Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mazda tribute. The contact stated that while parked, he noticed that the front driver's side seat belt would not latch. Additionally, the seat belt could not be unlatched. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. The technician stated that the seat belt buckle would have to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.
Mazda Tribute seat belt problems
11 of the 2,102 owner complaints about the Mazda Tribute describe seat belt won't latch or retract, most of them for the 2001 model year.
- owner complaints
- 11
- worst model year
- 2001
- typical mileage
- 28,827
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall for this area of the car. See below
By model year
- 20063
- 20041
- 20031
- 20021
- 20015
Often reported together
What owners say
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mazda tribute. While examining the vehicle the contact noticed that the seat buckle latch was detached from the seat belt buckle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the repair could not be made due to the parts being on back order. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileages were 77,000. The VIN was not available.
2006 mazda tribute: in the last two weeks the driver side seat belt has locked into place and driver was unable to get out of the car. One of the times, driver drove to a dealership where it was totally disconnected from the floor behind the seat; so driver could get out. Mechanic said to not buckle again, but it is routine, so it happened again. Now when driving, the buzzer buzzes frequently to remind to buckle seatbelt, that cannot be unbuckled. It is buckled up, and driver is sitting on the belt. This car belongs to a 78 year old, who would not be able to get out if she had a wreck. It has happened to multiple drivers of her car. Thanks (the car belongs to my mother, and I am concerned for her safety and the safety of anyone else with this model.)
Seat belt hazard. The locking system in the seat belt have restrained me once in the front passenger seat. The back seat belt is now locked down and will not move.
There is a persistent problem with the airbag system in my mazda, tribute car. The first time it occurred at 23854 miles. The mazda dealer looked into it and stated on its report "checked and found wire harness going to seat belt pretensions buckle broken-wire yellow and red stripe located at h15". The problem was rectified at the time. However, the car now reached 38,000 miles and the airbag indicator light went on again. My car is out of manufacturer's warranty now and the dealer refuses to fix the problem. I believe, that this problem is a manufacturer's defect and must be fixed at the expense of the manufacturer. Especially, when the same problem recurred during the warranty coverage. As you aware, a malfunction of airbag system can lead to serious injuries or death in case of a collision. As per my local former mazda dealer, mazda knows about existence of this airbag issue. However, the problem has been ignored and no recalls have been indicated to correct the problem.
I was sitting a stop light. I was rear ended by a car at 40 MPH. The impact pushed me into the car in front of me. Upon impact, air bags deployed but seatbelt buckle shattered into 6 pieces. I contacted mazda, and they said there was nothing they could do. The car was totalled. Http://www.kodakgallery.com/photoview.jsp?&collid=90010007906&photoid=53811007906.
2001 tribute seat belt buckle cover replacement recall i503l.*mr the consumer scheduled an appointment to have two recall done seat bet buckle cover and powertrain control module. The dealer refused to do the recall because the check engine light was on. They offered to repair the problem but refused to do the recall until the repair is done.
Consumer received the federal safety agency recall 03v515000 concerning seat belt buckle cover in march 2004, and contacted the dealer. As of may 6, parts were still unavailable.
Consumer received a recall notice from the manufacturer concerning seat belt buckle failure. Consumer contacted the dealer, who was not aware of the recall. Both manufacturer and dealer were not trying to accommodate the consumer on this issue.
The air bag light illuminated on six different occasions. The dealer replaced the seat belt retractor on the driver and passenger side four times. The light continued to illuminate. Please provide further details.
Related recalls
Seat belts: front: buckle assembly
- What is wrong
- On certain sport utility vehicles, a post within the safety belt buckle covers could fracture, which could affect latch function, resulting in either a "no latch" or "partial latch" condition. In the "partial latch" condition, the buckle tongue can be inserted into the buckle and appear to be engaged, but will release from the buckle without the push button being depressed when a relatively low load is applied, such as when an occupant moves slightly in the seat.
- Risk
- In the event of a crash, the seat occupant may not be properly restrained, increasing the risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Dealers will have the driver and front passenger safety belt buckle cover removed and replaced with a newly designed service buckle cover. Owner notification began february 5, 2004. Owners should contact mazda at 1‑800‑222‑5500.
Recall number 03V515000 · Recall details
Questions about the Mazda Tribute seat belt
Which Mazda Tribute years have seat belt won't latch or retract problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2001 (5 complaints), 2006 (3 complaints) and 2002 (1 complaints).
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