Seatbelt manufacturing defect and ridiculously slow response from Ford service

[Jmuns]

Best of luck getting it replaced. I think you should take some other route than "it's a safety issue" because the seat belt functioned as designed, it just didn't retract as planned. In my opinion Ford is going to tell you this. I would follow @sajohnson's advice and ask for a goodwill replacement. Any seatbelt can get stuck in a door. A belt can get twisted and jam itself and not retract. Would that qualify as a warranty item? Of course not. I think the saying "You catch more flies with honey" is the way to go with the Ford rep.

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[sajohnson]

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.

To be clear, when I wrote:

"...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 meant that Ford cannot single you out. If they are telling you this is your fault because you didn't do a walk-around and therefore failed to notice the belt hanging outside the door -- then the same should apply to all owners.

Routine exterior inspections are either necessary or they are not. If Ford is claiming they are, then that requirement should be made common knowledge.

There is no way Ford is going to do that.

Regarding the owner's manual, I'm not aware of ANY mfr requiring or suggesting that owners should make sure all seatbelts are retracted. If they did that, they might as well suggest that owners check the exhaust hangers before every trip.

 

[Macs]

Best of luck getting it replaced. I think you should take some other route than "it's a safety issue" because the seat belt functioned as designed, it just didn't retract as planned. In my opinion Ford is going to tell you this. I would follow @sajohnson's advice and ask for a goodwill replacement. Any seatbelt can get stuck in a door. A belt can get twisted and jam itself and not retract. Would that qualify as a warranty item? Of course not. I think the saying "You catch more flies with honey" is the way to go with the Ford rep.

Thank you for taking the time to offer your suggestion. I will take your advice. Thank you and happy holidays!

 

[Bucko]

I feel confident that Ford will step up and replace the belt for you.

Let us know the outcome.

 

[69cuda340s]

The seatbelt gets stuck between the seat and car frame.

Car frame? Its a unibody with Frame Rails all the way underneath the car. Not sure sure how it can get stuck between seat and car frame?

Looks like seat belt got yanked out of car left out the door done dragged on the ground got busted up. Dealer gonna see that say yeah what ever parts will maybe get here one day techs in shop shrug shoulder go poo poo around in the shop.

Yeah most Ford dealers super bad service, most. But there are good dealers out there like one out of every fifteen or so. Trick is to find that one that cares and has skilled techs. And contacting Ford they just want you to go away aint gonna do not a thing.

Parts and labor shortages affect every make out there.....

 

[jkeaton]

Car frame? Its a unibody with Frame Rails all the way underneath the car. Not sure sure how it can get stuck between seat and car frame?

Looks like seat belt got yanked out of car left out the door done dragged on the ground got busted up. Dealer gonna see that say yeah what ever parts will maybe get here one day techs in shop shrug shoulder go poo poo around in the shop.

Yeah most Ford dealers super bad service, most. But there are good dealers out there like one out of every fifteen or so. Trick is to find that one that cares and has skilled techs. And contacting Ford they just want you to go away aint gonna do not a thing.

Parts and labor shortages affect every make out there.....

This.

 

[rneal55555]

I'm sure if the are enough people with the same issue Ford will do something to change it. But if it's just a few here and there it's going to be attributed to operator error.

We don't have rear seat occupants every day but have had a few and so far we have not noticed any issue.

 

[Roadrunner49]

It's OK to vent, but I think contacting Ford or the dealer and carrying on about "design flaw" and "defect" is not going to get it repaired under warranty. Ford and the dealer will not admit to that, nor would they want to set such a precedent.

It's also rather obvious not to close the door if a seat belt is hanging out. If a passenger was unaware, that's not really Ford's fault. Claiming a "defect" because of owner/passenger inattentiveness to basic things is not a good strategy.

Maybe the Bronco Sport seat belt retraction could be more vigorous. But you have 8000 miles on the truck, not 80, and this is the first instance of this happening. Sounds like user error.

Frankly, any dealer would have the same response, not just Ford.

Every vehicle design is a compromise of inter-related features, and none are perfect, so each one has it's quirks. I've had cars in the past that had annoying seat belt issues. But I doubt you selected the Bronco Sport for it's awesome rear seat belts. If you did, my condolences.

Asking politely for a courtesy repair is probably the best route.

 

[Flash]

I don't think it's a design flaw or defect at all. I've seen that exact same thing in a couple of cars (not Broncos) including a 2000 Ford Ranger XLT that I own...does it all the time. Pay attention and avoid the problem.

 

[69cuda340s]

Sounds like I need to give my wife heads up dont go driving down road seat belts dragging on the ground stuck between door and frame...

 

[Dude]

Sounds like I need to give my wife heads up dont go driving down road seat belts dragging on the ground stuck between door and frame...

Yep but before driving is apparently my responsibility to check when others leave seat belts dragging on the ground stuck between door and frame because they can’t seem to remember. I made a note to self to check each time ?‍?

 

[Goodland]

I do hope you get this replaced out of goodwill. I think 'design flaw' and 'defect' and so on are misused here. I've made mistakes with my own cars and been pissed at myself, but that doesn't mean something was defective. If you forget to latch the hood and it flies open, that's not Ford's fault, y'know?
Not to pile on, but I don't think this is a situation where you can yell or litigate your way into a replacement. The right dealership might do you a solid and replace for free or at a reduced cost, though.

 

[Jparadacen]

I don't understand how the person got out of the car and pulled the seat belt that far. Commonly a person would unlatch the seat belt and guide it to the initial position before leaving the car. Otherwise it would be tangled with the belt.

These type of parts are not very common to be replaced so they are not in dealer stock, and it would take some time to arrive. It also surprise me that the dealer is accepting to replace it under warranty. Hope it arrives soon.

 

[sajohnson]

From my post above (#11) to the OP:

I just inspected the rear seatbelt & retractor, and saw how the belt can be trapped between the seatback and the plastic side panel (I assume that's what you meant by 'frame').

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 is trapped. However, there is enough friction to prevent it from retracting. That is what probably happened with your elderly passenger.

That can happen at any time, and may not be noticed by the user (kids; the elderly; people who are distracted and/or in a hurry). The effect is similar to a weak retractor (typically in older cars).

You are correct that the design leaves something to be desired. Perhaps the seatback could be slightly narrower, so that there would be a slight (~1/4") gap on each side, between it and the side wall. That would allow the belt to retract even when it slips into that gap.

That should eliminate the issue.

 

[Escape2Bronco]

From my post above (#11) to the OP:

I just inspected the rear seatbelt & retractor, and saw how the belt can be trapped between the seatback and the plastic side panel (I assume that's what you meant by 'frame').

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 is trapped. However, there is enough friction to prevent it from retracting. That is what probably happened with your elderly passenger.

That can happen at any time, and may not be noticed by the user (kids; the elderly; people who are distracted and/or in a hurry). The effect is similar to a weak retractor (typically in older cars).

You are correct that the design leaves something to be desired. Perhaps the seatback could be slightly narrower, so that there would be a slight (~1/4") gap on each side, between it and the side wall. That would allow the belt to retract even when it slips into that gap.

That should eliminate the issue.

You know, we are now going to start getting a note that flashes on our screen reminding us to check and make sure our rear seat belts aren’t hanging out. Thanks!

This is not limited to the Sport. Happens with most SUV’s. My 2006 Escape would do the same thing. At least on that there was a small snap button to try and hold it to the inner panel. Didn’t work, but they did try.

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