Ford Seat Belts: Buckle Assembly

Ford is recalling about 29 vehicles over a problem with the seat belts. Vehicles with seat belt buckles that are not properly secured may fail to restrain an occupant during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Campaign
20V549000
Manufacturer
Ford Motor Company
Reported
10 September 2020
Vehicles
29
Built between
Not published
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
6 November 2020
Repaired
38%
Unrepaired
18

Does this affect my vehicle?

The manufacturer did not publish a build-date range for this recall, so the model and year list below is the only way to tell whether your vehicle is covered.

  • 2020 Ford Explorer

Repair progress

18 of 29 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q3 2022.

38% repaired — 11 of 29 reported

Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.

What the defect is

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Explorer vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with second row center seat belt buckles that may not be properly secured to the seat.

What could happen

Vehicles with seat belt buckles that are not properly secured may fail to restrain an occupant during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

What gets fixed

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the second row center seat assembly, free of charge. The recall began November 6, 2020.

Parts involved

  • 2nd Row Center Seat AssemblyLB5B-COSTRRC, MB5J-COSTFRRC2nd Row Center Seat Assembly

Part numbers are as filed by the manufacturer and are listed for reference. Your dealer will confirm the correct part for your vehicle.

Timeline

  1. Recall reported to NHTSA10 September 2020
  2. Owners notified6 November 2020
  3. Latest repair reportQ3 2022 — 38% repaired

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 10 September 2020.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S50.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
20S50
Recalling manufacturer
Ford Motor Company
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand