Removed 2nd row middle seat, now have seat belt malfunction error

[Yoda]

Hello everyone, I just joined this forum and did a search before submitting this question, so hopefully I didn't miss it and someone can help me.

I have a 2019 with 2nd row bench seating. With 3 kids and a dog we wanted captains chairs instead. So I removed the middle seat, now have a cheap version of 'captains chairs' (meaning no arm bar). Works great and works for my family!

My only question is overriding the 'Seat belt Malfunction' error every time I turn the ignition on. I hit 'OK' and it clears the error. The manual indicates I can override the seat belt warning for the two front seats, but no indication of being able to override it for the back seats. Any ideas?

Many thanks in advance!

 

[Soliyou]

May be Forscan can be used to change the parameters of the body control module (not sure where seat belt parameters are stored) to match one with captain chairs.

 

[Soliyou]

Duplicate!

 

[wakeboarder]

Hello everyone, I just joined this forum and did a search before submitting this question, so hopefully I didn't miss it and someone can help me.

I have a 2019 with 2nd row bench seating. With 3 kids and a dog we wanted captains chairs instead. So I removed the middle seat, now have a cheap version of 'captains chairs' (meaning no arm bar). Works great and works for my family!

My only question is overriding the 'Seat belt Malfunction' error every time I turn the ignition on. I hit 'OK' and it clears the error. The manual indicates I can override the seat belt warning for the two front seats, but no indication of being able to override it for the back seats. Any ideas?

Many thanks in advance!

Can you add your vehicle details to your signature? What trim level do you have? Do you have the screen that shows which seat belts are buckled and unbuckled?

 

[Yoda]

Hi @wakeboarder, thank you for asking. I've added details to my signature - 2019 Expedition Limited Stealth edition; 4x4; Panoramic roof; Pkg 303A; Trailer tow pkg; 3.5L ecoboost v6 engine; 10 sp auto trans.

I do have a screen that shows which seat belts are buckled/unbuckled. I get warning msgs if one started off buckled and gets unbuckled while engine is on. For my middle seat in 2nd row that I removed, it shows an ? on the screen.

Hi @Soliyou - can you direct me to the duplicate? I do appreciate the forscan suggestion. Although that's way more advanced than I have knowledge for; that might require appt to dealership, which I'm hoping to avoid.

 

[Lou Hamilton]

There has to be a ForScan change to change the system from bench to captains chairs. That is the only thing that I can think of.

Are you familiar with ForScan?

 

[Lou Hamilton]

Based on the Ford F-150 ForSan spreadsheet, this might be the ForSan code:

737-02-01: Second Row Middle Seatbelt Sensor Present (SRMS) & Passenger Seatbelt Retractor Pretensioner Present (PSRP) & Driver Seatbelt Retractor Pretensioner Present (DSRP) & UNUSED 3 (U3)

 

[wakeboarder]

FYI: There is a note in the wiring diagram about setting off airbags if you mess with wiring in this area.

Below may be a couple options if you don’t get Forscan to work.

Screenshot below shows the seatbelt switch. Further up in the document, it says the component is a hall sensor. This means it is not a simple on/off.

Can you remove the seatbelt switch from the seat or purchase a spare to leave attached?

 

[Yoda]

Thank you @wakeboarder! I just tried what you said. I took the switch piece from the seat and attached it back to the end on the floorboard, but it still had the same error. After that I'll assume it's going to need a reconfiguration with Forscan to be captains chairs rather than a bench. I'm familiar enough with forscan with some youtube videos I watched, but I think I'd rather have someone else do that, youtube makes things look so easy but they don't always turn out that way!

 

[techdude99]

This may help....

I received a seat belt malfunction error after installing a baby seat in the 2nd row captain's chair.

It was my first time taking it in for service, so I reset Ford Sync to ensure there was no personal data. The warning went away and I didn't think anything of it.

When I picked up the Expedition, the Service Advisor said they couldn't find any codes. When I said I reset Sync, he said that it clears everything related to the safety equipment. That didn't make sense to me, but I checked with some other Ford stores and they confirmed that the seat belt related faults will clear.