| Subject: | Front shoulder belt malfunction |
| Components covered: |
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| Investigations Summary: | This investigation was opened on Sep. 2, 1999. It was closed on Jan. 6, 2000. Odi has received nine voq reporting that the subject vehicles' front shoulderbelts tend to bind in the webbing guides, thereby allowing inappropriate levels of webbing slack to accumulate while driving. The shoulder belt retractor and anchorage are contained within the seat. Shoulder belt webbing feeds through a rotating webbing guide mounted in the outboard shoulder position. Failure of the guide to rotate as designed apparently causes the webbing to bunch up and bind at one end of the webbing guide slot. This binding prevents the webbing from moving on andoff the retractor spool as dsigned, allowing slack to accumulate. Consumer complaints indicate that it is either imposible or very inconvenient to clear bound webbing from the webbing guide while seated and buckled in. Five of the complaints contacted by odi have stated that their dealers were unable to eliminate this condition. One complainant has attributed fryed webbing to its binding in the guide slot. |
| Vehicles Affected by this investigation: |
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