Front Seat Belt Buckle Assembly problems of the 1997 Ford Explorer

- the contact stated that while attempting to drive the 1997 Ford Explorer with 134800 failure mileage the driver's front seat belt failed. The seat beltwas difficult to buckle and would unlatch while driving . The vehicle has not been taken to a dealer ,and the vehicle had not been repaired. The current mileage was 135000.

Seat belt buckle latch mechanism has failed for the drivers seat in my 1997 Ford 4 door 4x4 Explorer.

Driver side seat belt buckle fails to lock when clip is inserted or sometimes appears to lock but comes unlock if occupant takes a breath.

The driver side seat belt buckle assembly malfunctioned and failed to lock. The latch plate did not lock in the buckle. This rendered the seat belt inoperative.

The driver's shoulder harness will not unbuckle. I would like to know if there have been similiar problems reported to NHTSA. The local Ford dealer has special ordered the part (fmc f87z 7861203 aaa).

In a roll over crash consumer's daughter was killed due to rear seat belt buckle disconnecting, and she was ejected from front windshield.

Driver's seat belt buckle failed to unlatch. The consumer had to use a screw driver to pry it open.

After parking vehicle consumer could not unbuckle seat belt. Consumer had to cut seat belt to finally get out of vehicle.

Passenger restraint did not release at the buckle or restraint. Owner had to cut restraint to release passenger. Dealer and manufacturer have been notified and neither accepts fault or liability of failed part.

Consumer was stuck in the car because seat belt would not unlatch enroute to dealer. Provide further details.

An unusual problem that has happened to me probably over 100 times in 2 years. After unbuckling the seatbelt, the seatbelt starts to retract as it's supposed to. However, just before fully retracting, with about 7-8 inches to go, the belt gets twisted just before it enters the belt shoulder guide/support/slide (exact name unknown--mounted on frame, about ear level when seated in car, changes the direction of the belt position to vertical). It seems to me that the weight of the buckle (male end) is off center in relation to the belt and causes the belt to twist. This twist prevents the belt from sliding throught the shoulder belt support/guide/slide. The 7-8 inches of slack gets caught in the door after exiting and closing the door. After re-entering the car and closing the door, the slack in the belt is still there (nothing has changed since exiting the car). The seat belt can be easily buckled (it just takes additional belt off the retraction roller) but the belt is still stuck in the door and the driver would never know it. A slight tug on the belt frees it from the door and the excess belt is retracted. This is a problem should the belt be called upon to work with the slack caught in the door. In a head-on, the body moving forward would not be restrained until the slack part of the belt is no longer stuck in the door. (the body moving forward frees the belt from the door). I'm sorry for the lengthy description.

Seat belt locked up on passenger's side,had to cut belt to remove infant. Contacted dealer. Dealer refused to do anything.