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 2001 Ford Windstar owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
ABS light, brake light came on. The seatbelt unhooks while I'm driving, I was told I had a cracked axle, the wheel bearing was very noisy, I've paid a lot of money to get things fixed. The labor was at a ridiculous amount on $25 parts. I'm wondering if I've paid to have parts fixed that were under recall. I fix one thing and then there's another issue. Oil is leaking under the hood and I'm afraid it will catch fire so I'm scared to drive.
During inspection inspecter 38573 reported a diagnostic fault as airbag control module. After failed inspection. I looked for part with the avail. Current part on vehicle is 1f2a-14b321-ee. I cannot find a part number matching. I took it to a second mechanic to verify if he infact was right. And I looked at the diagnostic and the airbag did not show up however what did show up after airbag light came on after a full memory clear was code b234 which points to driver safety belt buckle switch short circuit to ground. Or in lames terms safety belt buckle switch. This should never in a cars life ever happen. If this happened before a accident this could cause death to the consumer. Im the second owner of this vehicle I believe so im not sure if there's a recall for this particular issue as I do know there's one similar. My reinspection is due within 6 days. …
On 11/20/05 at approximately 10:00 p.m. A deer ran in front of my van. The impact was on the drivers front left at the headlight section of the vehicle. Minor damage was done to the vehicle but the incident caused injury to my wife. The drivers airbag didn't deploy but the passengers did. This caused the airbag to break my wife's wrist in 2 places. At the same time the drivers seat belt locked but the passengers didn't causing my wife to go forward. Both of us were wearing our seat belts. This seems to me that there was some kind of defect in the system since everything happened backwards. At this time nothing has been done to the van but Ford customer affairs is suppose to be contacting me.
Front passenger seat belt comes undone. This is an intermittent problem with the seat belt that we have been having and notified our Ford dealer (winner Ford, cherry hill, nj) about on our 25000 service. The service rep tested the seat belt latch with a tester and found no problems. I was told they would not replace the seat belt latch because Ford would charge them for the part. He said they would check it again if we had any more problems. We continue to have problems with the belt latch coming undone while driving. There is no amount of tugging that will cause it to fail, the problem is intermittent. Winner Ford has not sent out our service sheet with the seat belt problem reported on it. It has been since 4/17/2003, and then again servicing on 4/24/2003 and no paperwork from the dealer with the problem reported by me and no remedy for this potentially dangerous safety problem. …
Outrageous ,I have been researching the possible problem of an ABS/brake light ,that keeps coming on in my 2001 Ford wind star lx van. Statement is 1999- 2003 Ford Windstar vans could have this and the problems that could occur. My oh my .. I have 3 children that ride in that van daily, I'm a low income parent. Why would one take this chance with humans. I bought the van in March of 2009. 2 days later ABS/ brake light came on. At the time I was told that I have an Eagle warranty ..that might I add not even the Ford dealer ship would except. I don't take chances where my children are involved.
Dt*: the contact stated that the air bag warning light continuously illuminated. Also, the driver's side seat belt was not clicking closed. The contact researched the vehicle online, and was concerned at the air bag recall information that was discovered. There were two NHTSA recalls , #00V270000 and # 00V412000, however the vehicle was not included in either recall due to the VIN. The vehicle has not been taken to a service dealer or an independent mechanic for inspection.
Tl contact owns a 2001 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that the seatbelt would not latch on the driver's side. A mechanic inspected the seat belt and stated that the latch components were defective. The manufacturer stated that her VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign id number 01V227001 (seat belts:front:buckle assembly). The current and failure mileages were approximately 141,000.
I was in a car accident. After I slammed on the brakes, the seat belt popped off. I hit the steering wheel. The passenger air bag deployed but the driver's side air bag did not deploy. Although the car was drivable, the seat belt remained locked and unusable after the accident. Rq04011.
Consumer collided head-on with an animal weighing approximately 80-90lbs while driving about 45-50mph on highway. The driver and passenger safety belts extracted "entirely" from their housing and did not retract to restrain occupants. The consumer and passenger suffered injuries as a result. Ts
Complaint received via e-mail. My husband had an accident in which our car was totaled. The air bags never deployed, and the seat belts didn't hold him in place. His chest is real sore ,and he got whip lash. He is going to the doctor. On the vehicle that hit him the air bags deployed.
Related recalls
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.
NHTSA investigations
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…
Seat Belt complaints in other Windstar years
Frequently asked questions
How common are seat belt problems on the 2001 Ford Windstar?
NHTSA has 20 complaints about the seat belts of the 2001 Ford Windstar, 1% of the model year's 1,686 complaints. The component named most often is front › buckle assembly (7 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2001 Ford Windstar seat belt problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 01V227001 (buckle assembly, Jul 16, 2001). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2001 Ford Windstar seat belt problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 84,000 miles, and 29% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 7 crashes, 0 fires and 10 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.