- Vehicles
- 110,000
- Built between
- Oct 1977 – Feb 1978
- Models
- 5
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 9 September 1978
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between October 1977 and February 1978. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1978 Ford CustomBuilt October 1977 to February 1978
- 1978 Ford Custom 500Built October 1977 to February 1978
- 1978 Ford LTD IIBuilt October 1977 to February 1978
- 1978 Ford ThunderbirdBuilt October 1977 to February 1978
- 1978 Mercury CougarBuilt October 1977 to February 1978
What the defect is
The involved vehicles are equipped with shoulder harness retractors that may not lock. Should the vehicle experience a sudden deceleration or impact, the front seat occupant may not be restrained by the shoulder harness portion of the three-point seat belt system. Furthermore, the shoulder harness retractors may not allow extraction of the shoulder belt webbing due to a pre-locked condition. This is a non-compliance to the emergency locking retractor performance requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 209, "seat belt assemblies".
What gets fixed
THE DEALER WILL REPLACE THE SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES IF NECESSARY, WITHOUT CHARGE TO OWNER.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtOctober 1977 to February 1978
- Recall reported to NHTSA15 May 1978
- Owners notified9 September 1978
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 15 May 1978.
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.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- FORD MOTOR COMPANY
- Safety standard
- FMVSS 209
- 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
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles.system: interior; seat belt retractors, shoulder.consequences of defect: a passenger not properly restrained could be subject topersonal injury in the event of a sudden stop or accident.
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.