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3.5

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
37,589 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2016 Ford Explorer seat belts / air bags problems

seat belts / air bags problem

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2016 Ford Explorer Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #36

May 132024

Explorer

  • 136,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the sunroof failed to close. The seat belt warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the sunroof motor had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer informed the contact that the parts were on backorder. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 136,000.

- Albany, GA, USA

problem #35

May 062024

Explorer

  • 106,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was started, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the seat belt retractor was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 106,000.

- Goodyear, AZ, USA

problem #34

Mar 232024

Explorer

  • miles
This is the problem I'm experiencing, my steering wheel would tighten up when I'm backing up from being part. Then when it comes to me, pulling out and about to drive and I have to make a turn the stand well will tighten up again and make it difficult for me to drive or or to turn go other way. When I took my vehicle in to suburban Ford service Ferndale. I'm looking at the questions for additional details. I wasn't in no accident because of my. There's no fire, no injuries, but it can happen and I don't have to have the mileage at how fast I was going because the stand will would get tight when i'm about this pull off.

- Taylor, MI, USA

problem #33

Apr 122024

Explorer

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Airbags notification is

- Milwaukee, WI, USA

problem #32

Oct 272023

Explorer

  • miles
Middle row, passenger side seat belt buckle is broken & will not latch. This is where my 9yr old sits & there is no reason or cause for this to break. My vehicle has the inflatable airbag seatbelts on this row.

- Carrollton, GA, USA

problem #31

Sep 282023

Explorer

  • miles
Car has inflatable seatbelt in the second row bucket seats. I am unable to find any car seats that are safe to use in this vehicle once you move from tether position Have visited local dealership and called Ford for assistance. None of which are able to assist with this which puts children in great harm as no car seat can be safely used

- Jayess , MS, USA

problem #30

Aug 202023

Explorer

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

#1-My rear passenger seatbelt is being cut by some thing down inside of the back seat where the belt is retrieved. This belt is getting more cuts as it is being used since that is where my Grandson now sits. It was not used prior to me having to pickup my Grandson. This is very concerning !!! #2 My drivers side front windshield weather stripping keep popping out and is now blown off, very scary. #3 Just last week I started to hear some popping noise in the front suspension, but could not tell what it was coming from. Just yesterday while making a right hand turn the front suspension and the steering locked up. I was able to turn it back straight after a few seconds as the steering wheel had locked to the right. Praise God there were 3 lanes and I was able to make the correction with out incident.

- Farmville, NC, USA

problem #29

Jul 112023

Explorer

  • miles
The seat belt buckle for the second row passenger-side broke, making it impossible for the seat belt buckle to lock. Ford said the part was back ordered. When the part arrived and the car was being fixed, we received a call from the service manager advising the second row driver-side buckle broke as well. This seems to be a recurring issue.

- San Anselmo, CA, USA

problem #28

Dec 282022

Explorer

  • 118,521 miles
The 2nd row seatbelts in my 2016 Ford Explorer contain mini-airbags. There is a design flaw that causes the connection to the seatbelts to fail, disabling all airbags in the vehicle. Ford issued a CSP in January of 2021 and was supposed to notify all owners of all affected vehicles. I was never notified. In April 2022 my vehicle was left with a Ford dealership for 1 month due to constant electrical problems- the dashboard would go dark, the car would lose power, the maps would shut down, etc. That dealership repositioned the faulty wires. In December of 2022 the airbag light came on. I had to take it to another dealership and learned because of a failed connection to the 2nd row seatbelt, my car had no operational airbags. I paid approximately $1200 for the repair. Ford is refusing to reimburse me for the costs I incurred due to their design flaw. The safety of everyone who has ridden in that car was put at risk- if there was a collision, there would be no protection. The airbag light was not on when the wires were first repositioned. My son drove the car from CT to Florida and was unaware of that the light meant that all airbag s were disabled.

- East Lyme , CT, USA

problem #27

Jan 152023

Explorer

  • 85,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the middle row passenger-??s side seat belt malfunctioned and could no longer be retracted. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the seat belt assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure and stated that the part was on backorder. The failure mileage was 85,000.

- Batavia, IL, USA

problem #26

Jan 142023

Explorer 6-cyl

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

On September 11th, 2019 we had to replace (while still under warranty) the seat belt buckle assembly on the rear (middle seat, driver side) because it would no longer buckle. On January 23rd, 2023 we returned to our local Ford dealership because the other rear (middle seat, passenger side) seat belt buckle assembly would no longer buckle. Upon inspection by the dealership's trim technicians, it was discovered that the other previously replaced seat belt buckle assembly is also about to fail again as well. So I now have 1 completely broken seat belt buckle assembly and a 2nd one seat belt buckle assembly that is about to fail in the middle row of my Explorer where my children are passengers. This is a repeat safety deficiency and we are very upset about it. We were under the impression our children were safe in their seatbelts in the back seats of our car. We contacted Ford Motor Company about this safety deficiency and were assigned the following case # of [XXX]. We were also assigned the following individual to handle the financial cost of the required repairs: CXS [XXX] Customer Experience Specialist, SUV Team [XXX] |www.ford.com office: [XXX] ext.[XXX] Our Assistant Service Manager at AutoNation Ford sent all the requested repair information and pictures requested by [XXX] at Ford. Our Assistant Service Manager at AutoNation Ford is: [XXX] Phone: [XXX] Unfortunately today, we received a phone call from [XXX] at Ford indicating that we do not qualify to have the repairs of the seatbelts covered by Ford. We find this completely unacceptable that Ford is not going to fix a safety item in a car that is less than 10 years old and in excellent condition. This is the second time these items have failed. Not only are the belts failing to connect, but they are also fraying. We do not believe we should have to pay for this vital safety equipment to be repaired. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Arlington, TX, USA

problem #25

Jan 092022

Explorer 6-cyl

  • 102,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the driver-??s side second-row seat belt mechanism had malfunctioned and remained locked. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that a plastic piece inside the receiving latch assembly fractured and the entire latch needed to be replaced. The latch was replaced and the failure was fixed. The contact stated that later the same failure recurred on the second-row passenger-??s side seat belt. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The approximate failure mileage was 102,000.

- Uniontown, OH, USA

problem #24

Mar 172022

Explorer

  • miles
The Passenger second row seatbelt will not latch, The Ford Dealer want's $240 to diagnose the problem. The passenger second row seatbelt has an airbag built in, so it will be an expensive replacement, something I do not feel should be at a cost to the consumer. Major Safety issue in my opinion! We noticed it when we tried to latch out handicap teenager in the car, since we could not latch her in, we had to move her to the other side of the car.

- Livermore, CA, USA

problem #23

Mar 112022

Explorer

  • miles
2nd row seat seat belt not working is loose and will not reset. Took it to ford they want to charge me a lot of money, it's a safety issue

- Fort Worth , TX, USA

problem #22

Jun 012021

Explorer

  • miles
The airbag light comes on due to the connectors in the wiring harness used for the airbag and seatbelt restraint system. When the light is on the airbags will not deploy, making this a safety related issue. Ford has a technical service bulletin Ford TSB 16-0001 showing the issue. This is not covered for repair and the cost is $900 to $1100 per side (there are two sides) to replace the wire harness and connectors. https://www.tsbsearch.com/Ford/16-0001

- Plympton, MA, USA

problem #21

Nov 022021

Explorer

  • miles
We purchased this vehicle through CarMax and there were several items that required repair/replacement. One of which is the front passenger seat belt. There is a small tear in the seat belt. We are told that it is too small for replacement. We have not been injured since the purchase of the vehicle, though this is a major safety concern for my family. I would like to know the safety data and recommendations for seat belt tears/defects.

- Canton, MS, USA

problem #20

Jul 222021

Explorer

  • miles
The system that failed is the seat belt buckle on the 40 seat (of the 60/40 second row seating). The clip inside the seatbelt broke while securing my child in the seat. This faulty belt buckle put my child's safety at risk. We could not travel, delaying our trip on the day we were to leave. If an accident occurred, this could have resulted in serious injury to my child. The belt buckle was removed and taken to the closest Ford dealership. A new belt buckle was ordered, costing $115. The seatbelt buckle was removed and brought into Ford to examine. No concern was observed by the service parts employee as he glanced over broken buckle to ensure he ordered the correct part. No warnings or "symptoms" were present previously to the failed seatbelt buckle. A cheap piece of plastic to hold my child in a seatbelt buckle failed. The broken buckle is available for inspection. A new one is being installed.

- Lusby, MD, USA

problem #19

Apr 092021

Explorer 6-cyl

  • 51,000 miles
My airbag light came on and the Ford dealer warned me that the airbags would not deploy until I got the issue fixed. This is a known issue by Ford, as they have issued tsb it. My Explorer Sport is 4 months over the 5 year/60,000 mile power train warranty, so I contacted assurant solutions because I bought a 72 month/75,000 mile extended warranty through usaa on 1/6/2016. This was my first claim and they denied the claim because they said that 'safety restraint systems' was an 'excluded item'! what's infuriating is that they cover electrical assembly, interior electronics and power train electronics, but not 'safety' electrical components!! I raised cane with the general manager of the Ford dealership and they went back to Ford for a 'goodwill' warranty coverage and they agreed to pay for all but $261 of the repair. While I sincerely appreciate the goodwill offer, Ford lost any future business from me for not proactively offering the goodwill coverage from the start before I had to pursue other options. Shame on Ford!! it doesn't rise to the level of a full recall, but it is a known defect with a critical safety feature, so they should have covered it from the start when presented with the air bag light coming on!

- New Port Richey, FL, USA

problem #18

Feb 142021

Explorer

  • 33,778 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the passenger middle row seat belt failed to latch correctly. The contact spoke with bredemann Ford (2038 waukegan rd, glenview, il 60025, (847) 510-5585) who stated that the seat buckle needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware and failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall and there was no warranty on the vehicle. The approximate failure mileage was 33,778.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #17

Feb 122021

Explorer

  • 45,000 miles
The contact owns 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated upon entering the vehicle, the front driver's side seat belt failed to latch securely. The contact called town and country Ford (7800 E lloyd expy, evansville, in 47715) however, the vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed nor repaired. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacture was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure millage was 45,000.

- Olney, IL, USA

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