Owner-reported complaints naming the seat belt system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Seat belts reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
17
Latest Sep 3, 2008
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
14%
of 124 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
2
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
3
What this page shows
Reports naming seat belts, buckles, retractors and pretensioners. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1989 Ford Thunderbird submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 17 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.
Owner reports naming seat belt
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
Seat belts
Filed Sep 3, 2008
Crash reported2 injuries reported
DRIVER WAS RESTRAINED BY SEATBELT. DURING COLLISION, SEATBELT BECAME UNANCHORED FROM THE FLOOR AND CAME LOOSE CAUSING DRIVER TO BE THROWN INTO STEERING WHEEL, UNDER DASHBOARD AND INTO WINDSHIELD. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE SPEED AND MILEAGE ARE STATED AS APPROXIMATES BY COUNSEL , WILL SUPPLEMENT IF NECESSARY. THE DRIVER WAS OPERATING THE VEHICLE AT A LAWFUL SPEED WITHIN THE SPEED LIMIT. *TR
NHTSA ID
10240760
Incident
Sep 19, 2003
Mileage
60,000 mi
Interior & seatsSeat belts
Filed Jun 28, 2001
PASSENGER'S SIDE AUTOMATIC SEATBELT DOES NOT RETRACT. ALSO, NONE OF SEATBACKS STAY IN A LOCKED POSITION. CONSUMER FEELS THIS IS A VERY UNSAFE WAY TO DRIVE A VEHICLE. *AK
NHTSA ID
891536
Incident
Jun 26, 2001
Seat belts
Filed Jul 20, 1998
MOTORIZED DRIVER'S SHOULDER BELT BECOMES INOPERATIVE, RESULTING IN LOSS OF PROTECTION. *AK
NHTSA ID
825580
Seat belts
Filed Oct 16, 1996
THE DRIVER'S SIDE BELT RETRACTOR BROKE. PLEASE DESCCRIBE . *AK
NHTSA ID
803606
Seat belts
Filed Oct 10, 1996
THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT RETRACTOR DOESN'T WORK. PLEASE DESCRIBE . *AK
NHTSA ID
803433
Seat belts
Filed Jun 21, 1996
THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT SHOULDER HARNESS DOES NOT MOVE. YOU CAN HEAR MOTOR RUNNING BUT IT STAYS IN ONE POSITION. *AK CONSUMER STATES THE PLASTIC TRACK THAT HARNESS RUNS ON IS NOT VISIBLE AS ON THE PASSENGER SIDE, THE TRACK IS EITHER BROKEN OR STUCK DOWN INSIDE MOTOR AREA.*JB
NHTSA ID
985972
Incident
Jun 16, 1996
Seat belts
Filed May 13, 1996
MOTORIZED SEATBELT LOCKED IN THE OPEN POSITION, THE MOTOR CONTINUES TO GRIND. *AK
NHTSA ID
984322
Incident
May 4, 1995
Seat belts
Filed Mar 12, 1996
PASSENGER'S SIDE SEAT BELT HAS FAILED, RED RELEASE BUTTON IS BROKEN. *AK
NHTSA ID
980576
Incident
Mar 1, 1995
BrakesSeat belts
Filed Dec 16, 1995
1 injury reported
MOTORIZED SHOULDER BELT FAILED TO LOCK IN ACCIDENT, ALLOWING DRIVERS HEAD TO IMPACT STEERING WHEEL.
NHTSA ID
490828
Incident
May 27, 1993
Seat belts
Filed Oct 18, 1995
AUTOMATIC SEAT BELT STICKS/NOISY. *SD
NHTSA ID
487118
Incident
Mar 14, 1994
Seat belts
Filed Oct 4, 1995
PASSIVE RESTRAINT UPON ENTRY FAILS LOCKING UP PREVENTING EXIT. PASSENGER SIDE CONSTANTLY REMAINS IN OPEN POSITION.TT CONSUMER DISCONNECTED THE CLIP UNDER THE HEADER PANEL, WHICH RESULTED IN THE AUTOMATIC SEAT BELT BEING PERMANENTLY CLOSED SO NOW THE PASSENGER HS TO MANUALLYPLACE THE HARNESS AROUND THEM.*JB
NHTSA ID
972959
Incident
Jul 1, 1995
Seat belts
Filed Oct 2, 1995
EXPERIENCE INTERMITTENT MALFUNCTION OF DRIVER'S LAP BELT BUCKLE WHEN WON'T ENGAGE OR WHILE DRIVING SOMETIMES DISENGAGES. TT
NHTSA ID
972767
Seat belts
Filed Sep 29, 1995
BOTH FRONT SEATBELTS DO NOT RETRACT OR HOLD THE OCCUPANT. PLEASE DESCRIBE. TT
NHTSA ID
972774
Incident
Sep 27, 1994
Seat belts
Filed Aug 21, 1995
DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEAT BELT BUCKLE DOES NOT STAY FASTENED. TT
NHTSA ID
970809
Incident
May 3, 1995
Seat belts
Filed Aug 11, 1995
DRIVER'S SIDE LAP SEAT MALFUNCTIONED AFTER CLIPPING IT INTO BUCKLE. *AK
DRIVERS SIDE SEAT BELT FAILURE, AUTOMATIC BELTS FAILED. TT
NHTSA ID
967613
Incident
Jun 23, 1995
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.
Other components reported on this vehicle
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own