at 146,000 miles
Richmond, CA
SEAT BELTS
PASSENGER SEAT BELT IS STUCK AND WILL NOT RETRACT.
NHTSA complaint #10512800 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
1996 Ford Mustang seat belt problems
13 of the 329 complaints about the 1996 Ford Mustang are about the seat belts — 4% of everything reported for this model year. Half of the failures with a mileage on record happened before 69,000 miles.
13
Complaints
1
Crashes
0
Fires
2
Injuries
Exactly what failed
Retractor
7
53.8%
Anchorage
3
23.1%
Buckle Assembly
2
15.4%
Seat Belts
1
7.7%
Seat Belts across every Ford Mustang year
What owners said
Filed with NHTSA, in their own words.
at 69,000 miles
SAN Antonio, TX
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
CONSUMER NOTICED THAT BOTH DRIVER AND PASSENGER RETRCTORS DETERIORATED. THE BELTS WERE INOPERABLE. CONSUMER WAS AFRAID THERE WAS A GREAT RISK INVOLVED WHILE DRIVING WITHOUT BELTS.
NHTSA complaint #10081362 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 69,000 miles
SAN Antonio, TX
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
CONSUMER NOTICED THAT BOTH DRIVE R AND PASSENGER RETRACTORS DETERIORATED. THE BELTS WERE INOPERABLE WHEN IN USE. CONSUMER WAS AFRAID THAT THERE WAS A GREAT RISK INVOLVED WHILE DRIVING WITHOUT BELTS.
NHTSA complaint #10081364 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 62,123 miles
EL Dorado Hills, CA
Crash
1 injured
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY DURING AN ACCIDENT. *MR THE CONSUMER WAS REAR ENDED AND HIT OTHER VEHICLES, AS THIS HAPPENED, THE SEAT BACK BROKE AND THE SEAT BELT BUCKLE HAD CAME LOOSE. THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO RUN AND THE FUEL SAFETY SWITCH DID NOT TURN OFF. SCC *NLM
NHTSA complaint #10014843 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Indianapolis, IN
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
SEAT BELT HAS BECOME FRAYED WHILE PASSING THROUGH RETRACTOR GUIDE. SEAT BELT TANGLES AND WILL NOT RETRACT DUE TO POOR GUIDE DESIGN. NUMEROUS DEALERS CONTACTED AND ADVISED ABOUT POSSIBLE SEAT BELT FAILURE AND LACK OF CRASH WORTHINESS. ALL HAVE SAID BELT IS OUT OF WARRANTY (PROBLEM FIRST NOTICED AT AROUND 60K MILES) AND THAT FORD WAS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR REPLACEMENT. WEAR ON BELT CAUSED BY RETRACTOR GUIDE, NOT USE OR ABUSE.
NHTSA complaint #756006 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
West Columbia, SC
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
SEAT BELTS AT TIMES DO NOT RETRACT, OR AT TIMES WILL NOT BUCKLE CORRECTLY.
NHTSA complaint #888955 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
West Columbia, SC
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
SEAT BELTS AT TIMES DO NOT RETRACT, OR AT TIMES WILL NOT BUCKLE CORRECTLY.
NHTSA complaint #888955 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Davie, FL
1 injured
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
WHILE DRIVING THE HYDRAULIC BRAKE BOOSTER FAILED CAUSING THE STEERING WHEEL TO LOCK UP AND LOSS OF CONTROL (ACCIDENT), AS A RESULT THE SEAT BELT RETRACTOR BROKE.
NHTSA complaint #784740 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Mesa, AZ
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
THE SEAT BELT RETRACTOR FOR BOTH FRONT SEATS JAM. THEY JAM WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO PULL THEM OUT TO HOOK THEN TOGETHER. THIS DOES NOT ENABLE YOU TO BE ABLE TO HOOK UP YOUR SEAT BELTS. THE FIRST OCCURRENCE WAS SOMETIMES IN 1997. WE CONTACTED THE DEALER. THEY TOOK THE COVER OFF OFF THE RETRACTOR AND STRAIGHTENED OUT THE BELT SO IT WOULD WORK. THIS HAS BEEN DONE SEVERAL TIMES BY THE DEALER AND BY THE OWNER OF THE VEHICLE. THE BELT IS EASILY TWISTED AND JAMS IN THE RETRACTOR. THE RETRACTOR WAS REPLACED BY THE DEALER 0N SEPTEMBER 21, 1998. THE PROBLEM CONTINUED, AND THE DEALER WAS CONTACTED AGAIN ON JUNE 2, 1999 AND THE RETRACTOR WAS REPLACED AGAIN. WE HAVE BEEN IN NUMEROUS TIMES FOR THIS PROBLEM AND IT STILL IS UNRESOLVED AS TO THE RETRACTOR JAMMING. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A SERIOUS DESIGN DEFECT WHICH THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD CORRECT IMMEDIATELY. THE CAR CANNOT LEGALLY OR SAFELY BE DRIVEN WITH A DEFECTIVE SEAT BELT ASSEMBLY.
NHTSA complaint #721415 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SAN Antonio, TX
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE
SEAT BELT ON DRIVERS SIDE IS VERY WORN AND FRAYING.IT IS FRAYING DUE TO A PLASTIC GUIDE THAT IS SUPPOSED TO KEEP SAFETY BELT IN PLACE.I DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE DRIVING THE CAR AND FEEL IF I WERE TO BE INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT THE SEAT BELT WOULD RIP AND CAUSE ME TO BE THROWN FORWARD WITH THE IMPACT.
NHTSA complaint #710086 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Long Beach, CA
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
BRAKE LIGHTS: THE REAR BRAKE LIGHTS DON'T WORK WHILE THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED. THERE HAVE BEEN NO AFTERMARKET MODIFICATIONS TO ANY PART OF THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. THE BRAKE LIGHTS WORK ONLY WHEN THE CLUTCH PEDAL IS LIGHTLY PRESSED AND THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED. THIS PROBLEM IS CURRENTLY BEING ADDRESSED BY THE DEALER, BUT SINCE THE CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY, I HAVE TO PAY FOR IT. SEAT BELTS: THE FRONT DRIVERS SIDE SEAT BELT DOESN'T RETRACT. THE BELT "HANGS LOOSELY" AFTER IT IS THE DRIVER TAKES IT OFF AND REQUIRES "EXCESSIVE" MANUAL ADJUSTMENT FOR A PROPER AND SAFE FIT. MILEAGE ODOMETER: THE MILEAGE ODOMETER DOESN'T WORK. I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG IT HAS BEEN BROKEN, BUT I NOTICED RECENTLY THAT IT STOPS OCCASIONALLY. AFTER REVIEWING MY DRIVING PATERNS I BELIEVE THAT THE ODOMETER MAY BE REPORTING MORE MILEAGE THAN I HAVE ACTUALLY PUT ON THE CAR (BUT I HAVE NO ABSOLUTE WAY TO PROVE THIS).
NHTSA complaint #700844 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SUN City, AZ
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE
DRIVER'S SEAT BELT FAILED.
NHTSA complaint #527184 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SAN Diego, CA
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE
THE SEAT BELTS DO NOT LOCK WHEN BRAKING.
NHTSA complaint #606063 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.