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 2001 Mercury Sable submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 14 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
THE DRIVERS SEAT BELT DOES NOT LATCH (LOCK) PROPERLY. THE BELT HAS ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS BECAME UNFASTENED WHEN DRIVING. THE DRIVERS BELT ALSO DOES NOT RETRACT AFTER USE. *JS
I OWN A 2001 MERCURY SABLE. AT APPROXIMATELY 70,000 THE DRIVER'S SEAT BELT BEGAN TO RETRACT SPORADICALLY. AT ABOUT 75,000 MILES THE SEATBELT NO LONGER RETRACTED AT ALL. THE SEATBELT STILL LOCKS WHEN PRESSURE IS PUT ON IT, BUT I AM CONCERNED ABOUT ITS SAFETY. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 MERCURY SABLE. WHILE EXAMINING THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE SEAT BELT WOULD NO LONGER RETRACT BACK TO ITS ORIGINAL POSITION. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND NO REPAIRS HAD BEEN PERFORMED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 87,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.
THE SEAT BELT RETRACTION SYSTEMS IN ALMOST ALL VEHICLES WILL FAIL TO RETRACT THE SEAT BELT AFTER A FEW YEARS OF USE. THE SEAT BELTS THEN HANG OUT THE CAR OR TRUCK DOOR AND GET SMASHED WHEN THE DOOR IS CLOSED. THE SEAT BELT EVENTUALLY GETS FRAYED AND LOSES SOME OF IT'S ABILITY TO PROPERLY RESTRAIN WHEN NEEDED. THE RETRACTION SPRING WEAKENS AND NO LONGER RETRACTS THE SEAT BELT. *TR
TL*- THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SEAT BELT RETRACTOR ON THE PASSENGER'S SIDE OF THE 2001 MERCURY SABLE WILL NOT RETRACT. THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED THE CONTACT THE RETRACTOR WAS FOLDING THE BELT OVER, WHICH CAUSED IT TO JAM. THE DEALERSHIP ADVISED THE CONTACT THE SEAT BELT RETRACTOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT SPOKE WITH THE MANUFACTURER. AND THEY INFORMED HIM THIS WAS NOT COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY. THE CURRENT MILEAGE ON THE VEHICLE WAS 28,000. *AK THE CONSUMER PROVIDED THE INVOICE FOR REPAIR AND PICTURES BEFORE THE REPAIR. UPDATE 05/04/07*TR
FRONT PASSENGER SEAT BELT LOCKED AND WON`T RELEASE CONTACTED FORD ABOUT RECALL #01S16 THEY SAY CAR NOT ON THAT RECALL THE PROBLEM IS THE SAME AS THE RECALL,CAR MADE AT SAME PLANT, SAME TIME FRAME AS PROBLEMS WERE FOUND. *NM
DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE FRONT PASSENGER SEATBELT DOES NOT COME OUT OF THE RETRACTOR MORE THAN ONE AND A HALF INCHES. AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP DETERMINED THE SEATBELT ASSEMBLY NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.
THE CONSUMER NOTICED THAT THE PASSENGER SEAT BELT DID NOT RETRACT PROPERLY. WHILE PULLING THE SEAT BELT IT BROKE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION AND THE MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT THE RETRACTOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *AK *SC
SEAT BELT RETRACTOR FAILURE. DEALER WILL NOT REPLACE.*AK
REAR MIDDLE SEAT BELT WOULD NOT PULL OUT. *TT
THE DEALER REPLACED THE RIGHT REAR SEAT BELT RETRACTOR TWICE, HOWEVER THE PROBLEM RECURRED. *JB SCC
DUE TO DESIGN OF HEAD RESTRAINT AND HEIGHT OF THE HEAD REST, WHEN BACKING VEHICLE OUT, CONSUMER NOTICED THERE WAS A BLIND SPOT, OBSTRUCTING DRIVER'S VISION ON ONE SIDE WHICH COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED DEALER. DEALER STATED THAT OTHER CONSUMER'S HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT DESIGN OF THE HEAD REST.*AK CONSUMER STATES THERE IS ONLY 4 AND 1/2 INCHES BETWEEN SIDE OF HEADREST AND DOOR, THERE IS 5 INCHES BETWEEN TOP OF HEADREST AND CEILING AND CONSUMER CAN NOT SEE AROUND IT OR OVER IT, TOP OF CONSUMERS HEAD IS LEVEL WITH TOP OF HEADREST. *SLC
HEADREST IS TOO BIG, AND CONSUMER CANNOT SEE OUT OF REAR PASSENGER WINDOW WHEN PULLING OUT OF PARKING SPACES OR DRIVEWAY.*AK BOTH THE MANUFACTURER AND THE DEALER HAD NO SOLUTION. THE CONSUMER WAS TRYING TO REMOVE THE HEADREST BUT WAS UNABLE. *YH
ALL OF SEAT BELT BUCKLES ARE OF POOR QUALITY AND NEED TO BE REPLACED. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK *SLC
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 .