General Motors Corp.: Seat Belts › Front › Buckle Assembly
General Motors Corp. reported this defect to federal regulators on Mar 31, 2003 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 312,715. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES WERE BUILT WITH A DRIVER'S SEAT BELT BUCKLE ASSEMBLY THAT CONTAINS AN ENERGY-ABSORBING LOOP. SUSTAINED LOADS OF SUFFICIENT MAGNITUDE AND DURATION ON THE BELT IN SEVERE CRASHES COULD FULLY DEPLOY THE BUCKLE ENERGY-ABSORBING LOOP, INTRODUCING A TOTAL OF 10 ADDITIONAL INCHES OF WEBBING INTO THE SEAT BELT SYSTEM. THE FREE FALLING LATCH PLATE USED IN THIS SYSTEM MAY ALLOW WEBBING TO DYNAMICALLY DISTRIBUTE BETWEEN THE LAP AND SHOULDER BELT AS THE DRIVER'S POSITION CHANGES DURING A MULTIPLE ROLLOVER EVENT.
The risk
IF THE ENERGY-ABSORBING LOOP FULLY DEPLOYS IN A SEVERE MULTIPLE ROLLOVER CRASH, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT A BELTED DRIVER MAY EXPERIENCE PARTIAL OR EVEN COMPLETE EJECTION FROM THE VEHICLE.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE ENERGY-ABSORBING SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES WITH ONE THAT DOES NOT HAVE THE ENERGY-ABSORBING LOOP. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON AUGUST 8, 2003. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-222-1020, GMC AT 1-800-462-8782, OR OLDSMOBILE AT 1-800-442-6537.
3 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 Chevrolet Blazer | 768 | 7 | 28 | 60 |
| 1997 GMC Jimmy | 274 | 5 | 5 | 23 |
| 1997 Oldsmobile Bravada | 104 | 3 | 7 | 6 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 03V117000.
Full record for the 1997 Chevrolet Blazer → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →