So my in-laws were in their 2015 F150 (CC, SB, LARIAT) two months old, and along comes a guy and rear ends them. Pretty severe, but not like getting hit with a wrecking ball at a dead stop. They were slowing down to turn and they guy never hit the brakes. Difference in speed was probably 35 mph. My MIL's seat broke allowing her to hit her head pretty good on the grab handle on the pillar. With an impact such as that (as violent as is was) I would think the seat would hold up better to protect the passengers and not allow them to fly around the cab. Now to be fair, I have not personally laid eyes on the truck to see where the seat broke, so I don't know if the tracks broke loose or the back support broke free or what. Anyone have any kind of experience with collisions that could provide a realistic expectation of the performance of the seating during a wreck?

 

I have seen a couple of news stories about inadequate seat construction in most US cars. I thought the seats in the 2015+ F-150 were a new design that is supposed to address the issue.

 

Don't really know, this isn't something I've heard of.

Very interested to see photos of the failure and of the truck. Is it too much to ask for a photo of the other vehicle as well?

 

My father in law is supposed to send me some pics. I went by the body shop to lay eyes on it, but they were closed & I wasn't up to hopping the razor wire fence. He did say the seat back broke loose on the drivers side from the seat bottom. When he went and looked he said it was laid back and angled away from the driver. The bottom seemed in tact, but then again he wasn't pulling on anything.

 

If you get hit really hard, the broken seat back will help you go out the back window. It provides a ramp as the vehicle moves forward while you stay still... Not a pretty picture, but then most injury accidents aren't.

Google it, find disturbing videos. 100 injured or killed since 1989 it says. IMO not the biggest issue in automotive safety, given that annual fatalities hover in the low to mid 30,000 range. Not a big issue, unless it happens to you.

Ask Ford to look at the parts, or contact NHTSA if you think it's real trouble waiting for others.

BUT if this vehicle is going to be repaired, insist on new seats, not seats out of some other wreck and certainly not a "repaired" seat.

jmo, ymmv, see your dealer, not FDIC insured.