I was in a broad side collision (t-bone) type accident where I hit another driver after she turned in front of me causing this collision and no air bags deployed my seatbelt locked causing me to have severe nerve damage in my neck on the left side, my left leg now has injury from this accident needless to say I will have this lifelong problem stemming from this accident.
Saturn SL seat belt problems
52 of the 2,211 owner complaints about the Saturn SL describe seat belt won't latch or retract, most of them for the 1997 model year.
- owner complaints
- 52
- worst model year
- 1997
- typical mileage
- 68,000
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
What owners say
I own a 1999 sl1 saturn. On wednesday 06/07/06, when I was taking my 23 month old daughter out of her car seat, I noticed that the car seat was loose. Upon further inspection, I found the buckle that holds the seat belt (the one that comes up from underneath the seat) had come un-stitched. When I pulled on the buckle it came out in my hand. I emailed saturn thursday morning and they told me to contact my local saturn dealership. I went to my local dealership, saturn of burlington, on friday and showed them the part and talked with the service manager. She told me that they had never seen this before. She also told me that with the age of the car, being 7 years old, the best she could do for me was 10% off the part. It didn't a matter to her that we had only been using that seat belt for the last 4 months, since the birth of our son. The part costs approximately $49.00. It is not the cost that bothers me, it is the "not my problem" attitude that bothers me. I was even going to put the buckle in myself. The dealership suggested I call the saturn customer service. I left the dealership upset that they didn't see the enormity of the situation. I later called saturn customer service and talked with melissa. After explaining the email that I sent thursday, the conversation at saturn of burlington, and my disappointment in the seat belt failure, she offered me a one time $50.00 inconvenience gift certificate that I could use at any saturn dealership. How can saturn take seat belt failure so lightly? We are expected to buckle up every time we get in the car, but what is the point if the manufacturer of the given vehicle doesn't need to hold up their end of the bargain. Maybe we only need to buckle up in a vehicle that is less than 7 years of age since faulty seatbelts could be a given. If we had been in an accident before I found the buckle was un stitched, what would have happened to my 23 month old daughter, & my 4 month old son seated right beside her?
1999 saturn air bags failed to deploy upon frontal impact. The seat belt also failed to restrain the consumer. *ts the seat belt was the subject of a recall and the car was taken to the dealer for repairs.
The consumer complained about the front seat belt problem. The driver's side seat belt will not retract after use. The passenger's side seat belt will not extend out for use. The consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, and was informed that the repair will cost $900.00. *ak
The passenger and driver passive restrain seat belt locks down. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection, and the mechanic informed the driver that seat belts needed to be replaced.
While driving/parking seat belt latch unlocked from the belt buckle. Consumer was unable to wear seat belt correctly. *ak left front seat buckle were replaced on consumer's expense. Dealer wasn't able to explain the main cause of the problem.
Driver's side seat belt retractor failed. *ak
Cosco model 02-452 wal, manufacturing date unknown. When the booster seat was installed using the vehicle seat belts, the seat belt did not retract. The belt was stuck. The cause was unknown. *ak the shoulder belt would go into the belt positioner to buckle the child tight, but if the child moved, the seat belt shoulder moved and remained loose, which caused the shoulder belt to not retract. *scc
I purchased a 1998 saturn sl2 in april of 2002 and discovered after purchase that it had a defective seat belt retractor. When the vehicle was taken to a local saturn dealership I was told that even though this is a very common problem on this model I would be charged for the repair. The dealership was also unable to find the exact part number and wanted to make the repair from a similar but not identical 1996 model. The dealership told me that saturn does not take responsibility for defective safety items such as the retractor because so many of their vehicles have this problem and it has not been officially recalled.
Consumer states while pulling into the driveway driver's side seatbelt retractor was making a wierd noise. Took vehicle to dealer, dealer stated that electrical seatbelt cable was broken.
Related recalls
Seat belts: front: anchorage
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. These vehicles do not comply with requirements of fmvss no. 210, "seat belt assembly anchorages." some of the vehicles were produced with seat belt shoulder guide anchor bolts that were not adequately tightened at the center pillar and could fall out, making the seat belt inoperative.
- Risk
- In the event of a crash, the seat occupant may not be properly restrained.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect these vehicles for proper installation and torque of the seat belt shoulder guide anchor bolts.
Recall number 99V280000 · Recall details
Questions about the Saturn SL seat belt
Which Saturn SL years have seat belt won't latch or retract problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1997 (18 complaints), 1994 (8 complaints) and 1992 (6 complaints).
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