When you crash in a modern vehicle, it sets off a tightly choreographed series of events that takes less than the blink of an eye to complete, and involved enormous forces. If something goes wrong, as is allegedly happening in 2019 Ford Expeditions, the consequences can be scary.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a preliminary evaluation into the SUV after receiving 10 complaints from consumers alleging that the seatbelt pretensioners are not only going off out of sync, but are popping for no reason whatsoever.
The pretensioner’s job is to pull you back towards the seat, and get you into the correct position for the airbags to support you in a crash. Some vehicles, like the Expedition, use a small explosive charge to do this, and it can be quite scary if you aren’t expecting it.
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For instance, one driver complains that in July, while they were stopped at a red light, they heard “a loud shotgun or explosive sound” and then “got hit with something in the chest that felt like a punch or a kick, knocking me out of breath.” Immediately, they became concerned that they had been shot, and went so far as to file a police report about it, before finding out that it was the pretensioner.
The person who filed the complaint said there was no damage to the exterior of their Expedition, and no airbags went off. Indeed, drivers say that the issue is occurring while stopped, while driving, or even as they’re getting into the vehicle and pulling the belt around themselves.
So far, NHTSA says it has received just one report that an injury occurred as a result of this alleged problem, and it was mild. However, scaring the driver at speed could be dangerous. In addition, this kind of unnecessary deployment leaves the occupant without pretensioner protection until they get it fixed, which increases the risk of an injury in a crash.
As a result, NHTSA is investigating to determine the scope and severity of the problem, and has not yet demanded a recall. However, if it determines that a risk to safety exists, it could lead to one that involves as many as 20,331 vehicles.
