Owner-reported complaints naming the seat belt system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming seat belts, buckles, retractors and pretensioners. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1994 Ford Explorer submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 15 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
WHILE DRIVING AT 25 MPH, THE CONSUMER HEARD A LOUD POP. THE PADDED SHIELD OF THE SEAT BROKE AND EXPOSED A LARGE SPRING. THE BABY WAS IN THE SEAT AT THE TIME OF THE MALFUNCTION. *NM *NM
I WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT. I REAR ENDED THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME DOING 25+ MPH. MY SEAT BELTS DID NOT LOCK UP AND MY AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. MY PASSENGER AND MYSELF WERE BOTH HURT IN THE ACCIDENT. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THERE ARE KNOWN PROBLEMS WITH THIS IN OTHER 1994 FORD EXPLORERS.*AK
REAR LAP AND SHOULDER BELTS DO NOT TIGHTEN TO KEEP THE ADULT OR CHILD FROM MOVING FORWARD IN AN ACCIDENT OR DURING AN EMERGENCY SLAMMING ON OF BREAKS. ADDIDIONALLY THE REAR SEATBELT LOCKS DO NOT RELEASE AFTER BEING BUCKLED WITHOUT A LOT OF TUGGING AND JIGGLING.
BOTH REAR OUTBOARD SEATBELT RETRACTORS NO LONGER WORK. VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN EXAMINED BY DEALER.*AK
ALL THE RESTRAINT SAFETY BELTS DO NOT LOCK BETWEEN MOVEMENTS. HAS CONTACTED MANUFACTURER. MANUFACTURER INDICATED THAT THERE WAS NO COVERAGE BECAUSE OVER 50000 MILES AND SECOND OWNER.*AK CONSUMER ALSO STATES THE BATTERY LIGHT ILLUMINATES WHILE DRIVING, AND SOMETIME THE VEHICLE WILL NOT START.*JB
I HAD THE SCARIEST THING HAPPEN TO ME LAST NIGHT . ON MY WAY HOME FROM MY IN-LAWS WITH MY TWO CHILDREN. MY 10 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER GOT OUT OF HER CAR SEAT. I HAVE A CENTURY MODEL 1165ONHS, MAN.062997, THAT WAS BOUGHT FOR MY 3 1/2 YEAR OLD SON AND WAS HANDED DOWN TO HER. THE SEAT IS IN PERFECT WORKING ORDER BUT SHE IS A BIT OF AN ACROBAT. AS I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD I LOOKED INTO MY REAR VIEW MIRROR AND SAW HER STANDING IN HER SEAT, FACING ME!!! I AM ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE I PUT HER IN HER SEAT BEFORE WE LEFT MY IN-LAWS A FEW MINUTES PRIOR TO HER ESCAPE. I IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER AND TIGHTENED THE STRAP FROM THE BACK WITH THE BAR AND PUT HER BACK INTO HER CAR SEAT, KICKING AND SCREAMING MIND YOU. NOT A 1/2 MILE LATER, AS SHE WAS STILL SCREAMING, I NOTICED HER CRYING BECAME MUFFLED. IT WAS EVENING TIME SO I COULDN'T SEE HER IN THE MIRROR I INSTALLED ON THE SEAT IN FRONT OF HER. AGAIN, I IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER AND WAS TERRIFIED BY WHAT I SAW! SHE HAD AGAIN TWISTED OUT OF HER SEAT AND WAS BEING STRANGLED BY THE WHITE CLASP THAT HOLDS THE 2 STRAPS TOGETHER. SHE HAD TWISTED HERSELF AROUND, THROWN HE LEGS OUT OF THE SEAT TO HER RIGHT AND WAS HANGING BY THE CLASP. FROM HER WAIST DOWN, SHE WAS COMPLETELY OUT OF THE SEAT, HANGING OVER THE SIDE AND STUCK. I HAD MADE SURE THE CLASP WAS HIGH UP ON HER CHEST TO PREVENT HER FROM GETTING OUT, WHICH HAD PREVENTED ENOUGH ROOM FOR HER HEAD TO COME OUT. THE STRAPS WERE ALSO VERY TIGHT ON HER. THEY PULLED HER SHOULDERS DOWN WHEN I STRAPPED HER BACK IN. I THOUGHT THAT WOULD KEEP HER IN. IT DID NOT! THE THOUGHT THAT SOMETHING LIKE THIS COULD HAPPEN HAS NEVER CROSSED MY MIND. MY SON HAD NEVER ATTEMPTED ANYTHING LIKE THIS. IT SCARES ME TO THINK WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED IF I WASN'T ABLE TO PULL OVER AS FAST AS I DID. MAYBE IF ALL INFANT CAR SEATS WERE REQUIRED TO HAVE A 5 POINT HARNESS OR LAP BAR, THAT WOULD HELP. WE DID BUY HER A NEW CAR SEAT LAST NIGHT, EQUIPPED WITH A LAP BAR. PLEASE HELP! THIS IS VERY SERIOUS.*
THE PLASTIC PORTION OF THE SEAT BELT CONNECTION IS CRACKED AND WAS REPORTED TO FORD FOR REPLACEMENT. NO ACTION --EXCEPT REPLACEMENT WOULD COST $800 ON OUR PART. FORD HAS NOT RESPONDED AFTER FIRST CONTACT.
REAR MIDDLE SEAT BELT DOES NOT LOCK WHEN PULLING ON SEATBELT, THEREFORE, CONSUMER FEELS CHILD IS NOT PROPERLY RESTRAINED. *AK
WHILE TRAVELING 35 MPH AND AS A RESULT OF AN ACCIDENT REAR SEAT BELT THAT HAD CHILD SEAT LOCKED IN BECAME UNLOCKED. CHILD SEAT WAS LAYING FACE DOWN ON FLOOR. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
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THE FEMALE SIDE OF THE MIDDLE REAR SEATBELT FAILED UNDER THE 5/50,000 RESTRAINT WARRANTY. SEAT BELT HAS BEEN ON BACK ORDER FROM ASHLEY FORD IN NEW BEDFORD, MA AND UPGRADED TO VEHICLE INOPERATIVE ORDER STATUS SINCE 9/9/98. PART IS STILL NOT AVAILABLE. HAVE TO USE REAR SEAT AND CAN NOT BUCKLE CHILD IN MIDDLE REAR SEAT. THAT OCCUPANT MUST REMAIN UNBUCKLED. THIS IS A VIOLATION OF MASSACHUSETTS STATE LAW.
THE DRIVER'S SEAT BELT BUCKLE AND THE REAR LEFT PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE DOES NOT UNLATCH, CAUSING THE SEATBELT TO BE INOPERATIVE IN WHICH IT WONT PROTECT THE OCCUPANT IN EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT.
THE REAR MIDDLE LAP SEAT BELT WILL NOT RETRACT BACK INTO RETRACTOR . PLEASE DESCRIBE DETAILS. *AK
THE SHOULDER BELT DIDN'T LOCK IN AN ACCIDENT. CAUSING THE CONSUMER TO BE THROWN IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. PLEASE DESCRIBE. TT
REAR SPLIT MIDDLE SEAT BELT MOUNTED TOO CLOSE WHICH INHIBITS OCCUPANT FROM RELEASING SIDE MOUNTED MECHANISM. TT
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .