Inadvertently bumped into curbing while making a turn. Side wall of left front tire pierced, and plastic bumper moved. Bumper easily snapped back into place, tire replaced, and alignment checked. No damage except that seat belt failed in fully extended position after actuation with sudden stopping. Honda refused to honor warranty despite vehicle with less than 10,000 miles and two months old. Car is 2007 Honda Civic hybrid. In small claims court Honda argued successfully that the seat belt system functioned per design; that a "pre-tensioning system" is part of the design and is intended to prevent premature activation of air bag. I contend that any system that is designed to malfunction to prevent actuation of another system defies good design practice. I am a small person (135 lbs.) and the abrupt stop occurred at low speed. The impulse of the stop should not have been sufficient to cause failure of the system.

- Torrance, CA, USA