NHTSA Complaint #744685 — 1997 CHEVROLET CAVALIER

THE CINCH PLATES ON BOTH REAR SEAT BELTS IN MY VEHICLE ARE BROKEN. BECAUSE OF THIS, I CANNOT PROPERLY INSTALL MY CHILD'S CAR SEAT. I HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE RUN-AROUND BY TWO DIFFERENT DEALERSHIPS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THE ENTIRE SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED AT A COST TO ME OF OVER $200. I E-MAILED GM TODAY REGARDING THIS PROBLEM. THE CINCH PLATES SHOULD BE MADE OF METAL SO THEY CANNOT BREAK. ADDITIONALLY, SAFETY BELT DEFECTS SHOULD BE REPAIRED BY THE MANUFACTURER AT NO COST TO THE CUSTOMER. MY CHILD AND I HAVE NOT BEEN IN CAR ACCIDENT, BUT IT'S VERY SCARY KNOWING THAT THE LOCKING CLIP THAT I HAVE TO USE ON THE SEAT BELT TO TRY TO GET THE CAR SEAT IN TIGHT ENOUGH, MAY NOT WORK IN CASE OF A COLLISION. I AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS, AND I HOPE THAT A RECALL CAN BE ISSUED TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM REPAIRED. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, KAREN NEWSOME