NHTSA Complaint #10342650 — 2004 LEXUS RX330

WE OWN A 2004 LEXUS 330. ON A TRIP JULY 1, 2010, OUR 6-YEAR OLD DAUGHTER FELL ASLEEP IN HER BOOSTER SEAT AND THE SEATBELT SHOULDER HARNESS WENT BEHIND HER WHEN SHE FELL TO THE SIDE. WE PULLED OVER ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD TO HELP HER GET READJUSTED. WE UNLATCHED THE BUCKLE; THE SEAT BELT WAS WRAPPED AROUND HER TORSO AND THE SEATBELT LOCKING SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONED AND WOULD NOT RELEASE. MY HUSBAND AND I BOTH WORKED TO TRY TO RELEASE HER. WE TRIED TO EXTRACT HER THROUGH THE SEATBELT, BUT IT WAS WOUND TOO TIGHTLY AROUND HER TORSO. WE TRIED TO RETRACT THE SEATBELT A BIT SO THE LOCKING SYSTEM WOULD RELEASE; HOWEVER, THE SEATBELT KEPT TIGHTENING AND LOCKING WITH EACH MOVEMENT UNTIL SHE COULD BARELY BREATHE AND THE SEATBELT WAS DIGGING INTO HER MIDSECTION NEARLY 3 INCHES ALL AROUND. SHE WAS LITERALLY BEING CRUSHED TO DEATH. PANICKED, WE SEARCHED THE CAR FOR MY HUSBAND'S SWISS ARMY KNIFE, WHICH LUCKILY HE HAD IN HIS LUGGAGE. WE WERE PARKED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD NOT NEAR ANY FACILITY OR TOWN - HAD WE NOT HAD A KNIFE IN THE CAR, THE MALFUNCTION OF THE SEATBELT LOCKING SYSTEM WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN A TRAGEDY. WE CAN BARELY BRING OURSELVES TO IMAGINE HOW A SEEMINGLY NORMAL INCIDENT OF A CHILD GETTING ENTANGLED IN THEIR SEATBELT COULD HAVE TURNED INTO A FATALITY. YET, THIS WOULD HAVE OCCURRED HAD WE NOT BEEN ABLE TO CUT THE SEATBELT. THERE IS NO OTHER MANUAL RELEASE AVAILABLE. OUR DAUGHTER SUSTAINED CONSIDERABLE BRUISING AROUND HER SIDES AND BACK AND PAIN IN HER ABDOMEN. 6-8 INCH LONG BRUISES. WE HAVE PHOTOS OF THIS. THIS INCIDENT WAS ALSO SEVERELY EMOTIONALLY DISTRESSFUL FOR HER AND US. WE FOUND A RECALL FOR 2006 LEXUS VEHICLES FOR THIS FAILURE OF THE SEAT BELT LOCKING SYSTEM TO DISENGAGE. OBVIOUSLY, THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH OTHER MODELS. WE HAVE CONTACTED OUR LEXUS DEALER AND WERE TOLD THE REPAIR IS NOT COVERED BECAUSE THERE IS NOT A RECALL FOR THIS MODEL. WE ARE AWAITING RESPONSE FROM LEXUS HEADQUARTERS ON HOW TO OBTAIN THE REPAIR/REPLACEMENT. *TR