Pennsylvania Injury Attorneys Blog
We have all seen more than our fair share of recalls over the years for all different parts, of all different makes of cars. We have even had a few recalls over the last few years for seatbelts and airbags which are obviously big safety issues for these cars and trucks. We have had engine parts that cause fires. We have had electrical parts that cause fires. What we haven’t seen in recent memory are seatbelts that can cause fires. There typically are not any parts in a seatbelt that you would even think of that could cause a fire.
Ford has reports of over 23 vehicles having an issue where smoke was generated. The seat-belt pretensioners can malfunction and send sparks out when activated. What is a seatbelt pretensioner? It’s a small part that you likely have never seen in action because it typically only fires when your car is in an accident. Similar to how the airbags in your car will deploy when you hit something, the seatbelt pretensioner will fire when you are in an accident which causes a piston to block the seatbelt from allowing you to move forward.
The National-Highway Traffic Safety Administration received reports of 5 fires caused by the seatbelts, with 3 of those leading to the car being engulfed in flames.
The recall if for Regular and SuperCrew Cab F-150 vehicles between 2015-2018. Specifically trucks that were built in Dearborn Michigan In March 2014-August 2018, or in Kansas City, Missouri from August 2014- August 2018. If you own a Ford F-150 that may be part of the recall, you should contact your local Ford Dealer for details on whether your truck is part of the recall, and how to get the repairs done.