Seat Belt Recall

[ylo brd]

My dealer informed me this morning that they have not received the parts for the seat belt recall and that Ford will be sending out another notice that the parts won't be available for another month.

[LON O'CONNELL]

That's odd. My dealer ordered my recall part last Saturday and called me Wednesday to say it was in. I have an appointment for tomorrow to have the recall performed.

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Yellow/Yellow Prem. 02 Bird w/full accent
1999 F150 Super Cab 4x4 Off Road
1998 Taurus SE Sport 24V

[yello7530]

my dealer says my part is in. haven't scheduled yet. Lon, when are you going to be in Palm Desert? 117 here yesterday.
gene

[sauernote]

I'm scheduled to have mine replaced on Monday. I hope I don't get a, "oops, sorry the part isn't available."

[LON O'CONNELL]

Yellow 7530 - Wife & I will be driving in about noon on Friday the 13th of September. Having parents 50th wedding anniversary party on Saturday the 14th, driving to Las Vegas on Sunday the 15th and returning to Palm Desert on Tuesday the 17th. Won't be heading back to Amarillo until sometime Saturday the 21st. Will have plenty of time to look you up after we return to Palm Desert from Vegas.
Can't wait to get into that good ole dry heat. People out here think I'm nuts liking 115 - 120 degrees and about 20% humidity. Tell them its a lot better than the 97 degrees & 85% humidity we had here today.
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Yellow/Yellow Prem. 02 Bird w/full accent
1999 F150 Super Cab 4x4 Off Road
1998 Taurus SE Sport 24V

[This message has been edited by LON O'CONNELL (edited 07-19-2002).]

[tbird]

Here are some service Bulletins from NHTSA:
http://www.fordthunderbirdforum.com/tech.htm

[ylo brd]

Thanks for all the info and especially the service bulletins, found it real interesting. All of you that are scheduled to have the recall completed in the next few days, let me know how it goes. Maybe my dealer was confused....

[RACERROGER]

Recall was done! Actually, my new dealer (moved from where I purchased Bird) had the part ordered before my recall notice arrived. One word of caution, DON'T WATCH AS THEY INSTALL NEW PART. The driver's seat has to be taken off to install the new part. If you like to watch disections, be my guest otherwise get a cup of coffee and come back. Took about five minutes to do the job.

[LON O'CONNELL]

Had mine done this morning. Indeed the seat bolts have to be removed, but the seat does not have to be removed from the car. They pop the outside trim loose at the rear of the seat, tilt the front of the seat up and pop the front loose and unplug the seat control switch. Then the two side clips are popped loose from the side of the seat where the trim attaches. A stamped steel plate is then nestled into the inside of the removed seat trim at the rear point of the trim. There are 3 plastic lugs the plate slides over. Then 3 retaining clips are pushed down over the lugs to secure the plate. Seat trim is then reinstalled in the reverse order it was removed and the seat bolted back down. Time to make repair was approximately 30 minutes. I watched the whole repair, but was actually visiting with the technician more than watching as I used to be a Service Advisor for this dealer and have known the techician for about 8 years.

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Yellow/Yellow Prem. 02 Bird w/full accent
1999 F150 Super Cab 4x4 Off Road
1998 Taurus SE Sport 24V

[RACERROGER]

Hey Lon, Maybe it took 30 minutes because the technican didn't take the seat out of the car? It felt like 5-10 minutes for it to be fixed to me. Anyway, I look forward to meeting you and others on Thunder on 66.

[ylo brd]

Thanks Raceroger and Lon, I'm going to contact my dealer again on Monday and see whats going on. I can't imagine they would only have the parts in certain areas. I think I'll leave my car, and have them check the bolts on the x-braces and check into why the seat belt locks up all the time.

[LON O'CONNELL]

It probably took the extra time because I was talking with the tech the whole time. We hadn't had a good visit in over 6 months, so most likely I slowed him down.

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Yellow/Yellow Prem. 02 Bird w/full accent
1999 F150 Super Cab 4x4 Off Road
1998 Taurus SE Sport 24V

[ylo brd]

Contacted my dealer Monday morning only to find out someone had given me bad information. They ordered the recall parts and will be in later this week. Sorry about the bad info.

[sauernote]

I went in for service yesterday with the understanding that seat belt parts were available. Of course, when I picked up the car, the dealer said the parts had to be ordered. I think I'll wait until the next service to be without the car for a whole day.

[sauernote]

Sure enough. The day after I had the car in for an oil change and the recall work, the dealer called and said the seatbelt parts are now in.

Time is money when it's their time.

[Bmcn]

Had recall done today. Took it in at 9am. Left at 9:40am. They gave me the directions sheet for my file. No charge. No hassle. Even after I forgot the appointment I had the day before to get it done. I can see no difference. Was told by mechanic that there is a parts availability problem for many interior parts and he worried about breaking something that would be hard to get. No problems. It went well and he liked doing the job.

Bmcn

[Blueoil1]

I have an appointment on Saterday afternoon to have the Bird seatbelt problem fixed. I'll let you know how it goes.

Regards - - -

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Triple Black
Premium
#1760

[Blueoil1]

Bob Baker Ford in San Diego (bought my T-Bird there) performed the seat belt service on Saturday. I left the car and when I returned 90 minutes later she was waiting for me. Baker Ford did a great job.
Regards - - -

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Triple Black
Premium
#1760

[pierreds]

have you guys received a recall letter from ford or are you taking the birds in based on the reports of mid june that a recall was coming ?

i havent received a letter from ford.

i understand vehicles manufactured after april 24 are not affected- how could i find out when my bird was manufactured?

[ylo brd]

can't answer your manufacture date question but, yes, everyone that was affected received a notice from Ford about a month ago.