2000 Mazda MPV: seat belt won't latch or retract

Filed Nov 23, 2001 · Seat belts · MD

Front passenger's side seatbelt tightens with minimal movement, retracts, locks up and will not release. Passenger must unbuckle seat belt due to extreme discomfort.

Filed Jun 24, 2001 · Airbags · LA · crash · 2 injuries

Front airbags did not work at all. Back right seatbelt shoulder harness did not work. Vehicle was hit from behind and then pushed into another vehicle that was in front. The vehicle that hit my van was traveling at approximately 40 miles per hour when my vehicle was hit my daughter who was sitting in the 3rd row seat wearing a lap/shoulderbelt flew forward enough to hit her head and face on the back of the second row seat. It seems that the shoulder part of the seatbelt did not lock at all during impact which allowed her that much movement. In addition, the passenger and drivers side airbags did not deploy during the frontal impact when my vehicle was pushed into the vehicle in front of me which pushed the whole front of the van into the engine compartment.

Filed Apr 27, 2001 · Seat belts · MD

Passenger's seat belt locks up and becomes extremely tight when vehicle is being driven or when passenger slightly moves. *ak the dealer confirmed that the seat belt was defective and replaced it, but the problem reoccured.

Filed Jan 22, 2001 · GA

Seat belt buckle in 2nd row is designed so that it is forward of seat crack and cannot move to a completely upright position. This causes major movement/isecure belting of a child convertible booster seat, especially front-to-back movement. This movement occurs even with the tether anchor strap installed. We complained to mazda and wanted the seat belt buckles replaced (to match the redesigned and workable seat belts in the 2001 models) or the entire seat replaced with the 2001 seats. So far, we have had little success getting any feedback from mazda. Additionally, once we began pursuing this weith mazda, threee different people within the company have informed us that no child seats of any kind are to be used in the 2nd row of the 2000 mpvs. However, they went ahead and installed a tether anchor mounting kit behind the second row (as they have done for many other customers too). Doesn't that imply that you could use child seats in the second row? If you truly cannot install child seats in the 2nd row of the 2000 mpvs, then an entire year's worth of mpvs were sold under false pretenses as most minivan owners have small children and belt their car seats in the second row. Also, the 2000 mpv user manual illustrates putting child seats int he 2nd row -- contradicting what we have been told repeatedly by mazda. We are very concerned that a major vehicle manufacturer can sell minivans which apparently are not designed for safe use of car seats in the 2nd row. Probably many uninformed mpv owners currently have their child seats in the 2nd row. We had hoped that mazda would take a proactive stance on this issue, but what we have mostly heard is, "child seats must be installed in the 3rd row only and cannot be installed in the 2nd row." please investigate how mazda is able to sell these vehicles without first informing the consumer of this issue, and investigate mazda's unwillingness to investigate fixing this issue.

Filed Feb 24, 2000 · Seat belts · IL

The fixed seat belt anchors prevent safe installation of child and infant car seats. The point where the buckle engages the anchor is too far away from the car seat to properly secure the child seat. The child seat has too much freedom of movement after the seat belt is buckled and tightened.

Filed Feb 17, 2000 · Seat belts · TX

Since we purchased the vehicle, we have had a problems keeping our 2-year old's car seat secured properly. The seatbelts in the middle seats and rear seat will not tighten and/or loosen after buckling, causing the car seat to shift and move easily. I felt we must be doing something wrong and finally had an opportunity to return it to the dealer. After over and hour and throught the efforts of a service advisor and a lead service technician, it was determined there must be some sort of design flaw in the seatbelt which prevented the belts from locking properly. They also did not feel that installing a tether would remedy the problem to an appropriate degree of safety. They also called mazda headquarters who informed them that yes, there is a design flaw in the seatbelts but they don't have a resolution at this time and they don't know when they will. The service advisors only recommendation to me is that I find another car seat that might work with these seats. Unfortunately, there are none. Thus, each time my family and I ride in the car, my 2-year old's life is at stake since we cannot safely install a car seat within this vehicle. Please provide me any information you can on seeking remedy to this problem. We will anxiously await your response.