Seat belt recall problem

[Brenner]

I am the new owner of an aged 84 Z51. I do alot of reading on the problems these cars had and do my best to remedy in advance any concerns that may come my way. Well I read about the early 84's having a seatbelt recall becuase of problems when using the cinch option. So I called my local dealer and ran it's vin, bingo my new almost 30 year old car has an outstanding recall from 1991. I asked for the dealer to make arrangements and was all happy in getting nice new seatbelts and then I received a call. The dealer claims they cannot get ANY seatbelts or parts to perform and close the recall. Becuase the recall is in the restraint system of the car it does not expire. The dealer claims GM will not do anything about it becuase it is so old. Anybody else have this problem? Yes to keep myself safe without these seat belts having failure I can replace them with used newer model belts but I think this is not the point I am trying to make. How would any of you out here deal with this?

 

[TedC]

Read this to get an idea what happened on my 1989. I would contact GM Customer Service directly. They were fantastic in helping my dealer with the details. You may not have a choice in color, so be prepared. http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com...performance/112396-c4-seat-belt-recall-3.html

 

[Brenner]

Today I managed to get the parts advisor on the phone that had not returned my calls over the last wek regarding this concern. He told me he was going to call me today. I aked him what the result was and I was told GM does not need to satisfy the recall becuase it was over 10 years old. He then told me I was not the original owner, and it should of been done when the recall came out. Lastly he told me no parts were available for this recall. I then called Transport Canada and inquired on the validity of the recall and was told that GM does not have to perform repairs but only that GM has to advise customers of the problem. I asked about liability and was told that by taking ownership of the car I was liable even if in an accident for myself and any passengers and that GM only if voluntarily would satisfy the recall. I was given the phone number to GM Canada customer service and placed a call there. This individual was pleasant and when I told her the information she stated she would look into it and that it sounded like the parts advisor I spoke with had one to many reasons to not assist me. She did also note that if parts were unavailable she could not help. I did mention that online I have read about parts in the US although scarce were available but in different colors and she did tell me that they could order the parts into Canada to satisfy my concern. I asked if she could confirm this and maybe use a later C4 belt and was told she will check all options. I guess I have to wait and see what happens now.

 

[roger longman]

I read about this in the tech section, last year. Finding that mine was one of those affected, I contacted GM, Corvette, they contacted the dealer of my choice. Ran it in, waited about an hour and, drove away. Originally black, they could only get one dark blue and one brown. After two days I stopped noticing it. The people at Corvette told me it could not expire......Roger.

 

[Brenner]

Perhaps I should of updated on Friday past. I did recieve a phone call from the dealer that did not want to assist me earlier telling me that GM of Canada did contact them and instruct them to find me seat belts for my car. The part numbers they found are not that listed in the belt replacemant recall and the colors I have been offered are ebony and grey. These parts are supposed to fit and function correctly. I told them beggars could not be choosers and accepted their request to order these belts for me. My car has graphite belts so the colors they have are close enough. If it bugs me I will dye the grey to black to match the ebony. Time will tell but this call from this dealer makes me think they will follow through. I will post the results when I get them. I do feel lucky the colors are so close to what my originals are considering the recall is 20 years old. I also am happy with how quick GM of canada strightened the dealer out considering what was told to me in earlier conversations.