This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Front lap belts jam in the retractor. A recall has been issued on the vehicle make and medel; but the vehicle was not included in the recall because the owner was not notified.
Passenger's side seat belt is jammed & failed to retract to original position. Once pulled out to be used, it would twist as it was going back. Took to dealers & had the belt retractor replaced.
Passenger and driver side seat belt retractors constantly jam, causing seat belts to be inoperable. Took to dealer who "lubed" retractors, which had no effect. Caused by seatbelt improperly feeding into retractor and ratchet mechanism preventing belt from being pulled back out to correct. Retractor spring is not strong enough to completely wind in the belts when folded, causing a jammed situation where the belt will neither retract fully or pull out. This renders the belts unusable.
Driver and passenger seat belt retractors jam repeatedly, causing seat belts to become unsable, which could cause injury or death in a crash. I returned the vehicle to the dealer wh said ther had been no problems reported with this design. He "lubed" the assemblies, which had no effect. I believe that there is a design flaw with respect to the locking/ratcheting mechanism thet is supposed to allow the seat belt to be locked in a tight position to hold the occupants in the seats better for high lateral forces. Unfortunatly, the design of the assembly frequently allows (and causes due to retract angles) the belt to feed into the retractor folded over. When this happens, the retract spring does not have enough power to pull the the belt all of the way in, which it must do to release the ratcheting mechanism. The result is a jammed belt that is prevented from being pulled out by the locking mechanism and prevented from retracting from the folded belt. Since I know about the problem, I am very carefull when taking off the belt, but it still happens occasionaly. The passenger side jams much morer frequently due to varying people not familier with the care that must be taken to prevent a jam. I can clear the jam by getting out of the car, kneeling on the ground and working the belt in and jerking out until it wraps all of the way in twisted. This usually takes around 20 - 30 minutes to accomplish. I have had to do this around 50 times now. Since it is illegal and unsafe to drive the vehicle with out a seat bealt properly fastened around all occupants, I am considering having the vehicle transported to the dealer on a flatbed each time it jams. I would really appreciate some help on this matter. Please call for more details.
Passenger's side seat belt will not retract, it binds at the corner and will get stuck in the out position. The dealer has been contacted and replaced the seat belt, but the problem is still present.
Passenger's seatbelt gets stuck in the retractor which causes seatbelt to be inoperable, and won't protect the occupant in event of a crash. Dealer replaced the seatbelt system, but problem still exists.
Steering wheel locked up when in reverse gear, and the vehicle was rolling which could have caused an accident. 2. passenger's side seat belt will not retract in place properly or it will twist and jam the system, causing loss of protection. The service department admits to the defect in both cases. Ref. In EA02-031
Seat belt on passenger side jams and fails to retract or extend. The angle of the seatbelt system does not enable the occupant to easily use it without "coaxing" it back in. The dealer is now replacing the belt for a second time. I have spoken to three other new Corvette owners who have experienced trouble with the seat belts, especially on the passanger side. Their solution was not to wear the belt, which is not a valid or legal solution. The dealer intake people agree with us that the belts are too sensative, but can only replace the belt.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Virginia Beash, VA, USA