Photo: Ford
Slotted between the Maverick and F-150 line of half-ton pickups, the Ranger isn’t faultless. Mere days after the Super Cab was called back for an issue with the child restraint anchorage system, this body style is currently recalled over a wrongly routed front passenger outboard seatbelt assembly.
On July 28th, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration received a report of a misrouted seatbelt on a 2020 model. A photo from the vehicle indicated that Ford routed the webbing through a rubber trim sleeve and not through the anchor. The Blue Oval promptly opened an investigation with ZF Passive Safety US Inc., the supplier of the seatbelt assembly, the following day. Come August, a 100-percent inspection of both driver and front passenger seatbelts was implemented at the Ranger’s assembly plant.
Obviously enough, Ford issued a yard hold even though no suspect assemblies had been identified. The Critical Concern Review Group conducted a data search for additional reports, finding one from November 2020. They also identified a driver-side report pertaining to a 2019 model in April 2019. Through ongoing reviews of the supplier’s processes, the Dearborn-based automaker had finally identified the problem’s root cause.
“It was observed that the supplier’s seatbelt load test may - under certain conditions - have insufficient load to properly identify a misrouted seatbelt,” explains the Ford Motor Company. Neither party is aware of accident or injury reports, but alas, 47,683 pickups have to be called back.
The affected population was manufactured between July 17th, 2019 and August 4th, 2021 as per the attached report. These vehicles may not comply with two federal motor vehicle safety standards, namely 208 and 209 for occupant crash protection and seatbelt assemblies. Dealers have already been informed of the issue while customers will have to wait until November 15th through November 19th to receive a notification in the mail.
Obviously enough, Ford issued a yard hold even though no suspect assemblies had been identified. The Critical Concern Review Group conducted a data search for additional reports, finding one from November 2020. They also identified a driver-side report pertaining to a 2019 model in April 2019. Through ongoing reviews of the supplier’s processes, the Dearborn-based automaker had finally identified the problem’s root cause.
“It was observed that the supplier’s seatbelt load test may - under certain conditions - have insufficient load to properly identify a misrouted seatbelt,” explains the Ford Motor Company. Neither party is aware of accident or injury reports, but alas, 47,683 pickups have to be called back.
The affected population was manufactured between July 17th, 2019 and August 4th, 2021 as per the attached report. These vehicles may not comply with two federal motor vehicle safety standards, namely 208 and 209 for occupant crash protection and seatbelt assemblies. Dealers have already been informed of the issue while customers will have to wait until November 15th through November 19th to receive a notification in the mail.
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