General Motors Corp.: Seat Belts › Front › Retractor
General Motors Corp. reported this defect to federal regulators on Nov 4, 1996 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 1,573. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
THESE VEHICLES WERE MANUFACTURED WITH SEAT BELT RETRACTORS OUT OF DESIGN POSITION WHICH CAN CAUSE THE RETRACTOR TO LOCK-UP ON SLOPES LESS SEVERE THAN THE FMVSS REQUIREMENT. THIS DOES NOT COMPLY WITH FMVSS NO. 209, "SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES."
The risk
IN THE EVENT OF A VEHICLE COLLISION, UNBELTED OCCUPANTS ARE MORE AT RISK OF INJURY THAN THOSE USING SEAT BELTS.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE SEAT BELTS FOR PROPER FRONT SEAT BELT RETRACTOR POSITION. RETRACTORS FOUND TO BE IMPROPERLY POSITIONED WILL BE REINSTALLED CORRECTLY.
2 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 Chevrolet Camaro | 69 | 6 | 3 | 12 |
| 1997 Pontiac Firebird | 49 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
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 96V219000.
Full record for the 1997 Chevrolet Camaro → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →