Problems · by component
1996 Ford Taurus seat belts problems
25 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 1996 Ford Taurus cite seat belts, 3% of all 868 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
25
3% of all complaints
Crashes
3
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
2
Reported by owners
What owners say about the seat belts
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 FORD TAURUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A CRASH AND THE SEAT BELT FAILED TO RETRACT. THE CONTACT, WHO WAS SEATING IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT, HIT HER HEAD ON THE WINDSHIELD. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 70,890.”
“MY 96 FORD TAURUS GL HAS THE FOLLOWING ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS, RADIO GOES OUT, SEAT BELT LIGHT FLASHES AND CLICKS, INTERMITTENT WIPERS FAIL, POWER WINDOWS FAIL, FINALLY POWER STEERING LOCKS UP,AND WHEN RUNNING FOR A WHILE TRANSMISSION WOULD SLIP, CAUSING SAFETY CONCERNS. IF PUT IN PARK EVERYTHING GOES BACK WORKING AS NORMAL. TOOK TO SHOP AND THEY SAY IT'S THE TRANSMISSION RANGE SENSOR AND THAT SEVERAL 96 TAURUS' THEY HAVE WORKED ON HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM....I AM WONDERING WHY THIS HAS NOT BEEN A RECALL PART IF THAT IS THE CASE...SOMETHING IS DEFINITELY WRONG! *NM”
“THE SEAT BELT LIGHT ON THE DASHBOARD BLINKS ON INTERMITTENTLY, AND WHEN IT DOES THE STEERING COLUMN LOCKS UP. WHEN THIS OCCURS CONSUMER LOSES CONTROL OF VEHICLE. *AK”
“BOTH REAR SEAT BELTS ARE INOPERATIVE AND NEED TO BE REPLACED. NEITHER BELT WOULD RETRACT BACK INTO SPOOL MECHANISM. BOTH REAR BELTS HAVE HAD A HISTORY OF FOLDING AND TWISTING. WHICH MADE USE OF THE BELTS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT AT TIMES. BELTS HAVE EXPERIENCED NORMAL USE ONLY. FORD WILL NOT REPLACE THE BELTS FOR FREE BECAUSE THEY ARE BEYOND THE WARRANTY PERIOD. DT”
“THE REAR SEAT BELTS HAVE BEEN A PROBLEM FOR SOME TIME . NOW THE REAR RIGHT DOES NOT WORK AT ALL . I WAS GIVEN A PRICE OF 250.-270-.,FOR TWO NEW SEATBELTS. I FEEL THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND NEED TO NO IF I HAVE ANY LEGAL RIGHTS.”
“ON PROBLEM ONE: I HAVE OBSERVED SEVERAL 1996 THROUGH 1999 FORD TAURUS WAGONS WITH DEFECTIVE CENTER MOUNTED STOP LIGHT. PROBLEM TWO: BOTH REAR OUTER SEAT BELTS STOPPED RETRACTING AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME. *AK”
Showing 6 of 25 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 8, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.