Seat Belt complaints by model year
| Year | Complaints | Share of year's complaints | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1 | 17% | 92,000 miles |
| 2010 | 1 | 8% | — |
| 2007 | 3 | 4% | 63,000 miles |
| 2006 | 35 | 24% | 79,000 miles |
| 2005 | 11 | 9% | 62,000 miles |
| 2002 | 1 | 2% | 48,000 miles |
| 2001 | 3 | 2% | 98,000 miles |
| 2000 | 4 | 4% | 200,000 miles |
| 1999 | 1 | 1% | — |
| 1998 | 1 | 1% | 90,000 miles |
| 1997 | 4 | 1% | 120,000 miles |
| 1996 | 15 | 6% | 125,000 miles |
| 1995 | 2 | 1% | 142,000 miles |
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (buckles, retractors, anchors and pretensioners).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 Lincoln Town Car. The contact stated that the air bag light illuminated on the instrument panel. The dealer stated that the seat belt retractor failed and caused the failure to occur and the seat belt would not protect them in a crash nor would the air bag deploy. The failure and current mileage was 48,500.
Want to report similar problem others seem to be reporting. When starting the car you hear 5 chimes/beeps repeating five times. The airbag light remains lit the entire time. On extended trips the chimes/beeps comes on again roughly every thirty minutes. Being directly linked to the airbag I'm surprised to find that this has yet to be recalled especially since many other towncar owners are reporting the exact same problem. I discovered that others were having similar issues when I was looking for a replacement seat belt because ours is sluggish to retract, you have to help it back to starting position.
Seatbelt / airbag warning light indicator is warning about either faulty sensor or faulty belt tensioner. Began while in parked poison and continues periodically when in motion, regardless of speed. Cost to repair is exorbitant, nearly half the value of the Car and is not guaranteed to work is last. The airbags will likely not worth in the event of accident but no way to tell unless there is an accident. Serious fault regarding required safety equipment with this make/model year. Mileage is 170,100. Also, the passenger side floorboard, especial in backseat become saturated when it rains. Floor plugs are intact, the water is entering from poor design feature where the windshield/engine meet and supposedly slow for water to be channeled away from engine to ground but is actually channelling along the side into the passenger cabin footwell. …
We have contacted Ford motor company and they still refuse to do a recall on our 2005-Lincoln Town Car.,why is this not being fixed? We have spent $1200 dollars to locate the problem and have one seat belt replaced,and airbag inflator. After replacing one side, the other side now needs replacing,which there was not another part available. So now it's all disconnected,and all we have for safety is the seat belts,which Ford said that would be safe enough. I find this unacceptable by this company and will never buy another Ford product... Why hasn't your organization done something to secure our safety? We can't even take the grand-kids in our Car ,because of this safety -hazard. We have filled a complaint with your organization last year,when is this going to be rectified ? Please notify us as to what you are going to do about this? Help!
Just called Ford motor company and they say that NHTSA, issues the recalls ,not Ford motor company, why haven;t you issued one for this model Car? You would think Ford would be concerned about our safety, they don;t care and neither does NHTSA.....how many people , including children must die before you issue a safety recall notice? Thats why we need a change in our government, and very soon...
Certain 2001 Lincoln Town cars have been recalled for the following failures, among others (1) windshield wiper motor failure, and (2) seat belt failure to latch. I contacted Ford motors but they told me my Car was not included in the recall even though I was experiencing the same identical problems these two recalls were issued for. My wiper motor has failed and the front passenger seat belt will not lock.
2001 Lincoln towncar customer states that the air bags did not deploy* the consumer stated that she was involved in an accident the air bags did not deploy nor did the seat belt keep her secure during the collision. The consumer has provided a copy of the letter provided by Ford and pictures of the damaged vehicle.
The steering is extremely loose. The least amount of movement of the steering wheel will jerk you into another lane and it feels like the Car is almost like floating out from underneath you. While on the interstate passing semis it feels as if it's going to push me off of the road. It's extremely difficult to keep the Car straight on the road without even moving the steering wheel it'll drift to the left or the right. When trying to correct it going into another lane if you just turn the steering wheel just a hair it's almost like you turn the steering wheel 180. Also when attempting to go around a curve you have to barely turn the steering wheel or else it'll run you off the road.
Related recalls (7)
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.
Seat belts › Front
Vehicle description: certain passenger vehicles with medium graphite seat belts fail to comply with the requirements of FMVSS no. 209, "seat belt assemblies." an incorrect front center seat belt and retractor assembly May have been installed.
Remedy: All suspect vehicles have had the seat belts inspected or replaced by Ford.
Seat belts › Rear/other
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles with midnight black or medium parchment seat belts manufactured on July 31, 2000, fail to comply with the requirements of FMVSS no. 209, "seat belt assemblies." an incorrect driver's side rear seat belt and retractor assembly May have been installed.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the seat belts and replace the affected seat belt and retractor assemblies.
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
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles using aftermarket driver's seat belt assemblies that were sold by Ford parts departments from January 1, through June 13, 2000. These seat belt assemblies fail to comply with the requirements of FMVSS no.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect these vehicles and replace the service seat belt assemblies that were installed in these vehicles from January 1 through June 13, 2000.
Show 2 more recalls
Seat belts › Front › Anchorage
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles using aftermarket front passenger side seat belt assemblies that were sold by Ford parts departments from January 1, through June 13, 2000. These seat belt assemblies fail to comply with the requirements of FMVSS no.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect these vehicles and replace the service seat belt assemblies that were installed in these vehicles from January 1 through June 13, 2000.
Seat belts › Rear/other
The elr/alr feature is used to accommodate child restraints. When servicing the rear belt assemblies, wrong parts could have been used which do not contain the automatic locking feature.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the rear belt assemblies with the appropriate design retractor and tongue assemblies.
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…
Frequently asked questions
Which Lincoln Town Car years have seat belt problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2006 (35), 1996 (15) and 2005 (11) model years. Seat Belt complaints make up 24% of all complaints for the 2006.
Is there a recall for Lincoln Town Car seat belt problems?
Yes — 7 recalls, including 01V227001 (buckle assembly, Jul 16, 2001); 00V-364 (front, Nov 13, 2000); 00V-368 (rear/other, Nov 9, 2000). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers; check a specific car with the VIN recall check.
At what mileage do Lincoln Town Car seat belt problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 90,000 miles; 23% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the rear/other (7 mentions), followed by the front › retractor (7).
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.