NHTSA campaign 03V507000 · Ford campaign 03S10

Ford Recall 03V-507: FORD/SEAT BELT BUCKLE COVER

  • Recall influenced by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation

NHTSA recall 03V507000 (Ford campaign 03S10) was reported by FORD MOTOR COMPANY on December 5, 2003, with 132,243 vehicles potentially affected (per NHTSA). NHTSA's record lists the Ford Escape for the 2001 model year. Owners were notified on February 2, 2004, per NHTSA.

Updated daily from NHTSA's recall files

Is my vehicle included?

This page lists, by model year, the vehicles NHTSA's recall record names for campaign 03V507000 in the model years try.vin imports (1995 and later); NHTSA's own record can list more. A model year on the list doesn't mean every vehicle of that year is included, and some may already have been repaired.

To see whether a specific vehicle is included and still needs the repair, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Ford VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.

Key facts

NHTSA campaign
03V507000 (also written 03V-507 or 03V507)
Filed by
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Ford campaign number
03S10
Report received
Potentially affected
132,243 vehicles (per NHTSA)
Component
Seat Belts — Front — Buckle Assembly
Owners notified
NHTSA investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE03-030 (per NHTSA's investigations file)

Vehicles listed for this recall

NHTSA's recall record lists these vehicles for recall 03V507000. try.vin imports model years 1995 and later, so NHTSA's own list can be longer. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to it. Build dates are NHTSA's range for a model year (per NHTSA); a vehicle built in that range is not necessarily included.

Ford

  • Ford Escape

    • 2001 · Vehicles built October 22, 1999 – May 31, 2001 (per NHTSA)
All Ford recalls

NHTSA's recall notice

As NHTSA's recall record states it for campaign 03V507000.

Defect description

ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, A POST WITHIN THE SAFETY BELT BUCKLE COVERS COULD FRACTURE, WHICH COULD AFFECT LATCH FUNCTION, RESULTING IN EITHER A "NO LATCH" OR "PARTIAL LATCH" CONDITION. IN THE "PARTIAL LATCH" CONDITION, THE BUCKLE TONGUE CAN BE INSERTED INTO THE BUCKLE AND APPEAR TO BE ENGAGED, BUT WILL RELEASE FROM THE BUCKLE WITHOUT THE PUSH BUTTON BEING DEPRESSED WHEN A RELATIVELY LOW LOAD IS APPLIED, SUCH AS WHEN AN OCCUPANT MOVES SLIGHTLY IN THE SEAT.

Safety consequence

IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH, THE SEAT OCCUPANT MAY NOT BE PROPERLY RESTRAINED, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY.

Manufacturer remedy

DEALERS WILL HAVE THE DRIVER AND FRONT PASSENGER SAFETY BELT BUCKLE COVER REMOVED AND REPLACED WITH A NEWLY DESIGNED SERVICE BUCKLE COVER. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 2, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT FORD AT 1-800-392-3673.

Notes

FORD RECALL NO. 03S10.CUSTOMERS CAN ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S AUTO SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

Sources

Official NHTSA notice for recall 03V507000

Campaign details come from NHTSA's recall files, which try.vin imports once a day. The plain-language subject and the completion rate come from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Recalls Data dataset. How try.vin reads recall data.