Front Seat Belt Buckle Assembly Problems of Subaru Forester

Wife was driving our 2001 Subaru Forester. She got too close to edge of paved surface on narrow secondary road and tires dropped off edge. Instead of there being the required flat shoulder or berm, there is a 4+ inch drop at that point. The drop and correcting to the roadway caused her to lose control and the vehicle ended up rolling two or three (witness accounts varied) times and ending upright in a field. During the very first rollover my wife was aware of the seat belt coming unlatched. Obviously, she then became an object being tossed about in the vehicle during the rest of the crash sequence. There is no evident, physical damage to the belt or buckle mechanism. The inertia lock still functions; the belt will click into the buckle and remain there with a tugging motion is applied. Obviously I can not duplicate the type of forces that were applied during the crash. I contacted subara of America at their customer service dept with this information and they would only look into this in the event the insurance company seeks to subrogate the claim to them. This will not happen as the seatbelt did not cause the accident (for collision loss part of claim) and pennsylvania law does not allow subrogation for medical claims. I was not seeking a litigation settlement in contacting Subaru. . . I thought it would be something they would want to investigate before someone was killed.

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Rear seat belt anchors/assembly on 1999 Subaru Forester do not allow for acceptable secure installation of child seat (have tried approx 7 different models/seat makes since purchase of vehicle may 1999). Right and left side rear seat belt assembly consists of elr/alr continuous loop lap/shoulder belt with sliding latch plate. Seat belt locks (the female part) for right, left and even center (which is lap only) are anchored forward of seat crease so that it is impossible to properly secure child seats. The child seat manuals/instructions suggest that vehicles with such seat belt placement might not be compatible, etc. They suggest "moving the child seat to a different position. " again, however, in 1999 Forester, none of the three rear positions function. Subaru 1999 Forester owner's manual has section on child seat installation, of course. They suggest/imply seat belt assembly and rear seats are safe for use with child seat(s). The illustrations in the manual, however, are of seat belts anchored/placed at seat crease, not as assembly actually exists on 1999 Forester. What can we do? we are scared. Police officer tried to help install one of two seats we bought today (no. Six of seven, seventh purchased after failed install of sixth). Brakes -- right rear disc brakes have squeeked since purchase in 1999 (new) . Dealer maintenance in August 2000 noted the problem and lubed brakes but did not cure problem which persists.

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