The contact owns a 2007 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the key was difficult to remove from the ignition on several occasions. The contact had to turn the steering wheel and maneuver the key from the off to on position frequently in order to move the key and start the vehicle. The contact also indicated that the driver side seat belt became stuck multiple times. The belt had to be adjusted to get out of the seat belt. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 93,000.

- Lorain, OH, USA

I attempted to push the seat belt release button and the seat belt would not release. I had to stretch the belt and pull it over my head to climb out of the car. My husband attempted to release the button, but the seat belt would not release. I have to have the whole thing replaced and was quoted $450 as it will have to be rewired also.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

Was driving in town with passengers properly buckled in seat belts in our 2007 Ford Escape with 67,000 miles. Sudden stop and the passenger in the rear passengers seat had the seat belt pull loose from the connector. Inspection showed that the seat belt stitching on that particular seat belt had apparently never been properly stitched and there were only a few threads holding the seat belt together. Close inspection of the other seat belts in the car showed the rest had a white inspection tag while this seat belt did not have one at the "supposed" sewed joint. Looks like the sewing machine needle drilled the holes but did not put threads through the two pieces. We are not the original owners but close inspection appears to be an original defect and the seat belt was apparently never properly sewn to the clip. Contacted (through champion Ford in corpus christi, Texas our home) a lady named lisette who apparently is the Texas Ford customer representative and she stated that since the vehicle was out of warranty and we were not the original owner that it was not Ford's responsibility to do anything about this serious safety problem. No apparent recalls on similar problems and no one but Ford apparently knows how many "replacement" seat belt assemblies have been purchased by Ford Escape owners. Pictures of the seat belt separated from the clip is available.

- Corpus Christi, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Ford Escape. When the vehicle was purchased, the contact stated that he noticed tape wrapped around the seat belt latch, located in the rear of the vehicle. The seat belt metal latch was loose and there was also a crack in the metal latch. The dealer made the contact aware that the tape was cosmetic and denied any assistance with repair. The manufacturer was notified, but denied any assistance with repair to the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 69,692.

- Strongsville, OH, USA

On August 27th of 2009 I was driving my 2007 Ford Escape while correcting my children in the back seat I hit a wet spot in the road and lost control of my vehicle I rolled 2 times and stopped with a front end collision. The seat belt did not catch causing me to bash my face into the steering wheel at least two times. The air bags also did not work either. Because of the faulty equipment it caused me to break my neck in 3 places and spending 2 weeks in the hospital having to have surgery with a metal rod and two screws....because of the defaulted equipment I still suffer from permanent nerve and muscle damage and chronic pain.

- Gilliam, MO, USA