Found this part in the car - does anyone know what it is?

[dchui]

I found this part under the driver seat today in my '12 Focus. Can anyone tell me what it is?

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s244/...4f6a4d42459d54

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s244/...4ed0ae43f67143

Please help!

[MetalMuffins]

The size of it makes me think that it is a bolt for the seat-belt mounting to the floor. if your seat-belts aren't loose that it could be possible that an extra one was dropped in the car during assembly.

[dchui]

Thanks, MetalMuffins!

Yeah, I think that makes sense. Fortunately, none of my seat belts are loose, and I also checked that all the seat adjustments are working fine... I was quite worried about safety when I saw that part under my seat.

Fwiw, I only bothered to check under my seat when I heard something rolling on the floor while I was taking a few corners quickly for fun.

But now that you mention it, upon closer inspection, I did find what seems to be evidence of bits broken off:

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s244/...f5628296726707

Which is kind of odd, because it is heavy (I guess, due to the bolt) and it doesn't look like the two points above are strong enough to hold it anyways. But I'm no mechanic...

I did put my head down on the floor and compared against the passenger seat, but I couldn't nothing obvious. Maybe it is just something left behind by people in the factory or those who have worked on my car.

[zehkaiser]

Great. Now I will be digging under my driver seat... I've been hearing an odd click under my seat when cornering hard sometimes. I thought something was under my seat and looked briefly once, but I'll take a better look this time.

[MetalMuffins]

Originally Posted by zehkaiser

Great. Now I will be digging under my driver seat... I've been hearing an odd click under my seat when cornering hard sometimes. I thought something was under my seat and looked briefly once, but I'll take a better look this time.

I've had stuff hide under there before. The rear air duct for the HVAC makes it hard to spot things. You have to put the seat all the way forward and open the back door to get a good look.

[American Henchman]

those broken off bits look to be part of the molding process. those two points appear to be where they would have attached to the other parts being molded at the same time. similar to plastic models. it would technically be the point where the molten material was injected in to the mold to make the part. looks like ford dropped an extra in there for you.

[jsr72]

I think that's one of the rear seat pivots. Fold your seats down and should be able to see it.

[dchui]

Wow - you guys are amazing! Yeah, you're right. It seems to be a part off the rear seat pivots. Funny though, both of them are still there... and it would be weird that they fall out of the car while I was driving it.

So I guess it's really something extra Ford gave me.

Thanks for all your help guys! I feel much better now knowing the car is still safe.

[BetaDnB]

Did you check the passenger side seat to make sure it isn't missing parts?

[dchui]

I checked under (and around) both front seats and there doesn't seem to be similar looking parts. Do you know if the same part is used in the front seats?