Three problems related to front seat belt retractor have been reported for the 1996 Ford Explorer. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Both rear restraints do not retract, leaving occupants unrestrained. Feel free to provide any further information.
Driver's side rear passenger seat belt retracted or gave out & it released the rearfacing css. Child & seat toppled over to left. Driver tried to resecure seat belt, but retractor failed. Took vehicle to dealer & was informed by mechanic retractor was broken.
On Dec. 13, 2000, my 22 year old son totalled this vehicle after hitting a patch of "black ice" while traveling at a speed of approximately 45-50 mph. The vehicle rolled according to an eyewitness 4 times and landed on its roof. My son was, thank god, wearing his seatbelt! he was able to release his seatbelt and crawled through the driver's window which had been broken out. He escaped without any injuries! my concern is so much emphasis has been placed on the rollover possibilities when a tire blows, why not the possibility of flipping when hitting ice? is anything being investigated to correct the top heaviness of the vehicle, especially the 2-door models. More emphasis needs to be placed on the necessity of wearing seatbelts to survive a rollover. .