Ford Recalls 100,000 Sedans Over Seatbelt Pretensioners
Ford may be phasing out the Fusion and Lincoln MKZ sedans in the near future, that doesn’t mean you won’t see some the next time you’re visiting the dealership. Last week, the company announced a recall of 103,374 vehicles in the United States, 4,002 in Canada and 1,023 in Mexico due to bunk seatbelt anchor pretensioners.
According to the notice, increased temperatures generated during deployment of the driver or front-passenger pretensioner could degrade the tensile strength of the cable below the level needed to effectively restrain an occupant.
As nobody wants to be freestyling inside their automobile in the event of a crash, Ford said dealers “will apply a coating to protect the cable during a pretensioner deployment.”
Affected vehicles include all 2015 Ford Fusion vehicles manufactured at Ford’s Flat Rock Assembly Plant between August 2014 and January 2015. Impacted Lincolns include 2015 model-year MKZs built at the Hermosillo Assembly Plant between August 2014 and November 2014. Fusions assembled the Mexican location over the same timeframe were also included in the recall.
Ford said it is aware of one reported injury related to the defect. The recall will begin in earnest next month, when the company said it would begin contacting customers to arrange a visit at their local dealership. Repairs relating to the tensioner will be conducted free of charge.
[Image: Ford]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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How bad must you be to have every other model with safely designed seatbelts and you don't copy that (or use that) in your bread and butter car? As a former ford Fanboi, I add this as yet another exhibit why I drive a Hyundai now instead of a Ford. This company half steps its way through anything that is not an $80k truck.
They’re applying a coating? What, like flex seal?
IIRC I had exactly the same recall in my previous 2014 Ford Fusion and it was 3 years ago. It was a great car though and replaced it with 2018 Fusion which did not had recalls so far.
Hey, sh#t happens. Ford first put seatbelts in their cars as an option in about 1956. Someone slipped up, it happens. I am sure that Ford did not intend that this part fail. A mistake was made in the design, the selection of the materials used, testing, manufacture, assembly, or installation. No one is perfect.