NHTSA Complaint #10074536 — 1984 TOYOTA COROLLA

WE RECENTLY INSTALLED A CHILD SEAT IN THE LEFT BACK SEAT OF OUR TOYOTA COROLLA AND I NOTICED THAT THERE IS A TWIST IN THE BELT WHEN IT IS BUCKLED. BY COMPARING IT TO THE OTHER SEAT BELTS, I TRACED THE PROBLEM TO THE BUCKLE, WHICH WAS SITTING ON THE BELT IN A REVERSE POSITION. I TRIED TO REVERSE THE BUCKLE BY FOLDING THE SEAT BELT STRAP IN THE SLOT. HOWEVER, THE SLOT WIDTH IS ONLY NARROW ENOUGH TO ALLOW A SINGLE SEAT BELT STRAP TO BE THREADED THROUGH IT. I THEREFORE CONCLUDED THAT IT WAS INSTALLED IN THIS POSITION AT THE FACTORY. I REQUESTED OUR TOYOTA DEALER FIX IT WITHOUT CHARGE AND WAS TOLD THAT SINCE THE CAR WAS 10 YEARS OLD THEY HAD NO WAY OF KNOWING WHETHER IT WAS MANUFACTURED THAT WAY OR WE WERE RESPONSIBLE. WE REQUESTED THAT AN APPOINTMENT BE SET UP FOR US WITH THE TOYOTA REGIONAL MANAGER TO INSPECT IT. OUR PHONE CALLS HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED. SINCE WE WERE ASKING FOR ONE SEAT BELT BUCKLE TO BE REPAIRED I ALSO REQUESTED THAT THE SECOND SHOULDER BELT ON THE BACK SEAT BE RETRACTED. THE BELT FAILED TO RETRACT A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO AFTER BEING USED ONLY A HANDFUL OF TIMES. MY GUESS IS THAT IT WAS USED ONLY ONCE OR TWICE PER YEAR WHEN WE TOOK A FRIEND IN THE CAR. I WAS TOLD BY THE SAME TOYOTA DEALER THAT THE BELT CANNOT BE SIMPLY REINSERTED BUT THAT THE WHOLE SEAT BELT ASSEMBLY MUST BE REPLACED. I POINTED OUT TO THE DEALER THAT SINCE WE RARELY USED THE BACK BELT THAT THE SEAT BELT MUST HAVE FAILED TO RETRACT BECAUSE OF AN ORIGINAL MECHANICAL DEFECT. HOWEVER, THE TOYOTA DEALER TOLD US THAT SINCE THE CAR WAS TEN YEARS OLD THEY HAD NO WAY OF KNOWING HOW OFTEN IT WAS REALLY USED. *AK