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 1997 Ford Mustang submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 20 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
1997 FORD MUSTANG PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT WILL NOT RETRACT, DRIVERS SIDE RETRACTS ABOUT 98% OF THE TIME, 2% OF THE TIME, ITS RENDERED USELESS LIKE THE PASSENGER SIDE. FORD NOTIFIED, WAS TOLD IT WAS "OWNER ERROR". I DON'T THINK SO. *JB
SEAT BELTS ON DRIVER'S SIDE FAILED ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO AND WERE REPLACE DWITH ONE FROM JUNK YARD. NOW THE ONE ON THE PASSENGER SIDE IS LOCKED UP (BELT WON'T EXTEND). THIS IS ON A 1997 FORD MUSTANG V-6. *AK
BOTH FRONT SEAT BELTS ARE JAMMED AND WILL NOT RETRACT. I HAVE ALWAYS HAD THIS PROBLEM WITH BOTH BELTS, BUT HAVE ALWAYS MANAGED TO HAVE THEM RETRACT BACK. NOW BOTH BELTS ARE SITTING IN THE FRONT SEATS AS BOTH BELTS ARE TOO SHORT TO FASTEN WHEN DRIVING. THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM AND IS DANGEROUS TO BOTH FRONT SEAT PASSENGERS. NLM
DRIVER'S SIDE SHOULDER BELT IS FRAYING WITH BELT EXTENDED, NOT ABLE TO RETRACT BACK THROUGH SLEEVE. PLEASE DESCRIBE DETAILS.*AK
SEATBELTS ON BOTH SIDES WILL NOT RETRACT. PASSENGER'S SIDE SEATBELT COMPLETELY IS INOPERABLE. DEALER CONTACTED. *AK
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK
IN 1999 AT 37,000 MILES THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT RETRACTOR FAILED. RECENTLY AT JUST UNDER 50,000 MILES THE PASSENGER SEAT BELT RETRACTOR FAILED. THE CAR WAS BROUGHT TO THE DEALER, CAPITOL FORD AT 50,471 MILES. THE DEALER STATED THAT BECAUSE THE MILEAGE EXCEEDED 50,000 IT WOULD NOT BE REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY. THE FACT THAT WE HAVE AN EXTENDED SERVICE PLAN WARRANTY DID NOT CHANGE FORD'S RESPONSE. I AM CONTACTING YOU NOW BECAUSE I FEEL THAT FORD MOTOR COMPANY IS BEING UNREASONABLE REGARDING THE WARRANTY REPAIR OF THIS IMPORTANT SAFETY FEATURE. THESE SEATBELTS SHOULD NEVER FAIL AND THE FACT THAT BOTH OF THEM HAVE FAILED SEEMS TO POINT TO A DEFECT THAT SHOULD TRIGGER A RECALL. YOUR ASSISTANCE IN THIS MATTER WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.*AK
FRONT SEAT BELTS FAIL TO RESTRAT AFTER BEING RELEASED. HAVE CONTACTED DEALERSHIP, AND WAS INFORMED BY SERVICE MANAGER THAT RETRACTOR HAD TO BE REPLACED.*AK
SEATBELT RESTRAINT HAS COMPLETELY BROKEN AFTER BEING DIFFICULT TO RETRACT.*AK
SEAT BELT JAMS IN GUIDE OVER DRIVERS SHOULDER BY FOLDING OVER AND BECOMMING TOO WIDE FOR THE GUIDE SLOT. THIS RENDERS THE SEATBELT USELESS IN A CRASH. FORD MOTOR CO AND DEALER HAVE IGNORED MY REQUESTS TO MAKE THE REPAIR. IT IS VERY DANGEROIUS.
FRONT SEAT BELTS FAILED TO RETRACT BACK TO ORIGINAL POSITION AFTER USEAGE. TOOK TO DEALER , AND MECHANIC INDICATED NOTHING WAS WRONG AFTER PUTTING BELTS BACK. HAS SINCE REAPPEARED A WEEK LATER. *AK
SEAT BELT HAS ALWAYS HAD A PROBLEM WITH RETRACTING. IT HAS NOW BEEN PULLED OUT ALL THE WAY AND WILL NOT GO BACK IN. IT CANNOT BE USED IN THIS CONDITION AS IT POSES A SAFETY PROBLEM. DEALER HAS SAID A NEW SEAT BELT RETRACTING UNIT IS REQUIRED AND IT IS $90 PLUS $127.50 TO INSTALL. *AK
SEAT BELT BADLY WORN FROM SHARP PLASTIC COVER AND SHARP SPRING ROLLER, NOT APPARANT UNLESS BELT PULLED OUT (DIRVER WOULD NOT NORMALLY NOTICE). *AK
I PURCHASED THE FORD MUSTANG COBRA DURING JULY, 1997, AND CURRENTLY HAVE 16,850 MILES. THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT HAS WORN AT THE POING WHERE IT RETRACTS INTO THE FLOOR SUCH THAT IT MAY BREAK AT ANY TIME, ESPECIALLY IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT. BECAUSE OF THE WEAR LOCATION ON THIS SEATBELT, IT WOULD NOT NORMALLY BE NOTICED BY THE DRIVER. I WAS UNAWARE OF THIS UNSAFE BELT UNTIL SOMEONE OUTSIDE THE CAR WHILE THE DOOR WAS OPEN, AND WHILE I HAD MY SEAT BELT FASTENED, POINTED OUT THIS UNSAFE CONDITION. I HAVE NOTIFIED FORD MOTOR COMPANY CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CENTER BY LETTER DATED OCTOBER 30, 2000, REQUESTING GUIDANCE. FORD HAS NOT RESPONDED TO MY INFORMATION AND REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE. *AK
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK
SEAT BELTS JAM, DON'T RETRACT, CAN'T PULL OUT TO PUT ON. SEAT BELT MATERIAL FOLDS OVER CAUSING DOUBLING OF FABRIC AND JAMMING IN GUIDE MECHANISM.
SEAT BELT ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOES NOT RETRACT. THE BELT IS HANGING OUT OF MECHANISM. THE DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED ABOUT THE PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN CORRECTED. *AK
SEAT BELT JAMMED. NLM
FRONT AND REAR SEAT BELTS WILL NOT LOCK.
DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25-30MPH AND CAMING TO A STOP, ATTEMPTED TO MAKE A RIGHT TURN, STARTED TO ACCELERATE ,VEHICLE STARTED TO SLIDE,TRIED TO TURN BACK AND VEHICLE STARTED TO GO TOWARDS THE CURB. HIT THE BRAKES AND THE VEHICLE DID NOT STOP AND RAN INTO CURB.SEAT BELTS DID NOT HOLD IN PLACE, DAUGHTER WENT FORWARD AND HIT HEAD ON DASH ,THEN AIR BAGS DEPLOYED IN A DELAYED REACTION. SEAT BELTS WERE REPLACED, BUT THEY DON'T KNOW WHY THEY DID NOT HOLD SECURE. *AK
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 .