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 1999 Ford Windstar 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
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 FORD WINDSTAR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SAFETY SEAT BELTS FAILED TO LATCH. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 170,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 FORD WINDSTAR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REAR, DRIVER SIDE SLIDING DOOR WOULD NOT CLOSE. THE DEALER REPLACED THE ALTERNATOR BUT TO NO AVAIL. IN ADDITION, THE ABS WARNING LIGHT REMAINED ILLUMINATED AND THE FRONT DRIVER'S SEAT BELT WAS COVERED IN AN UNKNOWN OIL EACH TIME IT WAS RETRACTED. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO REPAIR ANY OF THE FAILURES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 95,000.
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 FORD WINDSTAR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT AND THE REAR MIDDLE SEAT BELT WILL NOT LOCK. FORD STATED THAT NOTHING COULD BE DONE BECAUSE IT WAS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE AND ADVISED HER THAT SHE WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY COSTS. THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 169,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 160,000.
DT*: THE CONTACT STATED UPON PURCHASE OF THE VEHICLE IT WAS NOTICED THE BLACK CLIP ON THE SEATBELT OF THE REAR DRIVER SIDE SEAT WAS FRACTURED CAUSING THE SEATBELT TO BE INOPERABLE WHEN ATTEMPTING TO INSTALL A CHILD SAFETY SEAT. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO THE DEALER WHO DETERMINED THE ENTIRE SEATBELT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED.
SEATBELT ON PASSENGER SIDE (FRONT SEAT) OF 1999 FORD WINDSTAR RUBBED PLASTIC SLEEVE (WHERE SEATBELT RETRACTS DOWN INTO DOORPOST COVER) CAUSING EXCESSIVE WEAR ON THE PLASTICS EDGE CAUSING IT TO BE ROUGH AND JAGGED, WHICH CAUSED 1/4" OF FRAYING INTO THE EDGE OF THE SEATBELT WHICH CONTINUES TO CUT INTO THE BELT WITH EACH USE. THERE SEEMS TO MAYBE BE SOME KIND OF DEFECT WITH THE DESIGN. THE DRIVERS SIDE HAS A WARPED (NOT SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THAT) PLASTIC PIECE ABOVE THE BELT WHICH PUSHES THE BELT AWAY FROM THE EDGE OF THE SLEEVE (HARD TO DESCRIBE), MAKING IT NOT RUB AGAINST THE EDGE OF THE SLEEVE, SO NO PROBLEMS WITH THE DRIVERS SIDE SEATBELT HAS DEVELOPED.*AK
FRONT PASSENGER SEAT BELT LATCH DID NOT LOCK INTO THE BUCKLE ASSEMBLY. CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO A REPAIR SHOP TO FIX THE SEAT BELT LAST YEAR. TWO WEEKS AFTER THE REPAIR SEAT BELT FAILED AGAIN. CONSUMER RECENTLY CONTACTED THE DEALER, WHO INFORMED HIM SEAT BELT COULD BE FIXED AT CONSUMER'S EXPENSE. PROBLEM WAS NOT FIXED BECAUSE THE CONSUMER WAS UNABLE TO PAY THE AMOUNT THAT THE DEALER REQUIRED TO FIX THE SEAT BELT. *AK
THE FRONT SEAT BELTS GET LIGHTLY PINCHED BETWEEN THE INTERIOR DOOR PANELS LOWER STORAGE BIN AND THE CARPET ON THE FLOOR. THIS CAN CAUSE SOMEONE TO THINK THAT THEIR SEAT BELT IS ON CORRECTLY WHEN IN FACT IT IS NOT PROVIDING THEM ANY PROTECTION AT ALL. THE 12-18" OF EXCESS SLACK THAT IS CAUGHT BETWEEN THE INTERIOR DOOR PANEL AND THE CARPET COULD ALLOW A PERSON TO NOT BE SECURED TIGHTLY IN PLACE DURING AN ACCIDENT.*AK
CONSUMER NOTICED ABOUT THREE DAYS AGO THAT THE RIGHT SEAT BELT ON THE MIDDLE BENCH SEAT DID NOT LATCH. THE CONSUMER WILL CONTACT THE MANUFACTURER. *AK THE SEAT BELT DID NOT ALWAYS LATCH. THE CONSUMER DID NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO SIT IN THE SEAT. *SCC *JB
WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH CONSUMER APPLIED BRAKES. THEN, LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE. VEHICLE WENT INTO DITCH AND ROLLED. REAR PASSENGER'S SIDE SEATBELT LATCH PLATE BROKE, AND PASSENGER SUFFERED 11 FRACTURES/ DRIVER SUFFERED MINOR INJURIES. VEHICLE WAS TOTALLED.*AK IT APPEARS THE SEAT BELT ON THE SECOND ROW CAPTAINS CHAIR DID HOLD DURING PART OF THE ROLLOVER BECAUSE OCCUPANT HAD MARKS FROM THE SEAT BELT *YH
THE PLASTIC SEAM WHERE THE BACK AND SEAT PORTION OF THE CHILD CAR SEAT BROKE. THEREFORE, THE BACK CAN JUST FLOP FRONTWARDS AND BACKWARDS. OUR OTHER SEAT (SAME MODEL) SHOWS STRESS AT THE SAME SEAM (PLASTIC IS A LIGHTER SHADE OF GREY). THE SEATS WERE PURCHASED A YEAR AGO, HAVE NOT BEEN IN A WRECK OR ABUSED. I WILL CONTACT FISHER PRICE TOMORROW BY PHONE.
DRIVER'S SIDE BUCKLE HARNESS HAS BROKEN WITH NORMAL USE. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED.*AK
THE REAR SEATBELTS ON BOTH SIDES HAVE CRACKED WHEN INSTALLING CAR SEATS, IT HAS HAPPENED TO EACH SIDE ONCE, REPORTED TO FORD, NO REPLY, REPLACED BY DEALER. I SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO BREAK THIS PIECE PUTTING IN A CAR SEAT AND TIGHTENING IT. OTHER PROBEM, SEVERAL TIMES VEHICLE HAS DIED AT A STOP IN MAJOR INTERSECTIONS AND THEN WILL NOT RE-START, WILL TURN OVER BUT NOT FIRE, LIKE IT IS OUT OF GAS. HAD IT INTO DEALER TWICE AND THEY SAY THEY CANNOT FIND A PROBLEM.
PASSENGER'S REAR MIDDLE ROW SEAT BELT MALFUNCTIONS WHEN A CSS IS BUCKLED. A WEEK LATER, SEAT BELT WILL UNBUCKLE, WHICH WON'T RESTRAINT CSS PROPERLY. DEALER IS REPLACING THE BUCKLE. *AK
THE VEHICLE'S SEAT BELTS DO NOT LOCK. YH
I CONTACTED FORD CORP. 3 EDITIONS OF OWNERS MANUAL SAYS 99 WINDSTAR COMES WITH AUTO.LOCK.RETRACTORS ON THE 3 PT SEATBELTS... (HOW MANY 99 WINDSTARS ARE ON THE ROAD?) FORD SALES INFORMATION BOOK (WHICH EVERY SALESMEN GETS) SAYS ALR IS STANDARD EQUIPMENT ON 99 WINDSTAR. (HOW MANY DEALERSHIPS & HOW MANY SALESMEN, NOT TO MENTION MGMT?) THOUSANDS OF DRIVERS T H I N K THEY HAVE THIS SAFETY FEATURE AND ITS NOT THERE (BUT IT'S IN WRITING... IN THEIR OWNERS MANUAL). FORD WON'T CHANGE THE BELT RETRACTOR FOR ME. PLEASE RESPOND. PS I WAS TOLD BY FORD ENGINEER TO"DISREGARD BIGBIRD SAFETY CARD. ALR'S DID NOT APPLY TO MY CAR." THEY WOULDN'T EVEN SEND ME ANYTHING THAT MY EXISTING SEATBELTS ARE SAFE AND PROPERLY WORKING... I GUESS PUTTING IT IN WRITING MEANS NOTHING.. SO MUCH FOR FORD MEANS SAFETY FIRST. *AK
WHEN MOVING REAR SEAT TO MIDDLE POSITION BEHIND DRIVER, THERE IS NO PLACE TO BUCKLE THE LAP BELT. IN THE REAR POSITION THERE IS, VEHICLE IS ADVERSTISED AND OWNERS MANUAL SHOWS THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO SWAP MIDDLE AND REAR SEATING. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY DEFECT.
THE FORD WINDSTAR DOES NOT HAVE THE SWITCHABLE RETRACTOR SEATBELTS INSTALLED ON THE EXTERIOR, REAR LAP AND SHOULDER BELT COMBINATION SEATBELTS; ALTHOUGH FORD PAPERWORK SHOWS THAT AS STANDARD FEATURE IN THE 1999 WINDSTAR AND THE OWNER'S MANUAL ON THIS VEHICLE SAYS THAT THIS TYPE OF SEATBELT IS INSTALLED. THE MANUAL DESCRIBES THE METHOD OF INSTALLING A CHILD SAFETY SEAT AS THOUGH THIS TYPE OF SEATBELT IS INSTALLED (PAGE 130 - 142 IN OWNER'S MANUAL). IF THE INSTALLATION OF THE CAR SEAT IS MADE ACCORDING TO THE OWNER'S MANUAL THE CAR SEAT WILL NOT BE SECURE. THIS IS BECAUSE AN EMERGENCY LOCKING RETRACTOR IS USED ON ALL SEATS IN THE WINDSTAR. I VERIFIED THIS WITH DOREE COLLETT AT 312-324-8914 (A CHILD CAR SEAT SAFETY CONSULTANT). THE INSTALLATION OF THE CHILD SEAT IN THE REAR WINDSTAR SEATS CAN BE MADE SAFE WITH A LOCKING CLIP UNTIL THE CORRECT SEATBELTS ARE INSTALLED. I HAVE CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURERS CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMEROUS TIMES. I WAS TOLD THE OWNER'S MANUAL IS ONLY A GENERAL GUIDE AND THAT IT WILL NOT TELL ME WHAT IS ON THE VEHICLE. THIS MAY BE TRUE, BUT CAR SEAT INSTRUCTIONS DIRECT OWNER'S TO REFER TO VEHICLE OWNER MANUALS FOR INSTALLATION AND AS I'VE STATED PREVIOUSLY - FOLLOWING THESE INSTRUCTIONS WOULD DIRECT A PERSON TO MAKE AN UNSAFE INSTALLATION OF CAR SEATS. (NOTE: IT TOOK ME A GREAT DEAL OF TIME AND PERSISTANCE TO EVEN BEGIN TO GET HELP FROM FORD ON THIS ISSUE. I AM NOW USING THE LOCKING CLIP, BUT I AM CERTAIN OTHER KIDS ARE SECURRED IAW THE OWNER'S MANUAL AND ARE NOT SAFE). FEEDBACK ON MY REPORT/ANALYSIS OR ACTION BEING TAKEN WOULD BE APPRECIATED.. *AK
THE GRACO INFANT CAR SEAT/CARRIER, MODEL# 8458 HH, WILL NOT ATTACH SAFELY TO THE CAR SEAT BASE WHEN THE UPPER POSITION SHOULDER STRAP LOCATIONS ARE USED TO SECURE THE INFANT. WHEN THE UPPER SHOULDER STRAP LOCATION SLOTS ARE USED, THE STRAPS ARE JOINED BY A METAL JUNTION TO THE TIGHTENING STRAP, FORMING A "Y". BECAUSE THE SHOULDER STRAPS ARE TOO SHORT, EVEN WHEN USED WITH A SMALL INFANT (<13 LBS) AND WITHOUT BULKY CLOTHING, THIS JUNCTION PIECE AND THE "Y" FORMED BY THE TWO SHOULDER STRAPS AND THE TIGHTENING STRAP INTERFERE WITH THE MAIN LATCH MECHANISM TO THE CAR SEAT BASE. THE RESULT IS THAT THE CAR SEAT CAN APPEAR TO BE LOCATED IN THE SEAT BASE PROPERLY, BUT UNLATCHED. FURTHERMORE, DUE TO THE INTERFERENCE OF THE STRAPS AND THE LATCH MECHANISM, THE SHOULDER STRAPS BECOME DISPLACED TO ONE SIDE OF THE LATCH HOUSING/PROTRUSION UNDERNEATH THE CAR SEAT. THIS RESULTS IN UNEVEN TENSION ON THE SHOULDER STRAPS SECURING THE CHILD IN THE SEAT -- I.E., ONE SHOULDER STRAP IS TIGHT WHILE THE OTHER IS LOOSE. THE MODEL OF THE GRACO INFANT CAR SEAT IS 8458 HH, SERIAL # IS MM0519990643, MANUFACTURE DATE: 05199, SHOULDER STRAPS NUMBER F12217, LOT ID 175191-02, 263630, APR 99 (AS SHOWN ON THE TAG). I CONTACTED GRACO AT THEIR CUSOMTER ASSISTANCE PHONE NUMBER (888 224-6549) ON 10/25/99. THE GRACO REPRESENTATIVE INFORMED ME THAT THEY WERE "AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM" AND THEY BELIEVED THEY WERE "WORKING ON IT" BUT SHE HAD NO INFORMATION ON WHETHER OR NOT A SERVICE/REPLACEMENT PART(S) WOULD BE MADE AVAILABLE AND WHEN GRACO MIGHT HAVE FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING THIS SAFETY PROBLEM. THIS IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE! OUR NEWBORN SON IS APPROXIMATELY 2-1/2 MONTHS OLD, AND THIS PROBLEM HAS RENDERED THE INFANT CAR SEAT UNSAFE AND USELESS. EVEN IF THE CAR SEAT IS USED WITHOUT THE BASE TO AVOID THE LATCH INTERFERENCE PROBLEM, THE STRAPS WILL NOT FIT EVENLY ON THE CHILD AND WILL NOT HAVE ENOUGH LENGTH TO ACCOMMODATE THE CHILD DURING WINTER MONTHS WITH BULKY CLOTHES OR AS HE GETS LARGER!
REAR AND THE MIDDLE SHOULDER SEAT BELTS GET TIGHT ON THE CONSUMERS WHEN PUTTING THE SEAT BELTS ON. CONSUMER HAVE TO KEEP TAKING THE SEAT BELT OFF AND KEEP PUTTING BACK ON BECAUSE EVERYTIME HE MOVES THE SEAT BELT GETS TIGHTER. *AK
VEHICLE CAME WITH A DIFFERENT TYPE OF SEATBELT THAN WHAT IT WAS STATED IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL.THE MANUAL STATED THAT VEHICLE SHOULD HAVE THE AUTOMATIC RETRACTABLE SEATBELT. *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
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