Ford Recalls 2 Million Trucks Due to Reported Seat Belt Fires

Bad news for F-150 owners — Ford has just issued a safety recall that affects a whopping 2 million trucks in North America. According to a statement released by the carmaker, the issue lies in the pretensioner mechanism, the process that pulls the seatbelt taut when the driver hits the breaks suddenly or when the car is experiencing a collision.

Normally, the pretensioners reduce injury and/or death, but in this case, their deployment has been found to generate sparks strong enough to start a fire. Luckily, there have been no reports of casualties due to the faulty seatbelts yet, but Ford has admitted to 17 incidents of this occurring in the United States, as well as another 6 in Canada.

The trucks that contain the defective pretensioners were produced only within the past 4 years. Here are the models that are a part of the safety recall:

  • 2015-18 Ford F-150 vehicles built at Dearborn Assembly Plant, March 12, 2014 through Aug. 23, 2018
  • 2015-18 Ford F-150 vehicles built at Kansas City Assembly Plant, Aug. 20, 2014 through Aug. 23, 2018

The reference number for this specific recall is 18S27. Car owners should be receiving notifications from the carmaker on how to proceed soon, but Ford has promised that it will conduct the repairs, which consist of the stripping of carpet and insulation and the application of heat-resistant tape to the affected areas, at no extra cost.

Good to know changes are being made before someone gets hurt!

What are your thoughts on this F-150 safety recall? Do you own one of these trucks? If so, have you ever noticed any other questionable safety issues?