Safety Belt Buckle - Inflatable Safety Belt

On vehicles equipped with inflatable safety belts, the safety belt buckle has 3 functions:

• Receives the tongue and holds it in place until the release button is pressed.
• Senses if the inflatable safety belt is buckled using a Hall-effect sensor which is hard-wired to the RCM.
• Directs the gas from the safety belt inflator into the tongue for safety belt deployment.

The safety belt buckle is bolted directly to the safety belt inflator. To prevent the inflator gas from leaking during deployment, the buckle is sealed to the inflator with nylon rings.

When replacing safety belt buckles and/or retractor assemblies, use only the replacement parts specified in the Ford Catalog Advantage or equivalent.

REFER to DTC CHART: RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULE (RCM) to diagnose any DTCs  and REFER to Symptom Chart: Safety Belt System  for any concerns regarding safety belt buckle or retractor function.