Seatbelt manufacturing defect and ridiculously slow response from Ford service

[Macs]

The Ford Bronco Sport has a manufacturing defect – – a design flaw – that causes the rear passenger seatbelt to get stuck between the car seat and the frame of the car. As a result, when passengers get out of the backseat, if the retraction device gets stuck, the seatbelt will dangle outside of the closed car door.

Our rear passenger seatbelt was broken as a result of this and we have been waiting 14 days for the dealership to address the problem despite the car only having 8000 miles on it and being fully covered under bumper-to-bumper warranty.

This will be the last FORD that I purchase. Ford customer service has no ability to influence the dealer to solve a service warranty problem quickly.

When I call FORD customer service, they tell me that the case was closed on the same day that I opened it. Their customer service database has no record of the photos and videos and email that I sent to my FORD customer service rep.

I can’t tell you how disappointing my FORD experience has been so far. This is the ninth car that I’ve owned in my life and it is the first and last FORD that I will ever buy.

I highly recommend avoiding buying a Ford because they can’t even handle a broken seatbelt for a brand new car. The company is so inept and reliant on a bunch of unresponsive dealer service people.

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[JAD67428]

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[RSH]

Not to say I haven't seen other vehicles driving around with a seatbelt thats been shut in the door. I would think in most situations the person exiting the vehicle would notice and simply reopen the door and put the seatbelt back inside or tell the driver there is a problem that needs attention.

 

[Jmuns]

It looks more like you didn't move the seatbelt out of the way when you raised the seat back into position from having it folded. This causes the seatbelt to be trapped. How did it tear like that? Shutting it in the door will not tear a belt in half.

I also don't see this being a warranty claim.

 

[Macs]

The seatbelt gets stuck between the seat and car frame. It has nothing to do with seat being flat and then put back into position. This prevents the belt from getting retracted.

 

[Macs]

The seatbelt gets stuck between the seat and car frame. It has nothing to do with seat being flat and then put back into position. This prevents the belt from getting retracted.

The belt was extended and the passenger didn’t notice when they shut the door that it was extended and dangling out of the door. The driver did not notice either and proceeded to drive away, snapping the belt when it went under the tire.

If the belt wasn’t prone to getting stuck between frame and seat, then it would retract and this wouldn’t be an issue. It’s a bad design unfortunately.

 

[Macs]

Not to say I haven't seen other vehicles driving around with a seatbelt thats been shut in the door. I would think in most situations the person exiting the vehicle would notice and simply reopen the door and put the seatbelt back inside or tell the driver there is a problem that needs attention.

this was an elderly passenger that got out of the car and did not notice they left the seatbelt dangling out of the side of the car when they close the door… It is an extraordinary design flaw. I have over a dozen cars and I’ve never had this kind of issue before. Passengers when they get out of the car, expect the seatbelt retractor to work.

Passengers and drivers should not have to double check every time they get out of the car to make sure that the seatbelt is not caught between the car seat and the car frame.

Again, this is a very simple and dumb Ford design flaw — the retractor is poorly designed and in the wrong place – – just as it was in the big Bronco.

 

[Elegance]

Happened with mine too. I accidentally shut the door on the buckle and left a scratch in the paint. Luckily it was the paint inside the door trim, but definitely a bummer since the vehicle was only a month old when I did it.

 

[Robins21]

Most any SUV with a rear seat this could happen to, not just the Bronco Sport. Sounds like you are angry at yourself & taking it out on the dealership & Ford.

 

[RSH]

I just came back from walking my dogs, walked past a Nissan Altima and the rear passenger seatbelt was hanging outside the bottom of the closed door, lol.

 

[sajohnson]

The Ford Bronco Sport has a manufacturing defect – – a design flaw – that causes the rear passenger seatbelt to get stuck between the car seat and the frame of the car. As a result, when passengers get out of the backseat, if the retraction device gets stuck, the seatbelt will dangle outside of the closed car door.

Our rear passenger seatbelt was broken as a result of this and we have been waiting 14 days for the dealership to address the problem despite the car only having 8000 miles on it and being fully covered under bumper-to-bumper warranty.

This will be the last FORD that I purchase. Ford customer service has no ability to influence the dealer to solve a service warranty problem quickly.

When I call FORD customer service, they tell me that the case was closed on the same day that I opened it. Their customer service database has no record of the photos and videos and email that I sent to my FORD customer service rep.

I can’t tell you how disappointing my FORD experience has been so far. This is the ninth car that I’ve owned in my life and it is the first and last FORD that I will ever buy.

I highly recommend avoiding buying a Ford because they can’t even handle a broken seatbelt for a brand new car. The company is so inept and reliant on a bunch of unresponsive dealer service people.

Hi Richard,

I'm sorry to hear about your trouble. I just inspected the rear seatbelt & retractor, and saw how the belt can be trapped between the seatback and the plastic side panel:

1) Without moving the seatback, the belt can slip between the seatback the the panel. If this happens, it is still easy to extend the belt, so the user might not realize it. However, There is enough friction to prevent it from retracting.

2) If the seatback is in the folded forward position, when it is restored to the upright/normal position, it is very common for the belt to get pinched, and perhaps prevent the seatback latch from working.

#2 should be noticeable to the person who repositioned the seatback.
#1 is different. That can happen at any time, and may not be noticed by the user. The effect is similar to a weak retractor (typically in older cars).

You are correct that the design leaves something to be desired. OTOH, it's not clear to me how to improve it. Perhaps the seatback could be slightly narrower, so that there is a slight (~1/4") gap between it and the side wall. That would allow the belt to retract even when it slips into that gap.

Regarding getting the belt replaced, your position is that it would not have been damaged had the design been better, and I imagine Ford is saying it's your fault -- that you should have checked. To that I'd say that very few people (approaching zero) do a comprehensive exterior inspection of their vehicle before driving it. If Ford continues to insist that you should have done that -- then that 'rule' should apply to all Ford owners. In fact, it should be in the owner's manual and all buyers should be informed of that requirement by their salesperson.

I'm not suggesting that your case is a slam-dunk. Ford is not 100% at fault, but this is a situation that calls for "goodwill assistance". Ford should replace the belt at no cost. In addition to the moderate expense however, they may be concerned about setting a precedent. Also, doing the repair for free could be seen as an admission that the damage was primarily their fault.

 

[Macs]

Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to understand the issue. Also, thanks for your suggestion to look in the owners manual to see if the driver should check if the rear seatbelts retract every time they are used. The truth is, is what is required in order to be sure that the seatbelt does not get stuck.

Without question, it’s a design flaw.

Whether Ford takes care of it or not, that’s another issue…

As they say, you always find out about the quality of your partner not during the good times, but when things go wrong.

I spoke with customer care last week and they said that it’s really up to the Ford warranty rep to approve it, and that customer service had no ability to influence the process. This surprised me as well.

Hopefully Ford steps up and takes responsibility for the design flaw and the safety hazard and the fact that my vehicle has been out of commission due to this issue. We will see what happens this week.

 

[Macs]

Most any SUV with a rear seat this could happen to, not just the Bronco Sport. Sounds like you are angry at yourself & taking it out on the dealership & Ford.

Why would I be angry at myself? I didn’t design the car. I did not offer customers a bumper-to-bumper warranty and not stand by it.

All I did is buy the car and have a passenger in the backseat get out of the car and shut the door. He didn’t realize he was in a Ford with a seatbelt design flaw so he didn’t check to see if the seatbelt was retracted fully.

As a driver of a car in the 21st-century, I didn’t turn around to see if the seatbelt was jammed between the car seat and the frame of the car, and I drove away— inadvertently snapping the seatbelt.

I guess the only reason I should be mad at myself is because I bought a Ford. The company makes an inferior product, and to add insult to injury, doesn’t appear to stand behind its products. The bumper-to-bumper warranty is as flimsy as the paper on which it’s printed, and customer service department seems unable to convince the warranty rep to do much of anything. There’s so much wrong with Ford and the warranty process that that alone is reason to avoid the company and its products like the plague.

 

[Macs]

It looks more like you didn't move the seatbelt out of the way when you raised the seat back into position from having it folded. This causes the seatbelt to be trapped. How did it tear like that? Shutting it in the door will not tear a belt in half.

I also don't see this being a warranty claim.

 

[Macs]

As I stated, this has nothing to do with the seat back being folded. If you have access to a Ford Bronco Sport, you will be able to see that it’s very easy to pull the seatbelt down between the car seat and the frame of the car in the backseat, bypassing and disabling the automatic belt retraction device. I’ve been driving cars for 35 years and I’ve never seen a rear seatbelt designed so poorly.

I haven’t looked too much into the details, but I also saw that there was a major recall on the seatbelt placement for the large Ford broncos.

Seatbelts are a safety issue, and they should simply work. They should not malfunction. They should not get jammed between the seat of the car and the frame of the car. They should not be able to be extended so far out of the car that they end up dangling on the road and get caught under the rear tire when the driver pulls away.

Last, but not least, when a quality customer brings a car with a broken seatbelt into the dealership, the dealership and the warranty representative should hop, skip and jump to get this major safety issue resolved immediately – – not give customer a delayed runaround.

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