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1999 Mercury Sable: seat belt won't latch or retract

9 of the 258 complaints about the 1999 Mercury Sable describe seat belt won't latch or retract.

owner complaints
9
of this car's complaints
3%
typical mileage
80,000
recalls
2
Is there a fix? There are 2 recalls for this area of the car. See below

Seat belt won't latch or retract by model year

What owners say

Filed Aug 31, 2012 · Seat belts · 125,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 mercury sable. The contact stated that the passenger seat belt does not retract or properly secure the passenger. The manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in (the federal safety agency campaign id number: 99v250000 seat belts: front: anchorage); the vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 125,000. The current mileage was not available.

Filed Jun 16, 2010 · Seat belts · 98,000 miles · IL

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 mercury sable. The contact stated that while attempting to operate the vehicle she noticed the front passenger side seat belt was stuck in the anchorage and would not pull out or retract. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed the vehicle was not included in the recall associated with the federal safety agency campaign id number: 99v250000 (seat belts: front: anchorage). The vehicle was not serviced for the failure. The failure and current mileages were 98,000. Updated 10/27/10.

Filed Mar 6, 2005 · Seat belts · MA

Driver's seat belt does not latch securely everytime. Seat belt becomes unlatched while driving for no apparant reason. This problem occurred many times since the purchase two years ago. I rarely have passengers so it is unknown if problem extends to the other seat belts.

Filed Dec 8, 2004 · Seat belts, Steering · 36,270 miles · NV

Rear right passenger seat belt did not retract. Dealer stated the vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency recall 99v25000. Also, rack and pinion steering had to be replaced because of a seal leak.*ak

Filed Feb 28, 2004 · Seat belts · 80,000 miles · MT

The drivers side seat belt on my 99 mercury sable does not latch and lock all the time. It goes in and acts like it latches (seat belt light goes out) until a fair amount of force is applied to the seat belt and it release's from the seat belt latch. I've had this happen multitudes of times even thought I try and remember to double check that the seat belt is secure.

Filed Feb 3, 2004 · Seat belts · 58,000 miles · IL

Seat belt retractors are failing in order of most frequent use (e.g. Driver, front passenger, rear passengers). The driver's belt retractor fails to pull the seat belt back into the columnar storage area 100% of the time (front passenger belt 50% and rear passengers ~10%). This presents a safety hazard as the belts will not provide the life saving tension required during an accident. The belt hangs limp over the wearer. Seat belts are required to be worn by law. Yet, auto manufacturers are not required to warranty these parts for the life of the car. The great majority of manufacturers only warrant seat belts for 3 years or 36000 miles. As consumers, are we to believe that this means manufacturers only expect the seat belts to function during this time period. This is absurd and should be changed via legislation requiring auto makers to warranty legally required safety devices for the life of the car. It would force manufacturers to make these parts to last instead of engineering them to last until just after the warranty period is over.

Filed Sep 4, 2003 · Seat belts · CA

Problems with safety belt becoming undone after being secured. *mr when the seat belt latch was pushed into the socket firmly it occasionally popped out. It had to be pushed into position then juggled in order for it to latch correctly. The belt would also tighten so snugly on the occupant that they could not lean forward to adjust the dash controls or see through the mirrors. *scc

Filed Apr 11, 2002 · Seat belts · MD

Front passenger side seatbelt does not release from retracting mechanism, causing seat belt to become inoperable. Please give any further details.

Filed May 5, 1999 · Seat belts · MN

Front passenger side seatbelt retractors do not retract in cold weather; temperatures of minus five degrees or less. Has to be brought inside to function correctly. Dealer can't fix.

Related recalls

Seat belts: front: anchorageReported September 20, 1999 · 25,306 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The seat belt retractor may have a pin shaft in the switchable elr/alr mechanism that is incorrectly formed. In some circumstances, the switching mechanism could become nonfunctional, preventing the seat belt webbing from being extracted from the retractor. It is also possible that malfunction of the mechanism could prevent the belt from being switched into the alr mode. The elr mechanism is not affected by this condition.
Risk
If the mechanism malfunctions and does not allow the webbing to be extracted, the lap and shoulder belt could not be worn by a vehicle occupant. In the event that the mechanism does not allow the alr mode to be engaged, the operator may be unable to properly install a child seat in that seating position.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect the lap and shoulder belt assemblies. Assemblies with julian date codes of 200 through 223 are suspect and will be replaced.

Recall number 99V250000 · Recall details

Seat belts: front: anchorageReported August 25, 1998 · 7,000 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with manual seat tracks. The front seat belt buckle attaching stud may have been improperly heat treated. This heat treatment may have resulted in cracks developing in the stud.
Risk
If the stud is cracked, in the event of a vehicle crash, the occupant may not be properly restrained, increasing the risk of personal injury.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the seat belt buckle mounting bracket and stud assembly.

Recall number 98V198000 · Recall details

Questions about the 1999 Mercury Sable seat belt

Is seat belt won't latch or retract a common problem on the 1999 Mercury Sable?

9 of 258 owner complaints about the 1999 Mercury Sable (3%) mention seat belt won't latch or retract. The model year with the most reports is 2001.

Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1999 Mercury Sable?

There are 2 recalls and 0 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.

Other symptoms on the 1999 Mercury Sable

Coil spring 35Wipers 17No deployment 9Brake failure 8Power steering loss 8Ball joint 7ABS 5Loss of power 5

All model years of the Mercury Sable

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