FaultScore

Ford Ranger seat belt problems

254 of the 10,502 complaints filed about the Ford Ranger are about the seat belts — 2% of everything owners reported. The worst model year for it is 2001.

254

Complaints

2%

Share of all complaints

64

Crashes

0

Fires

Seat Belts complaints by model year

1983 Ranger 1 0.4%
1984 Ranger 1 0.4%
1986 Ranger 7 2.8%

Median failure at 109,368 miles

1987 Ranger 9 3.5%
1988 Ranger 10 3.9%
1989 Ranger 3 1.2%
1990 Ranger 3 1.2%

Median failure at 177,000 miles

1991 Ranger 3 1.2%
1992 Ranger 2 0.8%
1993 Ranger 7 2.8%
1994 Ranger 11 4.3%

Median failure at 74,900 miles

1995 Ranger 19 7.5%

Median failure at 94,000 miles

1996 Ranger 27 10.6%

Median failure at 126,880 miles

1997 Ranger 10 3.9%

Median failure at 96,122 miles

1998 Ranger 13 5.1%

Median failure at 178,750 miles

1999 Ranger 12 4.7%

Median failure at 47,000 miles

2000 Ranger 23 9.1%

Median failure at 100,000 miles

2001 Ranger 46 18.1%

Median failure at 98,627 miles

2002 Ranger 17 6.7%

Median failure at 57,000 miles

2003 Ranger 9 3.5%

Median failure at 74,350 miles

2004 Ranger 3 1.2%

Median failure at 100,000 miles

2005 Ranger 1 0.4%
2006 Ranger 1 0.4%

Median failure at 7,625 miles

2008 Ranger 1 0.4%

Median failure at 130,000 miles

2010 Ranger 1 0.4%

Median failure at 65,952 miles

2019 Ranger 7 2.8%
2020 Ranger 6 2.4%

Median failure at 45,000 miles

2022 Ranger 1 0.4%

What owners said

2020 Ford Ranger Waleska, GA

SEAT BELTS

1. Transmission is going out dealership never said a word about the 6 recalls on it one being transmission 2. Front seat belts are in backwards and the child safety hook in back seat has a recall on it that the 3 of the 6 I know of Ford had told alm to replace the entire transmission before they ever sold it they did not do that they didn't take care of any of the recalls

NHTSA complaint #11756331 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2019 Ford Ranger Lanham-Seabrook, MD

SEAT BELTS

Restraints indicator lamp warning. Air bag warning is on due to a problem with the front passenger side airbag. The front passenger airbag may not function.

NHTSA complaint #11726607 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2019 Ford Ranger San Antonio, TX Crash 3 injured

SEAT BELTS

Airbags: passenger rear and front side airbags did not deploy after being struck on the passenger side by another vehicle. Seatbelts: were ineffective Vehicle was sold due to system failures and equipment issues. Safety: Head and body trauma due to non deployment. Inspection: Unknown No system messages before collision

NHTSA complaint #11723752 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2019 Ford Ranger Albuquerque, NM

SEAT BELTS

Air bag malfunctions and not active passanger and driver side, hvac malfunction replaced twice, power train shifting out of gears, PCM malfunctions and triggering failures to sensors. Passanger seat belt not working. Collision sensor malfunction and not working.

NHTSA complaint #11684152 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2019 Ford Ranger Hampton, VA

SEAT BELTS

The seat belt does not engage.

NHTSA complaint #11594872 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2020 Ford Ranger at 45,000 miles Houston, TX

SEAT BELTS: REAR/OTHER:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that while parking and removing the seat belt, the belt retracted quickly wrapping around their child's neck. The contact was able to stop the vehicle and release the child; however, the seat belt still failed to retract properly. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.

NHTSA complaint #11586126 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2010 Ford Ranger at 65,952 miles Alton, VA

SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR

The contact’s husband owns a 2010 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that the driver’s side seat belt was retracted and damaged. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the seat belt needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the seat belt was replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,952.

NHTSA complaint #11583266 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2020 Ford Ranger Salinas, CA

SEAT BELTS

Rear seat latch does not work resulting in seat collapsing forward when braking and would also collapse in an accident. Seat belts and child car seat would not be functional. Appears to be a common problem based on our research on the Internet. Salinas Ford dealership rep stated repairs are not covered because it is not a seat belt. This vehicle only has 2,758 miles, even though it is a 2020.

NHTSA complaint #11573596 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2019 Ford Ranger San Jose, CA

SEAT BELTS

My seat belt buckle stopped working (part number KB3Z-2161203-AB) and despite the fact that my truck is less than 5 years old and has less than 60K miles on it Ford's service system says this part is not covered under the 5 year 60K mile Safety Restraint System nor the Premium Care extended warranties I have on the truck. Documentation for the warranties suggests it does but the system the Ford service techs use says no. When I've escalated to Customer Care, they claim "there is nothing they can do." Ford Protect (warranty department) says the same thing. A helpful Ford tech on the internet claims he looked into it and says the problem is that the Ford service system has the part misclassified as a "trim" part and not a "safety" part so it only recognizes it as something covered by the 3 year 36K mile bumper to bumper warranty. When I pressed and they sent me to Ford Financial Assistance for a "Goodwill Repair" I was told they would only cover 40%. I have presented pictures to Ford of their own warranty documentation that clearly states the seat belt buckles are covered and they repeatedly have pushed back saying "there is nothing we can do, it's denied." Bringing it to your attention in the hopes you can help me find the right folks at Ford to remedy this issue as anyone who has a Ford with this same base part number (2161203) is going to have this problem. I'm attaching a copy of the Ford Warranty Safety Section and a copy of the online listing for the Seat Belt Buckle.

NHTSA complaint #11564753 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2019 Ford Ranger Wadsworth, IL

SEAT BELTS

Front Passenger seatbelt locks up every single time it is used. It has been an issue since day one of purchasing the vehicle. (There is a recall for this issue, however my specific VIN is not listed.) This is a major concern of safety.

NHTSA complaint #11545457 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

1996 Ford Ranger Crosby, TX

SEAT BELTS

Drivers side seat belt buckle does not work. The tongue on the long strap does not lock into the buckle at the seat. I think this may be a recall problem with other models and/or years, but not 1996 Ford Rangers.

NHTSA complaint #11509207 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2020 Ford Ranger new Port Richey, FL

SEAT BELTS

Driver seat belt will not automatically/fully return. I have brought the issue to the attention of Service Advisors at two different Ford dealership's. They acknowledge the problem but note there is no fix available from Ford. Aside from having to manually feed the belt back each time used a safety issue could exist if slack remains in the belt when driving.

NHTSA complaint #11481442 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2022 Ford Ranger Johnstown, PA

SEAT BELTS

This vehicle is brand new. 250 miles. Seat belt warning indicator remains on for rear passenger side and will not clear. No one is in the seat. Tried buckling seat belt for rear passenger seat - warning cleared. Unbuckled and warning appears again and won't clear. There are no objects on the seat. Shut vehicle off and dismounted. Got back in and restarted vehicle. Seat belt warning indicator remains on for rear passenger side and will not clear. FORD has nothing documented for clearing this. Dealership will not acknowledge this and does not have a 'fix'. The resulting warning may now affect how safety/collision systems will operate in an actual collision.

NHTSA complaint #11461172 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

1996 Ford Ranger Crosby, TX

SEAT BELTS

Drivers side seat belt buckle does not release. Broken about ten years. Currently using middle seat belt buckle.

NHTSA complaint #11451244 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2019 Ford Ranger Arlington, WA Crash

SEAT BELTS

Possible Drivers side seat belt problem on 2019 Ford Ranger. Incident occurred on Monday 12/20/202, ABOUT 9:20 AM. After rounding a corner at low speed I hit a patch of ice and, spinning about 90 degrees, ran head on into a very tall power pole, anchored to its concrete base with many very large bolts. This stopped me. No damage to the post. Air bags did not deploy, but I was thrust forward, hitting the steering wheel hard. I bruised my chest, not visibly, in the sternum area. I think my seat belt must have failed. The force on the belt ripped the plastic paneling covering it from the sidewalls. My truck is now in the body shop being evaluated. I pointed out the seat belt problem and they said they can give me a new one if there is a problem.

NHTSA complaint #11444639 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2001 Ford Ranger at 200,000 miles Fresno, CA

SEAT BELTS

The contact owns a 2001 Ford Ranger. The contact stated that the front passenger’s side seat belt would not latch properly. The contact also stated that the vehicle would hesitate upon the depression of the accelerator while driving at various speeds. The contact noticed that the temperature gauge would indicate the vehicle was hot once the hesitation started. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic where both failures were linked to recalls. The mechanic linked the seat belt failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 01V227001 (Seat Belts) and the overheating failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 09V399000 (Vehicle Speed Control). The dealer was notified of both failures and informed her that the VIN was not included in either recall. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.

NHTSA complaint #11444132 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2020 Ford Ranger Milford, OH

SEAT BELTS

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Ranger. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V811000 (Seat Belts) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact called the local dealer who stated the parts were not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts are not available.

NHTSA complaint #11440517 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2020 Ford Ranger Alpharetta, GA

SEAT BELTS

The right front seat belt pulled out of its anchor in the rear door. It’s clear the webbing did not go through the mounting eye. The belt was held in place only by the plastic housing until it pulled out today. This is the same problem covered by Ford recall 19S23 for 2019 Ranger Super Cab up to June 19, 2019 build date. Mine is a 2020 model built 9/20 over a year after the recall. I’d rack it up as a one-off defect except for the recall.

NHTSA complaint #11425590 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2001 Ford Ranger at 169,000 miles Fairview, TN

SEAT BELTS

PASSENGER SEATBELT RELEASES RANDOMLY FOR NO REASON.

NHTSA complaint #11398500 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

2001 Ford Ranger at 150,000 miles Mesa, AZ

SEAT BELTS

THE PASSENGER SEAT BELT DOESN'T LATCH AND THE AIRBAG LIGHT ILLUMINATES SPORADICALLY. OCCASIONALLY FOR THE ENTIRE TRIP AND SOMETIMES IT GOES ON AND OFF THROUGHOUT THE TRIP, YET OTHER TIMES IT FUNCTIONS PROPERLY!

NHTSA complaint #11397662 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Other Ford Ranger problems