The defect
National Van Builders, Inc. (National Van Builders) is recalling certain vehicles based on 2019-2020 Ford Transit and 2019 Ram Promaster vans equipped with Freedman GO-ES foldaway seats. The seat belt retractor block out zone may have not been set correctly, potentially resulting in a seat belt that may not properly secure the occupant. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies."
The risk
An unsecured occupant has an increased risk of injury in the event of a crash.
The remedy
National Van Builders will notify owners, and dealers will replace the retractors, free of charge. The recall began May 19, 2020. Owners may contact Freedman customer service at 1-800-443-4540 or National Van Builders customer service at 1-800-527-7477.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Ford Transit | 2019, 2020 |
| Ram ProMaster | 2019 |
Components: SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Transit | 2019 | 37 | 9 |
| Ford Transit | 2020 | 84 | 9 |
| Ram ProMaster | 2019 | 60 | 9 |
Other seat belts recalls in 2020
38 of the 782 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2020 concerned the seat belts; National Van Builders, Inc. filed 3 campaigns in all.
| 20V811000 23 Dec 2020 | General Motors, LLC |
| 20V792000 17 Dec 2020 | General Motors, LLC |
| 20V793000 17 Dec 2020 | Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC |
| 20V724000 20 Nov 2020 | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
| 20V697000 12 Nov 2020 | Lion Electric Company |
| 20V671000 30 Oct 2020 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 20V659000 27 Oct 2020 | Winnebago Industries, Inc |
| 20V661000 27 Oct 2020 | Braun Ambulances |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2020