Table 1 shows one common seat belt related problems of the 2015 Ford Explorer.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Seat Belt problems |
This weekend the seatbelt on the driver seat gave out and now I am unable to buckle my seatbelt at all. I called larry h miller Ford in lakewood CO and they informed me that a diagnostic for the seat belt is 230$ which is out of my budget. The women I spoke with then stated that just the other day she had an Explorer (same make and model as my vehicle) came in with the same issues and the repair was about 1,200$ which is definitely not in my budget. Not only is it illegal to drive without a seat belt in colorado, it is extremely dangerous and posses an immediate risk to my safety. Like I stated I can’t afford Fords diagnostic however if I need to take it to insurance or police for inspection I will do that. There was no warning signals or indication this would happen. I would like further investigation if this has already happened to at least 2 of us in the denver area there has to be more and this is extremely dangerous and up to Ford to fix the problem.
Both of the inflatable seat belts in the back seat fail to latch. Have been checked for debris.
My middle row airbag seat belts on both sides are broke. You can not hook them into the bottom piece. One does not stay hooked and the other is completely apart. ( see attached picture) it is a law to wear seatbelts and this is has to be fixed or m family can not ride in my car. I went to dealership and it is very expensive to replace. This should be a recall on this for it is a law to wear seatbelts and several other people have had the same problem.
The inflatable seat belts on the middle row of 2015 Explorer sport have broken. The buckle component on the r passenger side completely locked into place with a child buckled into it, and the child had to squirm and be pulled out of the belt. It is locked into the buckle. The l driver side buckle is cracked apart and causing the same issue. I am unable to transport my family safely with the lack of the use of these 2 seat belts. I have taken this to a independent service center to be checked/fixed as Ford dealership couldn't service my vehicle for 6 wks from now, and independent service company has told me that the part is consistently an issue and is constantly on back order. I have been told there is no release date for when part will be available. I filed a complaint with Ford customer service and was told there is nothing they can do to help. No warning, no alerts - this just happened on a hot day with kids in my car unable to get out of a seatbelt. I can not use a vehicle because of lack of seatbelts.
The passenger seat belt (behind the driver) has locked up and we are unable to lock the seat belt in place. It locked up from the top side - not the bottom side. Since it is locked up, it will not allow anyone to sit in the seat since it can not be locked in place. Due to the electronics in the seat belt, a body shop owner advised we contact Ford directly. There are no recalls on this issue and we were advised from Ford to report this to the national highway safety traffic division.
2nd row seat belts, outer right and left have broken buckle. Part is on national back order and is not available. Ford does not have a recall or TSB active on this problem. Parts guy said this is a common problem, reflects on why part is on back order and not available. Cant put kids in vehicle due to defective seat belt. No have not contacted insurance or contacted police, I am a certified state safety inspector in virginia and a fleet mechanic for pwc gov. Https://law. Lis. Virginia. Gov/admincode/title19/agency30/chapter70/section660/#:~:text=email-,19vac30%2d70%2d660. %20seat%20belts,-. Seat belt broke and will not lock buckle in place. Left side is starting to not latching anymore also.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that there was an abnormal grinding noise detected while making a turn. There was a crunching noise detected while entering his driveway. The contact stated that the passenger's front seat was not moving. The driver-side rear inflator seat belt failed to latch. The rear seat belt warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who informed him the seat belt buckle needed to be replaced. The track on the seat needed to be replaced. The dealer was unable to determine the cause of the steering failure. The vehicle was not repaired. While driving, at unknown speeds, the steering wheel locked up. While making a turn, the driver had to pull the steering wheel to correct the steering. The steering power assist faulty message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the seat failure was due to the motor. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 126,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the second-row driver and passenger's seat belt buckle covers had detached, causing the air bag warning light to illuminate. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact related the failure to customer satisfaction program 21b11 (2nd row inflatable seat belt); however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.
The left rear seat belt buckle/receptacle broke in early 2023. Ford told me the part is on backorder. Every time I have checked with Ford, they continue to say the part is on backorder. I can't use the vehicle as intended while Ford refuses to supply the safety parts necessary.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the seat belt and air bag warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed and the contact was informed that the seat belt wiring harness located in the second-row seat had failed. The wiring harness was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The contact was informed that the seat belt wiring harness needed to be replaced; however, the parts were on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000.
Air bag light comes on intermittently. Current mileage 62,094. Noted 21 prior complaints on your site. Brought to dealer who told me the problem was with a wire harness failure. None of the safety air bags will operate/deploy when this light is on. A faulty harness that had failed will put me and my passengers in serious jeopardy of injury or death in the event of an accident. This diagnosis cost me $149 only to find out it would cost hundreds of dollars more to have the problem fixed. Internet research reveals this problem was addressed in a 2016 technical bulletin 16-0001; code b141b. We purchased this vehicle as a certified pre-owned vehicle after Ford issued the technical bulletin. No mention of Ford's internal bulletin was made by the dealer at the time of my purchase. Ford has been aware of this problem for years. According to the dealership technician there is no formal recall to have this manufacturing defect corrected by Ford at no cost to the purchaser of the vehicle. Didn't fully functional air bags come as part of my certified pre-owned purchase? I expect the manufacturer's safety equipment to be fully functional. Please review 2015 Explorer owner's manual as follows: child safety (pages 18-37), safety belts (pages 38-48) personal safety system (page 49) and supplementary restraints system (pages 50-61) with particular attention to page 49 bearing in mind that none of these safety features work when the air bag light is on. What good are safety features that are disabled by a manufacturing defect in the wiring harness? Ford has not only disappointed its customers, it has put them in serious jeopardy when using their product. Your rating system notes crash, fire, injuries and deaths. Do not wait for a positive notation in any of these categories before you act on safety recommendations, including a mandated recall, which is your primary tool for preventing future civil transportation accidents.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the rear passenger's side seat belt buckle retractor was stuck and failed to release as needed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the contact seat belt warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the seat belt sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle had exceeded the warranty extension and was no longer covered. The contact researched online and related the failure to Ford customer satisfaction program: 21b11 (seat belts). The failure mileage was 64,710.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that he received notification of customer satisfaction program (csp): 21b11 (second row inflatable seat belt); however, the part to do the repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The local dealer and two unknown dealers were contacted several times and informed the contact the part was not yet available for customer satisfaction program. The dealer later informed the contact that the customer satisfaction program had expired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist because the customer satisfaction program had expired. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the driver’s and passenger’s side middle row captain chair inflatable seats belt receivers had malfunctioned and were inoperable. The contact indicated that the passenger’s side seat belt receiver housing and internal clip had initially fractured and later the driver internal clip had fractured making the seat belts unusable. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the seat belts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 106,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his daughter was seated in the rear passenger’s side seat, the seat belt failed to latch securely. The contact stated that the seat belt casing had fractured. The contact then stated that the failure reoccurred while his daughter was seated in the driver's side rear seat. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the rear passenger’s and driver’s side seat belts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and the contact was advised to file a complaint with the NHTSA hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 28,000.
My child was trying to buckle her seatbelt (right seat, middle row) and the part that you insert the metal into snapped apart. Huge safety issue. What if it broke during an accident. We were sitting still (car in park) in our driveway thankfully.
Frayed wiring under the passenger side second row seating. This is causing the airbag light to be on and will not allow that airbag to deploy in an accident. Ford is aware of the problem and that it is a common issue that they do not know what causes it. Completely unacceptable for a family vehicle to have this issue and the manufacturer not take care of it. We do not believe this vehicle I safe to transport or have passengers in the back seat now.
My family and I planned to go to town one day. The vehicle was parked in my driveway at the time and all seat belts were working the night before as my family and I had went to town the night before for dinner with out any problems with the seatbelts. When my daughter got in the back driver seat and attempted to put on her seat belt it was in a locked position. My wife and I attempted to get the seatbelt to unlock but it would not. I took it to the dealership bill talley Ford in mechanicsville virginia. They looked it over and said that the mechanism had became locked up (something I was already aware of). And according to them it would need to be replaced because it is the only way to unlock it. I was not in any accidents and the rear seat belts that are installed on my Ford Explorer also have built-in airbags. My personal belief is it has to do with the airbag system built into the seatbelt why it has become locked. The dealership explain to me it would cost me $700 to have it repaired. Which I responded I didn't believe I should have to pay anything considering that it is a safety device and the vehicle hadn't been any accidents. My personal opinion is a car manufacturer/dealership should replace any broken safety devices without question and without charging. Especially when it wasn't the owner's fault. To this day the seat belt stays in a locked unusable position which luckily I have third row seating in my Explorer so my children can sit in the third row rear seats where the seat belts work but it would be very unfortunate if my family of four or any family of four who didn't have the third row seating. If someone could please look into this and get back to me it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and help. I also did some research on a few Ford online forums and seen that there have been hundreds of people with the same complaint/problem.
I bought this veh. In 2016 when it had 17,000 miles on it. Within 2 weeks I got a warning light for the air bag system. Took it to the dealer and was advised that the sensor giving trouble was in the seat belt airbag for the rear passenger seat. I was repaired under warranty for technical service bulletin TSB-0001 published January, 2016. I have had trouble off and on ever since with the airbag warning light. It would stay on for a little while and then go off. I had the dealer check it and they could not find a problem without the light being on. This week it stayed on so I had the dealer check it. It had the code b141b which was the same code repaired in 2016. Since the repair was warranteed for 12 months the dealer wants $797 to fix the current issue, which is the same one from 2016. I very seldom use the back seat as I have no children in my house. I would rather not spend that money, since I am retired, but if I don't get it fixed all of the other air bags in the vehicle will not work. I confirmed with a service advisor that none of the airbags in the vehicle would deploy if that light is on. I asked him if there was a way to by-pass it in the system so the light would go off and he said it is a fmvss that could not be modified and must be fixed the right way. I feel like I am being held hostage in an unsafe vehicle unless I pay the $797 to get it fixed (again).
Slowly pulling out of narrow parking lot exit lane, through opened gate. Rapid unexplained acceleration, seemed to launch car across one way city street into restaurant building. Passenger seat belt (fastened, left bruises) released upon impact; passenger dash board airbag did not deploy; drivers' airbag weak. Passenger hospitalized from lower airbag, broken leg, severe laceration.
The airbag warning light came on without warning or incident (no accident or impact, just started my car one day and the light stayed on). Per research done online with same warning light, make and model of vehicle, issue appeared to be with the rear/2nd row seat belt airbags disengaging and this causes none of the airbags to work in the vehicle in the event of a crash. At the time the light initially came on I had about 72k miles on my car, and it appears this is about the same mileage of all other Explorer owners with this issue. I took it in for service for the light and incurred repairs totaling just under $1,000 to have the parts replaced and the airbags function again. The fact that I did nothing (other than turn on my car when it was approaching the 70-75k mileage mark) to cause malfunction of the airbags but had to pay $1,000 to fix it and have airbags work in my car in the event of an accident is disappointing. Ford needs to issue a recall for this, it's unacceptable to have owner and passenger safety compromised through no fault of the owner, and have to incur costly repairs to make this right. I kept my receipts available to prove cause and cost of airbag light issue.
The airbag light came on and this is what the code says. Restraint control module second row driver side inflatable seatbelt deployment control.
The seat belt locks and will not release unless the belt is completely brought back in.
1st concern: my 2015 Ford Explorer is at 84,000 miles. I have captain (bucket) seats for the 2nd row. About 6 months ago, my son couldn't get out his seat belt. The red button wouldn't release and it was tight around his waist, eventually I was able to make enough room from him to slide under the lap belt. The estimate I received 3 weeks ago was $230 not covered under warranty. I have never had to replace a seat belt. 2nd concern: this past weekend traveling 70 mph on a highway I heard flapping outside the front drivers window the panel was shaking for about 30 seconds then flew off. Before I could safely stop the rubber that would have been underneath the panel came loose and started hitting the driver's side window. I inspected the passengers side and it has also lifted and will come off soon. I haven't had an opportunity to get an estimate but I feel as these are issues that should be happening. Both in my opinion are safety concerns, nothing should be flying off the car and seat belts should work.
At around 100,000 miles drivers seat belt would not lock or unlock. . . Started sticking around 95,000 miles. Never had to replace a seatbelt before especially in a car that was only three years old. Also, at around the same time the drivers side windshield pillar broke off and flew off while driving on the highway at around 65 mph. The passenger side flew off at 115,000 miles while driving on the highway as well. Neither is covered by warranty and owner will have to come out of pocket to cover the damages ($500+). How can Ford put on such cheap finishes to the car? noise level in the cab is affected due to wind noise. Passenger pillarpopped loose and would not pop back in. Appeared that a clip had broken.
Second row drivers side seat belt failed to retract and is unusable.
Tl the contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the air bag warning indicator illuminated while driving. The contact was concerned for his safety. The vehicle was taken to ciocca Ford of quakertown (located at 321 s west end blvd, quakertown, PA 18951, (215) 536-8600) where it was diagnosed that the wiring harness for the second row driver side inflatable seat belt deployment control failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the repair fees. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided case number: cas-17203222. The contact was referred to NHTSA. The approximate failure mileage was 61,000.
Captains chair behind the driver's seat, seatbelt would no longer connect. Seatbelt receptacle had to be replaced, now airbag light is on at all times.
Airbag light has come on for the second time. The vehicle is currently at approxi mately 62,000 miles. The previous time the airbag came on was for defective seatbelts with the airbags in passenger compartment. Also, a smell of sulfur is coming from the air vents when the air conditioning is on. The smell is strongest when the car is stationary. When the car is traveling at highway speeds without a/c on, there is no odor.
Airbag restraint system warning light stays on all the time. Ford should be aware of this problems due to complaints listed on several websites and service visits. Problems with the inflatable seat belt connecters and airbag connecters. This causes the safety restraint system malfunction.
A 2015 Ford Explorer was involved in a high speed side-impact and rollover collision. The seatbelt was worn at the time of the collision based on a preponderance of physical evidence on the occupant restraint system and interior vehicle components. The acm reported the driver was "not buckled" at the time of the collision. The pretensioner did not fire. The buckle assembly was tested and the buckle switch appeared to be functioning properly. After the ignition was cycled to "on" for approximately 1 minute and 10 seconds, the seatbelt warning lamp illuminated and deactivated properly when the latchplate was inserted and removed repeatedly. After 1 minute and 10 seconds, the seatbelt warning lamp would illuminate and deactivate sporadically as the latchplate was inserted and removed.
The airbag warning light has been illuminating intermittently over the last year or so. I took my vehicle to ken grody Ford on September 26, 2017 and asked them to look at it but was told that they couldn't find anything wrong. The light now is on all of the time. I ran a vehicle health report and it indicated "restraints & driver assistance - urgent service required! - indicates an issue with the supplementary restraint system which includes the air bags and seat belt buckle pretensioners".
My son was sitting in the back left seat and he got strangled into the middle seat belt. It locked and would not release making the strangulation more tight. I then had to cut the belt. This is a huge safety issue. We were stationary in the driveway , luckily I was still home and was able to cut the belt. If I was not, I would have had to call 911.
My car was struck from behind - 65mph and the seat belt did not tension and caused my head to bounce off the steering wheel causing a large knot on my head and taken away by ambulance - no air bags deployed (but that may be due to being struck from behind and pushed into a vehicle in front) I was rolling 5 to 10mph and slowing for traffic - hit from behind by pickup - no brakes applied - flew forward and the seat belt tensioner released all the belt out and stayed that way - I would think that I should have been stopped by the belt and bruised across the chest - but all the force was taken to my head and neck off the steering wheel and whiplashed back to the seat. The vehicle did dial 911 from the collision so that worked. June 20 2016 6:15pm police report not available as of this writing.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the air bag warning light had illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where they discovered that the cause of the failure was related to the rear middle row seat belt assembly. The air bag light had illuminated due to the seat belt assemblies faulty wiring. The defect was initially repaired under warranty; however, the failure persisted and the warranty expired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact of a customer satisfaction program related to the failure; however, the vehicle was not apart of the program. The contact was then given a case number. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 13,681.
On the seat belts the middle role bucket seats are both tearing where the air bag is in them and they are also hard to latch so the seat belt can't come undone unless you push the red button. On the �other complaint� my husband and my 6 year old daughter have been getting headaches every since we bought the car new and my daughter gets nauseated and she passes out asleep in the car but it never crossed my mind about my car possibly leaking carbon monoxide inside my car until the other day when a friend made the comment to me about s recall for that on my vehicle makes models and year. I'm very worried about this and if my car is leaking carbon monoxide my 6 year old daughter has been breathing it since April of 2015 when we bought it brand new as I have been and my 4 year old son and my husband (which he doesn't ride/drive in my car much at all). I took my car the the dealer so that it can be checked out in service. What do I need to do now?.