1996 Ford Explorer Seat Belts
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
DT: THE CONTACT STATED THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT WAS NOT PROPERLY LATCHING. IT WOULD UNLATCH WHILE IN USE. THE CONTACT HAD TO SLAM ON THE BRAKES AND THE FORCE CAUSED THE SEAT BELT TO COME UNLATCHED. THE CONTACT HIT HER HEAD. NOW, THE SEAT BELT WILL NOT LATCH. *AK WHEN CONTACT'S HUSBAND BOUGHT THE NEW SEAT BELT ASSEMBLY TO INSTALL IT THE SALES PERSON CLAIMED HE SOLD MULTIPLE OF THESE SETS, AND THEY WORKED WELL. *AK
VEHICLE: 1996 FORD EXPLORER FAILURE: THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE SPRING FAILED, AND WILL NOT LATCH PROPERLY, RESULTING IN RELEASE OF THE SEAT BELT UNDER VERY LIGHT PULL. CANNOT COMPLY WITH SEAT BELT USAGE LAWS DUE TO THE FAILURE OF THE PART. *JB
DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE DOES NOT LATCH COMPLETELY. ONE DAY LATER IT DOES NOT LATCH AT ALL. *JB
DRIVER' S SIDE SEAT BELT WILL NOT STAY LATCHED. A SAFETY PROBLEM. DOES FORD EVEN CARE IF I'M KILLED BECAUSE IT COMES UNLATCHED. THANK YOU FMC. I'LL BE AT THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP. THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT FORD SHOULD FIX. *AK
THE FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT LATCH WILL NOT STAY BUCKLED, EA02-011. DEALERSHIP WAS NOTIFIED, BUT DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK *BF *NM
BUCKLE END OF THE DRIVERS SIDE SEAT BELT NO LONGER WORKS. BUCKLE END NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. *JB
WHILE DRIVING DRIVER'S FRONT SEAT BELT LOCKED, RESTRAINING THE DRIVER, EVEN WHEN DRIVING AT A CONSTANT SPEED. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION. THE CAUSE HAD NOT BEEN DETERMINED. *AK
CONSUMER NOTICED THAT THE DRIVER'S SEAT BELT DOES NOT LOCK PROPERLY. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION, AND MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT THE SEAT BELT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *AK
THE BUCKLE ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT IS BROKEN. I AM UNABLE TO KEEP THE SEAT BELT FASTENED FOR APPROXIMATELY 1 WEEK NOW.*AK
THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT WOULD NOT LATCH WHILE THE OCCUPANT WAS SITTING IN THE SEAT. THE DRIVER DROVE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION. THE MECHANIC TOLD THE DRIVER THAT THE SEAT BELT WAS NOT COVERED BY THE WARRANTY. PLEASE ADD ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. *NM
THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE BROKE AT 120K MILES. AS A RESULT THE DRIVER IS NOT RESTRAINED WHILE DRIVING. *PH *MR
THE DRIVERS SIDE SEAT BELT DID NOT LATCH PROPERLY AND BECAME UNFASTENED WHILE DRIVING. *JB
DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT MALFUNCTIONED. THE SEAT BELT UNBUCKLED BY ITSELF WHILE FASTENED. THIS LEFT DRIVER UNRESTRAINED AND UNPROTECTED IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY STOP OR CRASH. *AK THE FEMALE PORTION OF THE SEAT BELT APPARATUS WAS REPLACED WITH A USED PART FROM A JUNKED VEHICLE. *TC
1996 FORD EXPLORER, DRIVERS SIDE SEAT BELT WILL NOT STAY LATCHED. *JB
DRIVERS SEAT BELT OVER THE COURSE OF 3 WEEKS, GRADUALLY WENT FROM POPPING OUT IN TO NOT WORKING AT ALL. WENT BACK TO FORD, OVER $200.00 TO REPAIR IT.*AK
SEAT BELT BUCKLE FAILURE, DRIVER'S SIDE, 1996 FORD EXPLORER XLT, @72000 MILES. CAR IS IN GOOD CONDITION OTHERWISE, NEVER WRECKED. OVER THE COURSE OF TWO WEEKS, THE BUCKLE WENT FROM TO "POPPING-OUT THE LATCH" OCCASIONALLY TO BEING NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO SECURE THE LATCH IN TO THE BUCKLE AND RANDOM "POP-OUTS".THE BUCKLE WAS REPLACED AND I KEPT THE OLD BUCKLE.*AK
THE DRIVER'S SEAT BELT DID NOT LATCH PROPERLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO STATED THE BUCKLE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *JB *SCC *JB
SEAT BELT FAILURE. THE DRIVERS SEATBELT FAILS TO HOLD/LATCH. SEATBELT IS COMPLETELY UNUSEABLE.
THE SEAT BELT FAILED DUE TO A FATIGUE CRACK IN THE BUCKLES SPRING. *AK *JB *NM
ALL OF THE SEAT BELTS DO NOT LATCH.DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK *TS
BOTH FRONT SEATS BELTS RELEASE ON THEIR OWN. HAVE DONE SO NUMEROUS TIMES. I WILL REPLACE THEM TODAY. DT
BOTH REAR RESTRAINTS DO NOT RETRACT, LEAVING OCCUPANTS UNRESTRAINED. FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK
DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE WOULD NOT STAY LATCHED, AND PLASTIC ON PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT IS CRACKING. FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS MATTER.*AK
DRIVER'S SEATBELT WILL NOT LATCH, AND CONSUMER IS UNABLE TO USE IT WHILE DRIVING. CAUSE UNKNOWN. DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK
VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A COLLISION IN WHICH VEHICLE ROLLED OVER, AND PASSENGER SEAT BELT BUCKLE RELEASED FROM LOCKING MECHANISM. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 1996 Ford Explorer has 70 Seat Belts complaints on file. 2 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.