Has Ford Performance Moved Away from Retrofit Rear Seat Delete Kits for Smart Restraint Cars?

[Mach 307]

I recently went way down the rabbit hole on rear seat delete kits because I ended up ordering the Ford Performance 2018-2020 S550 rear seat delete kit for my 2022 Mach 1 HP (Memorial Day sale got me… $913 shipped direct to my local Ford dealer was too good to pass up). It contains the same exact parts as the GT500 CFTP and Mach 1 HP optioned with the delete from the factory.

Originally, my concern was whether I should hold off in case Ford Performance ever revised the S550 kit for the 2021–2023 “smart” rear buckle cars (Mach 1 HP / base GT500), since those cars trigger warnings if you remove the rear buckle assemblies entirely. Though with the kit being released in 2021, and it now being 2026. Plus the S550 production ending in 2023. I don’t think Ford is putting any R&D towards the S550 platform. Though I plan to call Ford Performance and get absolute confirmation on this.

Digging deeper, I found that the issue is apparently not the full buckle itself, but the hall-effect sensor within the buckle assembly. Multiple owners have reported that simply retaining the sensor (or even removing just the sensor from the buckle and plugging it into the harness) satisfies the system, meaning the problem is technically solvable without retaining the entire buckle hardware. Others have gone down the rabbit hole of trying to code out the warning, but to no avail. It seems cars optioned with the RSD, do in fact come with some different as built data, as they are obviously no equipped with the smart rear belts. Therefore this is a non issue.

That got me thinking about the S650.

The only S650 rear seat delete I’m aware of right now is the factory-only Dark Horse SC Track Pack configuration.

So the question becomes:

Since the S550 Ford Performance rear seat delete kit was never revised for the 2021–2023 smart rear buckle cars, do you think Ford Performance would ever realistically make an S650 retrofit rear seat delete kit for normal S650 cars (non-SC Dark Horse / GT) with some kind of OEM hall-effect sensor / emulator solution?

Because from a technical standpoint, it seems doable.

OR…

Do you think Ford has effectively moved away from retrofit rear seat delete kits entirely once smart restraint systems came into play, and factory-only RSD configurations are simply the future? (GT500 CFTP, Mach 1 HP factory RSD option, Dark Horse SC Track Pack)

Curious what the S650 guys think.

And no, the S550 kit will not fit an S650 and the theoretical eventual S650 kit would not fit the S550 either. There are several differences in the rear with the shape of the quarter panel trim on the passenger side. As well as the rear deck shelf, and seatbelt area.

Though I wonder if a sensor is included with a theoretical S650 kit if it could be used in the S550.

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[Zig]

There’s only two doors, not like they can get back there without opening a front door, turning off the rear seat reminder doesn’t do the trick?

 

[Mach 307]

There’s only two doors, not like they can get back there without opening a front door, turning off the rear seat reminder doesn’t do the trick?

Different system than what I mean. I think you may be referring to the rear occupant reminder / “check rear seats” logic.

I’m talking about the rear seatbelt / restraint monitoring side of things. On later S550s (2021–2023), owners who remove the female rear buckle assemblies entirely report seatbelt/restraint warnings unless the OEM buckle sensor remains electrically connected.

From what I can tell, the S650 rear buckle assemblies are also wired similarly, which is what got me wondering about this.

So my question is less “can you disable the rear seat reminder?” and more “has Ford effectively moved away from retrofit rear seat delete kits for smart restraint-equipped cars like the S650, in favor of factory-only RSD configurations?” Since they did so once the technology was introduced in 2021+ cars.

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