inspect the air bags. Updated 3/17/2006 - the consumer didn't have the funds to repair the airbag so the technician at the body shop removed the driver's side air bag fuse.

Filed Nov 28, 2005 · Airbags, Seat belts · 40 miles · OH · crash · 1 injury

On 11/20/05 at approximately 10:00 p.m. A deer ran in front of my van. The impact was on the drivers front left at the headlight section of the vehicle. Minor damage was done to the vehicle but the incident caused injury to my wife. The drivers airbag didn't deploy but the passengers did. This caused the airbag to break my wife's wrist in 2 places. At the same time the drivers seat belt locked but the passengers didn't causing my wife to go forward. Both of us were wearing our seat belts. This seems to me that there was some kind of defect in the system since everything happened backwards. At this time nothing has been done to the van but ford customer affairs is suppose to be contacting me.

Filed Nov 15, 2005 · Seat belts · 149,599 miles · PA

When braking severely to avoid collision front passenger's seat belt failed to lock. There was no collision and passenger sustained no injury. Subsequently, all seven seat belts were tested by owner by violently jerking. All seven seat belts failed to lock when jerked. Local ford dealer has been requested to inspect the seat belts.

Filed Oct 21, 2004 · Airbags, Seat belts · 28,000 miles · OH · crash · 1 injury

I was involved in accident where I ran into a motorhome that pulled out in front of me. I was traveling approximately 40mph and hit at a slight angle but direct hit to the rear dual wheels that actually dislodged the axle of the motorhome. My vehicle was totalled. It had severe damage to the front end including the driver's side half of the bumper. The impact buckled the roof of my windstar mini-van. The air bag did not deploy and the seatbelt apparently failed as my chest hit the steering wheel and also my face. The state trooper said he saw my teeth marks in the steering wheel and the steering wheel was cracked. If I did not have a bruise on my left shoulder area that showed the seatbelt actually caught for an instant and then released me into the steering wheel the trooper said he would have cited me for not wearing a belt. I had unbuckled my belt to get my hanky to try and stop the blood flow from my facial injury is why it was not on when the trooper arrived. The vehicle was totalled so no repair was attempted. The vehicle was towed to a nationwide evaluation center in columbus, oh where they said they would hold it until october 28 in case anyone wanted to inspect it. I called ford customer assistance center in detroit michigan and they said they were not interested investigation why the air bag and seat belt did not function properly. I received a fractured sternum and a facial laceration that went from outside to inside.

Filed Jul 14, 2004 · Seat belts, Transmission · 50 miles · KS

Consumer complained about two. First, the transmission will not shift properly when changing gears. This condition almost caused a rear end collision. Secondly, driver's side seat belt will not latch if any type of debris got inside of the buckle opening, leaving the driver without any restraint if the vehicle got involved in an accident.

Filed Jul 8, 2004 · Seat belts · IN

Seatbelt on passenger side (front seat) of 1999 ford windstar rubbed plastic sleeve (where seatbelt retracts down into doorpost cover) causing excessive wear on the plastics edge causing it to be rough and jagged, which caused 1/4" of fraying into the edge of the seatbelt which continues to cut into the belt with each use. There seems to maybe be some kind of defect with the design. The drivers side has a warped (not supposed to be like that) plastic piece above the belt which pushes the belt away from the edge of the sleeve (hard to describe), making it not rub against the edge of the sleeve, so no problems with the drivers side seatbelt has developed.