Seatbelt service opinions wanted

Nomadcat · 08-08-2012, 04:51 PM

Not sure if this is the right area to post, but it seemed close enough.

2009 RB, standard cargo van seats. Passenger side safety belt locked up the other day. Would not pull out, could not finesse it or brute force it out. I need a functioning belt and they are covered for the first 60,000 miles, so I bit the bullet and called the dealer. In my case, this means driving to Jersey, dropping the van, taking a train back, then waiting a day or two. Not ideal, but it had to be done and it's under warranty.

Got there and the belt was working. I asked them what they thought and they were less than helpful. "Why leave it here?" was the general thought. I didn't want to take that train back, so I basically agreed with them. Got home and the belt was stuck again. This time, I finessed it to work again, but now, of course, I can't really trust it. Then, looking in the shop manual, it mentioned as an issue if the warning tone doesn't come on. So, I have two questions.

1. Is there a passenger side seatbelt warning tone on the standard vans? Mine has the power windows, cruise control and key fob options, but I honestly don't remember if it has that tone for the passenger.

2. Do you think I should just bring it back and tell them it's intermittent and I'd like them to look at it? I wish I could just have them replace the whole retractor/rachet system. I'm leaning towards this option, but I wanted to know what you all think.

Thanks.

Paul

Jeffrey · 08-08-2012, 05:45 PM

Seat belts and other safety issues are taken seriously by Ford and dealers and carry a long service warranty. Call in advance and arrange to have a belt mechanism there beforehand so they can replace it while you wait. If they say they can't do that, find another dealer.

Nomadcat · 08-08-2012, 10:12 PM

I need to find a new dealer. This is not the first time I have had issues here.

Nomadcat · 08-29-2012, 04:30 PM

They did the right thing. I was first thinking of going in and, if it worked there, tell them "ok, I'd like a letter certifying it works, just in case I have a liability issue in the future."

I did NOT have to go that route, though. I set off for the dealer and the seatbelt was working. I got there and it was jammed again. I had them come out and said "Please try this - it's something I do not feel safe with."

They took one yank and said "we'll fix it."

They did. End of story.

Decent customer service makes all the difference.

Ultrasport12 · 08-29-2012, 04:48 PM

Glad you got it fixed. Is that a different/new dealer or the same one in NJ?

...Jamie