Seat Belt complaints by model year
| Year | Complaints | Share of year's complaints | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 | 2% | 1,000 miles |
| 2023 | 2 | 0% | — |
| 2022 | 2 | 0% | — |
| 2021 | 5 | 0% | 119,000 miles |
| 2020 | 3 | 0% | 33,000 miles |
| 2019 | 4 | 0% | 90,000 miles |
| 2018 | 16 | 1% | 14,000 miles |
| 2017 | 17 | 1% | 54,000 miles |
| 2016 | 14 | 1% | 30,000 miles |
| 2015 | 26 | 1% | 40,000 miles |
| 2014 | 9 | 1% | 67,000 miles |
| 2013 | 7 | 0% | 70,000 miles |
| 2012 | 3 | 0% | 147,000 miles |
| 2011 | 8 | 0% | 74,000 miles |
| 2010 | 8 | 1% | 75,000 miles |
| 2009 | 3 | 1% | 32,000 miles |
| 2008 | 11 | 3% | 82,000 miles |
| 2007 | 6 | 1% | 64,000 miles |
| 2006 | 7 | 1% | 70,000 miles |
| 2005 | 20 | 2% | 62,000 miles |
| 2004 | 17 | 1% | 44,000 miles |
| 2003 | 16 | 4% | 16,000 miles |
| 2002 | 50 | 6% | 99,000 miles |
| 2001 | 78 | 6% | 81,000 miles |
| 2000 | 15 | 1% | 100,000 miles |
| 1999 | 25 | 2% | 72,000 miles |
| 1998 | 13 | 1% | 125,000 miles |
| 1997 | 38 | 1% | 100,000 miles |
| 1996 | 3 | 1% | 151,000 miles |
| 1995 | 6 | 1% | 140,000 miles |
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (buckles, retractors, anchors and pretensioners).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
The contact owns a 2024 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while attempting to secure a booster seat in the rear passenger's side seat, the seat belt failed to lock as intended. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the seat belt buckle needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,250.
Seat belt sensors do not work correctly for back seat passenger. Seat doesn't register people sitting in it or when seat belt is buckled sometimes. Issue was reported to dealer and taken for repairs u see warranty, but never completed. Causes issues when carrying passengers because i can't tell if people are buckled. Sometimes driving down road it alerts randomly that seat belt was unbuckled and causes risk that could lead to an accident when I have to adjust it for a child while driving down the road. This is a wide spread reported issue for these trucks and should be recalled.
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 21V653000 (SEAT BELTS), 23V509000 (PARKING BRAKE), 22V142000 (VISIBILITY) and 23V163000 (VISIBILITY). The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the parking brake independently activated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road. The contact turned off the vehicle and, after waiting for a short while, the vehicle was restarted. The message "Service Parking Brake" was displayed. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while turning off the vehicle, the parking brake fail to function as intended. The contact stated that recently the seat belt failed to retract and remained loose. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer refused to repair the vehicle under the Seat Belts and Parking Brake recalls. …
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH, the contact was cut off by another vehicle that had pulled out in front of the vehicle. The contact depressed the brake pedal with force to keep from crashing into the vehicle. The contact stated that the seat belt pretensioner held firmly in place; however, the passenger's seat belt failed to restrain the passenger in the seat. The contact stated that the passenger almost crashed into the front passenger's side dashboard. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the passenger's side seat belt retractor and pretensioner needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V653000 (Seat Belts); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. …
I have inflatable seat belts on the rear seats. The buckles fall down into the seat making it difficult to fasten the seat belts. They were replaced under warranty for this concern. After a week they started to fall into the seat again.
The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the front driver's side seat belt failed to latch securely. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not under warranty. No warning light was illuminated. The contact notified another dealer, and an appointment was scheduled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
While driving I noticed my wife's seat belt was not fastened, and there was no alarm chime or icon on dash alerting of incident. I then undid the drivers side and had the same results. I had been having issues with the ac leaking on inside at passenger floor. I took the truck to five star ford dealership for repairs. The ac evaporator and carpet was replaced. They said they issue with the seatbelts was not repairable unless a code was thrown. I was told it wouldn't cause any issues with air bags, but I'm not comfortable with that. The dealership said they would contact Ford and see if there was anything that could be done. After AC issues that has been ongoing several times now I believe moisture got somewhere it shouldn't have. I kept telling them what if a child was in seat and undid seatbelt and then an accident occurred. They said the airbags should still work. I dont trust that. …
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, the vehicle hydroplaned as the contact lost control of the vehicle. As the contact struggled to regain control of the vehicle, the rear of the vehicle crashed into the left of the highway retainer wall. As a result, the vehicle spun out across three lanes as the front end of the vehicle hit the right retainer wall. The air bags deployed upon impact; however, both the front driver and front passenger seat belts independently unclipped during the accident. The contact stated that once the vehicle came to a stop after hitting the second wall, both seat belts were unbuckled. Both vehicle occupants were taken to the hospital via an ambulance. The contact was treated for a concussion, pain in the left shoulder, and a torn LCL on the left knee. …
Related recalls (8)
Seat belts › Front › Webbing
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2021 F-150 Super Cab vehicles. The front seatbelt webbing may be incorrectly routed.
Remedy: Owners are advised to perform a preliminary self-inspection of the front seatbelts. If the passenger-side seatbelt fails inspection, owners should not use the passenger seat until the repair is performed.
Seat belts › Pretensioner
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Ford F-150 Regular Cab and SuperCrew Cab vehicles. If a front seat belt pretensioner deploys as the result of a crash, the sparks may ignite materials such as carpeting or insulation within the B-pillar area.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will remove the B-pillar insulation material and wiring harness tape, and install heat resistant tape, free of charge. The recall began September 28, 2018.
Seat belts › Rear/other
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2017 F-150, and 2017 F-250 and F-350 trucks equipped with a crew cab. The left rear inflatable seat belt buckle assembly may be inadequately attached to its mounting bracket.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the seat belt assembly, replacing the attaching rivet as necessary, free of charge. Interim notices informing owners of the safety risk were mailed October 18, 2017.
Seat belts › Front › Anchorage
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2015 Ford F-150 SuperCrew trucks manufactured January 22, 2015, to March 17, 2015. The affected vehicles may be equipped with driver or front passenger seat belt anchorage assemblies whose pretensioner cable was not properly crimped.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver and/or front passenger side seat belt retractor(s) and pretensioner(s), free of charge. The recall began on February 12, 2016.
Seat belts › Front › Buckle assembly
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.
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.
Show 3 more recalls
Seat belts › Front › Retractor
Vehicle description: regular cab pickup trucks. The driver side seat belt retractor May not fully retract the belt.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the driver's side seat belt assembly.
Seat belts
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.
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.
Seat belts › Front › Anchorage
The seat elt anchorage attachments are missing or misinstalled on these vehicles.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and, as necessary, repair the seat belt anchorage attachments.
NHTSA investigations
Seat belt anchorage separation
Odi's database contains one complaint alleging the center front seat belt anchorage was not bolted to the floor.Ford submitted 28 additional field reports and warrant claims alleging that a seat belt was not bolted to the floor, not attached, not hooked up, or the owner complainted that the seat belt was loose.the causes have included a missing bolt, missing nut, bolt hole not threaded, weld nut missing, or bolt not…
Seat belt anchorage separation
Ford notified odi that they are conducting a recall to inspect and, as necessary, repair the seat belt anchorage attachments on 1997 Ford f150 vehicles built from the beginning of production through April of 1996.odi's database contains one complaint alleging the center front seat belt anchorage was not bolted to the floor.Ford has located 60 additional field reports and warranty claims that appear to be the result…
Front seat belt buckle assembly
Under recall campaign (01V227), Ford recalled approximately 1.3 million vehicles to inspect and if necessary replace the front driver and/or passenger seat belt buckle.approximately 1.1 million owners responded by taking their vehicles to a dealer for inspection of the buckle using a specialized buckle test tool.Ford reported that 829,927 vehicles had both buckles pass the tool test and another 167,336 vehicles had…
Front seat belt buckle assembly
During the initial recall campaign in 2001, the subject vehicles were inspected by Ford dealerships using a test tool that would detect a defective front seat outboard seat belt buckle assembly.approximately one million vehicles passed the inspection test for one or both front buckles.subsequent to the recall service action, odi received 15 consumer reports alleging that a passed inspection buckle subsequently…
Seatbelt Pretensioner Fire
On June 18, 2018, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE18-008) to investigate complaints alleging post-crash fires at the B pillar in the area of the seat belt pretensioners on MY 2014-2018 Ford F-150 Regular Cab, and Super Crew Cab Vehicles. On August 24, 2018, Ford Motor Company recalled (FSA 18S27 - NHTSA #18V568) the affected population.
Frequently asked questions
Which Ford F-150 years have seat belt problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2001 (78), 2002 (50), 1997 (38), 2015 (26) and 1999 (25) model years. Seat Belt complaints make up 6% of all complaints for the 2001.
Is there a recall for Ford F-150 seat belt problems?
Yes — 8 recalls, including 21V-653 (webbing, Aug 23, 2021); 18V-568 (pretensioner, Aug 31, 2018); 17V-526 (rear/other, Aug 28, 2017). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers; check a specific car with the VIN recall check.
At what mileage do Ford F-150 seat belt problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 70,000 miles; 34% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the front › buckle assembly (56 mentions), followed by the front › retractor (32).
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.