The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that the driver's side seat belt failed to function as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the part to do the repair was not available. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 16S42 (Pretensioner Cable). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.
Lincoln MKZ seat belt problems
14 of the 1,672 owner complaints about the Lincoln MKZ describe seat belt won't latch or retract, most of them for the 2013 model year.
- owner complaints
- 14
- worst model year
- 2013
- typical mileage
- 86,000
Is there a fix? There are 3 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
- 20162
- 20152
- 20136
- 20121
- 20101
- 20091
- 20081
Often reported together
What owners say
The middle rear seat belt locks up when you fold the seat down and the only way to lift the seat is to remove the seat belt from the car and allow it to fully retract. But as soon as the seat get laid down again you have to repeat the process. There are multiple videos on YouTube of multiple ford vehicles having the same problem. Secondly periodically all the lights on the dash come on and it says all the Advanced Driver Assistant systems aren’t working and the electronic assist powersteering stops working. It lasts anywhere from a couple minutes or until the car is turned off for a long time. There are also multiple videos on YouTube showing the same problem on multiple Lonicoln MKZ’s.
The contact owns a 2015 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that the rear passenger’s side seat belt failed to unlatch from the buckle. The contact stated that he cut the seat belt with a pair of scissors he had nearby to release his son. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the rear passenger’s side seat belt to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired because the parts were on back order. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
The middle rear seat belt became stuck around my child and could not be removed. It progressively became tighter and tighter as we tried to unbuckle it. Ultimately the seatbelt needed to be cut off
The rear seatbelt buckle isn't functioning correctly and is causing a seatbelt light. We are now told we have to spend close to $1,000 to get the buckle replaced OR there's a chance my airbags will malfunction across the entire car should I get in an accident.
I've owned the car 4 years, decided to haul something, put the back seat down and it won't go back up. Seems the middle seat belt is stuck.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 lincoln mkz. The contact stated that for 5-10 minutes while attempting to secure the driver's side front seat belt, several attempts were needed to securely latch the seat belt. The contact stated that the failure was experienced during the daytime hours but not at night. The vehicle was taken to future ford lincoln located at 650 automall dr, roseville, ca 95661, (888) 656-7577, where the technician was made aware of the failure. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired as of yet. The manufacturer had not been informed of failure. The failure mileage was approximately 283,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 lincoln mkz. The contact stated that the brake, the driver seat belt and air bags failed. The contact experienced an intended acceleration. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH, while depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to stop and the emergency brake also failed to stop the vehicle. As a result the contact crashed into an embankment. The air bag failed to deploy. The contact sustained back and head injuries that was encounter with the steering wheel and windshield. The front passenger sustained lower back injuries both required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for a diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 144,000.
While driving, sometimes the horn completely stops working, at the same time the horn stops working I can remove my seatbelt or have a passenger not wearing a seat belt and the seat belt indicator and chime does not come on, I have buckled and unbuckled the seatbelt to try to get the indicator to come on and nothing happens. I am worried that the seat sensors or seat belt latch are defective also the horn issue may be another underlying problem.
The seat belt retractor for the rear 2/3 seat is stuck in the down position. Seat belt will not release. Cannot get seat back up into upright position. Cannot sit more than 1 passenger in rear. Vehicle was stationary at the time seat was released to the down position.
Related recalls
Seat belts: front
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles. In the event of a crash, heat from the deployment of a seat belt pretensioner may cause a front seat belt anchor cable to fail.
- Risk
- A failed seat belt anchor cable cannot properly restrain the front seat occupants, increasing their risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will apply a protective coating to the seat belt cable, free of charge. The recall began September 9, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S25. Note: This recall is an expansion of a recall 16V‑875.
Recall number 19V590000 · Recall details
Seat belts: front
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2016 Ford Fusion vehicles manufactured November 2, 2012, to July 31, 2014, and 2013-2015 Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured November 14, 2012, to July 31, 2014. In the event of a crash, heat from the deployment of a seat belt pretensioner may cause a front seat belt anchor cable to fail.
- Risk
- If the driver or front passenger seatbelt cables cannot properly restrain the front seat occupants, they would be at an increased risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will apply a protective coating to the seat belt cable, free of charge. The recall began May 16, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S42.
Recall number 16V875000 · Recall details
Seat belts
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Ford C-Max vehicles manufactured January 19, 2012, to November 21, 2013; Ford Fusion vehicles manufactured February 3, 2012, to August 24, 2013; Ford Escape vehicles manufactured October 5, 2011, to November 1, 2013; and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured April 25, 2012, to September 30, 2013. The coating on portions of the Restraint Control Module (RCM) may crack, and when exposed to humidity, circuits on the printed circuit board may short.
- Risk
- The short circuits could cause the frontal air bags, side curtain air bags and the seat belt pretensioners to not function as intended when needed, increasing the risk of occupant injury in the event of a crash.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the RCM, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. The recall began on May 26,2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 14S21.
Recall number 14V597000 · Recall details
Questions about the Lincoln MKZ seat belt
Which Lincoln MKZ years have seat belt won't latch or retract problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2013 (6 complaints), 2015 (2 complaints) and 2016 (2 complaints).
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