Dearborn, MI — March 3, 2016 — As part of a pair of recent recalls, Ford Motor Company recently announced possible safety risks connected to Transit vehicles produced between 2014 and 2016, with the 2015 and 2016 model years.
“No injuries have been connected to this issue.”
Across the entire North American continent, approximately 51,470 of these vehicles may contain vulnerable seat belt buckles. The vehicles were manufactured at the same assembly plant in Kansas City. In a press release on the new Ford recalls, the manufacturer stated that dealers will inspect and repair the faulty buckles, replacing them if needed.
While no injuries have been connected to this issue, the press release did explain the possible danger to occupants posed by this defect.
“The rear seat belt buckles are being damaged when heavy objects are placed on top of them, which could cause the buckle not to latch completely, increasing the risk of injury in a crash,” the release said. The same statement also referenced a recall for 3,700 Ford F-150 trucks, most of which are in the United States as well. A seat massage function could disable the airbag system in the passenger seat. Dealers will address this issue by updating the module software to fix the vehicle’s classification systems.
These recent Ford recalls come after a previous action targeting 2015 Transits for a seat belt assembly issue. The belts required a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard violation because they didn’t bear the correct labels, which normally list the belt model and model year.
This represented a risk to owner safety because it made it potentially difficult for users to read crucial model information on the belt itself. The manufacturer officially launched this earlier recall on June 12, 2015 for fewer than 50 units.
