US Opens Probe into Over 110,000 Ford SUVs on Seat Belt Concern

The U.S. auto safety regulator said on Monday it had initiated a recall query into about 112,567 Ford SUVs over an issue with seat belt retractors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it had received three complaints, alleging an inadvertent deployment of the seat belt retractor pretensioner.

The complaints referred to a loud sound, which was immediately followed by the seat belt rapidly tightening and remaining in the locked position, the auto safety regulator added.

The company said it was working with the NHTSA to support its investigation, which covers Ford Expedition and its luxury counterpart, the Lincoln Navigator, from model years 2019-2020.

The NHTSA said it has also opened another probe into Ford covering 456,565 vehicles over a loss of motive power and an electrical system failure.

The probe covers Ford’s Bronco Sport crossover SUVs and Maverick pickup trucks, which are based on the same platform, from model years 2021-2024.

The NHTSA said last week that Ford had agreed to a $165 million civil penalty after a government investigation found the automaker failed to recall vehicles with defective rearview cameras in a timely manner.

The penalty was in relation to an investigation the regulator opened after Ford in 2020 recalled 620,246 vehicles for a rear camera issue to determine whether the carmaker had recalled the vehicles in a timely fashion. Ford expanded that recall in 2022 and in March adding about 24,000 vehicles.

(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)