Safety Belt Retractor Unjamming Procedure

WARNING: ALL SAFETY BELT ASSEMBLIES INCLUDING RETRACTORS AND ATTACHING HARDWARE SHOULD BE INSPECTED AFTER ANY COLLISION. FORD RECOMMENDS THAT ALL SAFETY BELT ASSEMBLIES IN USE DURING A COLLISION BE REPLACED UNLESS COLLISION WAS MINOR AND A QUALIFIED TECHNICIAN FINDS THAT BELTS SHOW NO DAMAGE AND CONTINUE TO OPERATE PROPERLY. WHEN A MOTORIZED PASSIVE RESTRAINT SYSTEM IN USE DURING A COLLISION IS REPLACED, THE OPPOSITE MOTORIZED SHOULDER BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST ALSO BE REPLACED. SAFETY BELT ASSEMBLIES NOT IN USE DURING A COLLISION SHOULD ALSO BE INSPECTED AND REPLACED IF EITHER DAMAGE OR IMPROPER OPERATION IS NOTED.

CAUTION: Do not attempt to disassemble the belt buckles or retractors.






The safety belt retractors are designed to let the belt move in and out freely during normal operation, but lock during hard braking, hard cornering, or impact to the vehicle of 8 km/h (5 mph) or more. The retractor cannot be made to lock by jerking on the belt.

If a seat belt retractor jams, free the seat belt by performing the following:
- Pull forcefully on the seat belt in order to tighten it on the retractor spool.
- Feed the seat belt back into the retractor until it is completely retracted. Repeat the previous step, if necessary.
- Pull the seat belt out of the retractor as far as it will go. Remove any foreign matter or untwist the belt as necessary, and let the belt retract.
- Fully extend and retract the seat belt at least five times. If the retractor is not operating properly, replace it.