Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (buckles, retractors, anchors and pretensioners).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2000 Ford Taurus owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
My wife rear ended a car and the airbag let out a puff of greyish smoke but did not deploy. After the airbag/seat belt light has stayed on. Krieger Ford dealership had put it on their diagnostic machine and said the airbag was fine, but the seat belt tensioner needed replacement. I believe this much is true because it was acting funny even before the . I am suspicious of their airbag assesment however because I read where 2000 (this is what I have) and 2001 Taurus and sables are being investigated because there were about 240 instances of airbags not deploying as of July 2003.
The driver's seat belt was inoperative. The cause is unknown at this time. The consumer hit the side of another vehicle with the front end when the seat belt did not work. The consumer's head busted the windshield and injured his back.
Left rear seatbelt would not retract at all. Right rear seatbelt was apparently OK. Took car in for inspection at 57,945 miles. Was told that both seatbelts do not work and need to be replaced. As stated, right side one was fine until they "tested" it, now they claim it will not retract either. Car has extended warranty (although we were not told that it did not cover safety items) but safety items are apparently only covered 50,000/5 yrs (we are within the 5 year limit). I am aware that there is a Ford technical service bulletin 99v-250 for seatbelts, but I cannot access further info as it is on Ford's internal website. I am also under the impression that other Taurus model years have been recalled for seatbelts. Although my extended warranty is still in effect, I seem to have no recourse, and I find it odd that the right seatbelt failed at the dealer during inspection. …
Consumer complained about passenger's side seat belt. The seat belt will not retract properly when release. It some how, get tangled and twisted when the belt goes back into the retractor.consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, and had the seat belt serviced. However, the problem recurred......consumer had the rea rseat belts repaired at $54.00. Claimed that deaker should have replaced them at no cost to consumer. It was bad from the beginning, and consumer insisted that dealer inially promised to replace them at no cost to consumer. Has a statement to that effect.
The right (passenger) rear seat belt of my 2000 Ford Taurus recently failed and is no longer usable. For no apparent reason, this seat belt has locked in place and will neither unwind or retract. It would seem that the internal rotor that regulates the seat belt's length has gotten stuck. The belt moves about 1/2 inch before firmly locking. It will not retract from this position and I cannot get it to reset after several days of trying. Since I am just past a safety warranty of 50,000 miles, I am told a repair job to replace this belt will cost around $500.
The seat belts in the front of my 2000 Ford Taurus will not release all the time. Sometimes people have to crawl under the belt to get out. I know wearing a seat belt is good to do, but it is getting to be a real problem when one has to try to crawl out when it will not release when pressing the release button. I have a pair of scissors just in case it gets to the point there is no other way to get out of the car. I have some people who will not wear the belt while in the car because they are worried of becoming trapped in the car.
The rear middle seat belt retractor on my 2000 Taurus has failed making the rear middle seat usuable only without a seat belt. The seat belt itself retracted all the way back into the mechanism but will not retract back out. This is the second such failure of the rear seat belt I've experienced. Previously, the rear passenger side seat belt got stuck in a similar fashion. This car is becoming increasing unsafe and I am loosing confidence in its other highly touted safety features.
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 Ford Taurus. While parked, the contact noticed that the front driver side seat belt would not retract. After some time, the front passenger, rear driver and passenger side seat belts also would not retract. Additionally, when the contact attempted to unlock the door locks with the key fob the doors would not unlock. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
Tl* - the contact stated that seat belts were locking . She took the vehicle to the dealer to have the seat belts fixed in August, 2006. The same failure recurred on December 21, and again on December 23, 2006. The contact stated that when she got in the car the seat belt retractor did not allow her to extend the seat belt. This failure occurred in the front and rear passenger side seats. Updated 1/29/2007 -
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 Ford Taurus. The contact stated that the driver side seat belt would lock initially but would then independently unlatch after she began driving. The seat belt warning light illuminated when the seat belt became unlatched. The manufacturer was not contacted. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000 and the current mileage was 140,000.
Seat Belt complaints in other Taurus years
Frequently asked questions
How common are seat belt problems on the 2000 Ford Taurus?
NHTSA has 39 complaints about the seat belts of the 2000 Ford Taurus, 3% of the model year's 1,195 complaints. The component named most often is front › retractor (10 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2000 Ford Taurus seat belt problems?
No. NHTSA lists no seat belts recall for the 2000 Ford Taurus, though it has 8 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2000 Ford Taurus seat belt problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 68,000 miles, and 6% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 5 crashes, 0 fires and 5 injuries to seat belts problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
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.