What do we do about floppy seatbelts?

[corvetteDan]

darn it, here I am driving around and my cross over portion of the seatbelt keeps slacking and not retracting tight against my chest. I tried to oil, adjust, etc but I cannot get the belt to act right. Replacement time? Any hints on how to get these things to work right? I'm not all that concerned about me as much as having one of the kids in the car with me and having theirs do the same thing!

 

[FordNoMore!]

try having a few more Brewskis while working on your ride in the Garage, it might take up some of that slack,if that dont do the trick, try a few Carne Asada burittos with the Brew, Never Know It might work!

 

[FordNoMore!]

Ahh! maybe Jambalaya might better suite your taste,good luck!

 

[Ken]

Ok, I'll be the serious one here (for a change). :L

Replacement time?

I'll bet you hit the nail on the head with that statement. The vehicle is getting on in years, and these things do occasionally just plain wear out. I replaced mine the last time I went through the interior; I'll have to look it up to see what they cost, but I ain't gonna be using them anymore, I'm just going to be running my harnesses.

 

[fast.asleep]

I'm not sure about '88 but I remember a recall to fix that exact problem in my '87. Check it out. If the recall includes your car and you've never had the work done, GM will replace both belts.

 

[fast.asleep]

like I said, I wasn't sure about the '88 but in '87 the recall was for a RETRACTION failure which resulted in slack seat belts:

NHTSA Action Number: EA90033
Make: CHEVROLET
Model: CORVETTE
Year: 1987
Component: INTERIOR SYSTEMS
Manufacturer: GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
Date Investigation Opened: Mon, June 11, 1990
Date Investigation Closed: Mon, September 09, 1991
NHTSA Recall Campaign Number: 91V143000
Summary: SAFETY BELT RETRACTOR FAIL


I couldn't find any interior system recalls for '88 cars. You might have to fix this one yourself. :cry
(Sorry if I got your hopes up)

 

[Ken]

Even if there was a recall or a service bulletin out on the thing, you ain't gonna get it (another retractor) free this late in the game.

_ken

 

[fast.asleep]

Ken:
I've seen your engine pic's so I can confidently say that you know more about GM cars than I do. (so I'll defer to your judgment.) However, I was told that a recall is in effect for the life of the car, regardless of how many years go by. (There was a 1990 recall on my 1989 Jetta and I had the work done a month ago.)
I'd be surprised if GM put a time limit on it's recalls, especially when imports don't. I'd be pretty PO'd if I found out my car had a recall for an "Under Dash Fire" (like the 1990 vette) and GM refused to fix it because the car was too old.

Sorry If I ruffled any feathers but I was just trying to help

 

[Ken]

Sorry If I ruffled any feathers ...

Was my wording offensive in some way? I did not mean to isinuate that you're wrong or anything.

At any rate, if there was a recall on one of the manufacturer's products, and this much time has passed, it would be a little hard to get a dealer to agree to fix it free. He'll probably fight you every step of the way,and you in turn would have to fight very hard to receive satisfaction on your part. It all depends on what your time is worth I guess.

_ken

 

[fast.asleep]

Was my wording offensive in some way? I did not mean to isinuate that you're wrong or anything.

not at all, I thought I might have cheesed you guys off. (and besides, when it comes to these cars I'm often wrong)

I remember getting the seatbelt recall in the mail. I haven't actually had the work done since the problem only manifested itself on the passengers side. (the passenger has that big foam cushion in front of them anyway. If anything happened, they might have ETTEVROC imprinted on their foreheads but that would disappear eventually)

Will

 

[Ken]

Cool! :cool

_ken

 

[vms4evr]

Maybe they can't ignore the safety stuff but they blew me off on the optispark for my92. My car VIN # is in the range of the recall. The warranty person at the dealer said it was in the range and to schedule to replace it and she ordered the optispark. I took the car in and got a call a few hours later from the service manager. He said just because it was in the range of VIN #'s doesn't mean all of them in that range count. So he wouldn't do the work. Called the 800 number and complained. They told me the same thing. Your specific VIN# isn't one of them... AND the campaign is so old there is no real way to track it further. I think that is BS but they said no deal.
Then the service manager told me seeing as how he had the part they would replace it for me and the water pump for a mere $1200 or so. I laughed at him and told him he was stuck with a 92 opti that no one would buy. So I would give him $200 for the opti and replace it myself. He didn't find that humerous...
Graham