Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEAT BELTS - FRONT - ANCHORAGE | ||||||||||||||||
| 96V077000 | SAAB CARS USA, INC. | from 03/01/1996 to 04/01/1996 | V (Vehicle) | 1058 | 05/15/1996 | MFR | SAAB CARS USA, INC. | 05/03/1996 | 05/08/1996 | 571 | 209 | |||||
| Defect Summary | During static testing of belt anchorage points, the outboard attachment plate being used in the testing deformed and detached from the seat anchorage. this does not comply with fmvss no. 209, seat belt assemblies and no. 210, seat belt assembly anchorages. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | Consequence of non-compliance: the belt may not latch properly increasing the risk of injury to an occupant should a vehicle crash occur. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Dealers will inspect the safety belt assemblies for the date of manufacture. any assembly with date year 96 week 10 day 2 will be replaced. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | System: interior; seat and shoulder belts and belt anchor; fmvss no. 209 and 210. vehicle description: passenger vehicles.note: owner notification is expected to begin may 15, 1996. note: owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time, should contact saab at 1-800-955-9007. also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-800-424-9393. | |||||||||||||||
Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEAT BELTS - FRONT - ANCHORAGE | |||||
| 10/950621 | 10/01/1995 | 46713 | Safety belt with lockable belt tongue. *sd | 04/25/1996 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEAT BELTS - FRONT - ANCHORAGE | |||
| 06/09/1999 | 2 | 04/01/1999 | |
| The complaint here is that a provided safety device, the seat belts, have inadequate webbing length to accomodate larger occupants. i have contacted saab's customer service center and was advised that while seat belt extenders were available for this model, the cost would be $250 each. we consider that cost-prohibitive to enable use of a manditory safety device. we have purchased other new and used vehicles for more than the last decade such as from gm and seat belt extenders were readily available at zero cost. i can entertain purchasing these extenders for a reasonable amount, such as $50/each, but $250/each is outrageous and quite frankly shouldn't be necessary as the belt webbing is quite short to begin with. saab's position as of this afternoon is they will offer $100 off on a pair of these belts. still, $400 out of pocket to enable a manditory-to-use-by-state-and-federal-law safety feature in a car is absurd. saab's statement was we suggest you try out the car before you buy, and that something like this should tell us not to buy. that misses the whole point of why these safety belts were required in the first place. i am now going through a local reference obtained from the national mobility equipment center (thanks nhtsa for suggesting it!) and they are looking at alternate solutions which are expected to be less in cost. but the point here is why are vehicle manufacturers allowed to deny customers the effective use of manditory safety items because of exorbitant extra pricing, such as seat belt extenders at $250/each when the problem could be avoided simply be lengthing the seat belt webbing in the first place, at a likely cost of less than $10? i think that as a safety issue if nothing else, vehicle manufacturers must provide, at reasonble cost, whatever is necessary to enable use of manditory lawfully-required safety features if the standard is not comprehensive to cover customers. *ak | |||