Can’t get out of our own way. Why would any customer buy a Ford?
Ford has issued a recall for 16,430 F-150 SuperCab pickup trucks from the 2021 model year because of a problem with the front seat belts. The driver’s- and/or passenger-side seat belts may have been improperly routed during the assembly process.
The automaker says that the seat belt webbing may be routed through just a rubber trim sleeve rather than through an anchor. If this happens, the belts might not provide sufficient restraint in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Ford advises owners to perform an initial self-inspection of the driver- and passenger-side front seat belts to verify that the belt is routed properly through the anchor. The automaker says that owners will be notified by mail with instructions on how to perform a preliminary self-assessment of the vehicle’s seat belts, but stresses that this procedure does not replace the need for an inspection by a Ford technician.
If the driver’s-side seat belt fails the inspection, the owner should not drive the vehicle until the recall is performed; if the passenger-side seat belt fails inspection, the seat should not be used until the recall is performed. In either case, a new assembly will be installed.
Owners who are not comfortable with performing the self-inspection should contact their Ford or Lincoln dealer to have the vehicle towed in for inspection.
This recall affects only SuperCab models; F-150s with the Regular Cab and Crew Cab body styles have a different front-seat belt assembly.
The problem impacts vehicles built at the Dearborn, Mich., and Kansas City, Mo., plants between Jan. 2, 2021, and May 27, 2021. F-150s assembled after May 27 use seat belt assemblies that were put together using an updated process.