Check a VIN

Mercury Mountaineer seat belt problems

14 of the 1,992 owner complaints about the Mercury Mountaineer describe seat belt won't latch or retract, most of them for the 1997 model year.

owner complaints
14
worst model year
1997
typical mileage
140,000
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall for this area of the car. See below

By model year

  • 2008
    2
  • 2007
    1
  • 2003
    1
  • 2002
    2
  • 1997
    8

Often reported together

Check engine light 2Airbag light 1

Trouble codes mentioned

B2292 1

What owners say

Filed Aug 10, 2020 · Seat belts · NY

Seat belt on the drivers side fails to say hooked into the seat belt clip-in

Filed Aug 10, 2020 · Seat belts · 85,625 miles · NY

Drivers side seat belt with not stay locked in.

Filed Feb 24, 2020 · Seat belts · 185,000 miles · OH

Drivers side seat belt buckle will not latch. 185,000 miles.

Filed Jun 6, 2018 · Seat belts · 198,000 miles · MI

Driver side seat belt refuses to latch and, if it does latch, comes unlatched on its own. On inspection, the 'guts' of the mechanism are gone.

Filed Apr 30, 2018 · Electrical, Seat belts · 171,237 miles · OH

Passenger seatbelt locks will not unlock unless you unbuckel the belt it just keeps getting tighter have a problem where the you push down on gas it won't do anything for a moment then jolt forward an the main problem it with the electric if you barley touch the ignition switch or controls for the seat the seat moves the ignition also not only moves the seat but a couple times it has shut the car off and once locked us in the car had to put the keys in and start to get it to unlock and once locked us out with keys still in ignition switch

Filed Nov 14, 2016 · Airbags · 140,000 miles · AZ

My 2003 mercury mountaineer has a solid air bag light on. It has a code of 33, when you turn the car on, the light goes on and blinks 3 times then 3 more times. This indicates a code 33. Ford has a technical letter about the issue. The letter states there is a kit for this problem. 1l2z-78610e22-aaa is the kit for a medium dark parchment kit. This should be a recall item as it is a known defect. Ford wants to charge $281.00 for the part. Outrageous. I would be forced to pay or not get my state vehicle test passed. Defective part should be covered under safety recall ! See information : 2003 mercury mountaineer build date 09/02 VIN===[xxx] below is a copy of a technical service bulletin regarding your concern. You can buy the kits through any ford dealer, that's about the only place to get them. You'll find the build date on the VIN tag on the driver's door. Ford:2002-2003 explorer mercury:2002-2003 mountaineer issue: some 2002-2003 4dr explorer/mountaineer vehicles may exhibit an air bag warning lamp illuminated with diagnostic trouble code (dtc) b2292 and light flashing code (lfc) 33 (driver seat pretensioner fault), or lfc 34 (passenger seat pretensioner fault). This may be caused by intermittent pretensioner connection at either seat belt buckle. Action: install pretensioner kit for affected side(s) by build date/color. Refer to the following service information for details. Service information obtain correct service kit and refer to instruction sheet included with kit for installation instructions. 2002 model year through 3/3/02 build dates medium dark parchment 1l2z-78610e22-aaa 2002/2003 model years 3/4/02 through 1/17/03 medium dark parchment 1l2z-78610e22-baa [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Nov 18, 2015 · Seat belts · 137,400 miles · GA

The driver's seat belt will not latch.

Filed Mar 12, 2015 · Seat belts · 170,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 1997 mercury mountaineer. The contact stated that the front driver side seat belt buckle failed to latch. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 170,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Filed Apr 18, 2013 · Seat belts · 132,145 miles · TX

I attempted to connect the two portions of the driver front seat belt and the latching mechanism in the female portion would not latch, thereby defeating my ability to secure the seat belt. I took the vehicle to a repair shop that quoted me almost $200 to repair the belt, indicating the oem kit was almost $150. Someone is profiteering on defective safety equipment.

Filed Mar 15, 2011 · Seat belts · 150,000 miles · PA

Tl*the contact owns a 1997 mercury mountaineer. He attempted to put the drivers side seat belt on and the buckle would not snap into place. The failure had been on going for one week. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The approximate failure and current mileage was 150,000.

Related recalls

Seat beltsReported August 18, 2000 · 144,435 vehicles affected
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 Mercury Mountaineer seat belt

Which Mercury Mountaineer years have seat belt won't latch or retract problems?

The model years with the most reports are 1997 (8 complaints), 2002 (2 complaints) and 2008 (2 complaints).

VIN decoder

See the problems and recalls for an exact car

Buying a used Mercury Mountaineer?

Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.

Check its history