‘Excessive sparks’ from seat belts in Ford F-150 trucks can ignite carpet, recall says

Seat belts in some F-150 trucks made at Ford’s Claycomo Assembly Plant can ignite fires, the manufacturer said in a recall notice Thursday.

According to Ford, the fire risk stems from sparks that can be created by “pretensioners” that are a component of the seat belt system and may ignite nearby carpeting or insulation.

The recall covers about 2 million F-150 trucks from model years 2015 through 2018 with regular cab or super cab assemblies. The trucks were assembled at Claycomo and the Dearborn Assembly Plant, Ford said.

Ford said it issued the recall after “17 reports of smoke or fire” related to the seat belt systems in the United States and Canada. There have been no injuries or accidents, according to the manufacturer.

“Ford’s investigation found that some front seat belt pretensioners can generate excessive sparks when they deploy. When sufficient sparks are present, gases exhausted inside the lower portion of the B-pillar by the pretensioners may ignite. If this gas ignites, components behind the B-pillar such as insulation and carpet may subsequently catch fire.”

Under the recall, dealers will fix the problem for free. Dealers will remove insulation material and some wiring harness tape as well as treat the carpet and insulation with heat-resistant tape, the recall notice said.

Ford said dealers also would modify the back interior panels of regular cab trucks as part of the fix.