Seatbelt Replacement or Help Chysler Gen3? Big Problem

schalliol · Sep 8, 2007

I have a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee and our child seats unbuckling passenger seatbelts on a regular basis. My understanding is that this is a problem that has caused lots of deaths: http://unsafebelts.com/primetime/ As such, not only could these be a problem on a regular basis, other issues during a crash could yield these problems.

I really don't want to sell my vehicle, as it's perfect for our uses, but I am interested in looking into replacement of the belts or other procedures/strategies designed to prevent this problem from occurring. Does anyone have any ideas here? Thanks!

TN Mary · Sep 8, 2007

The main thing is to limit projectiles in your vehicle.
I have read though that even an elbow or foot can cause release... but at least if you limit projectiles, this risk is minimized even more.

Also, you can have a dealer replace your seatbelts... might be worth the peace of mind.

We plan on trading our Gen 3 van for an Odyssey at some point in the near future.... mainly due to the belts but also because I want something with a lot more safety features (side curtain airbags, brake assist, etc).

We also have had a car seat come unbuckled. Very scary... thank God nothing happened.
And too, remember that the number of deaths is a VERY small percentage compared to the 14 million vehicles affected by this. The risk is VERY minimal... but for me, as a mom, it's still VERY unsettling. I have made sure our children have had top notch car seats... only to find out the seatbelts we need to keep them secure in our van - are faulty, unsafe, and unpredictable. Not good chararacteristics to have in a seatbelt.

Shame on Chrysler. They'll never get any more money from us again.

Kalinky · Sep 8, 2007

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=15869

This link goes into that issue....I think I remember TNMary having that happen to one of her seats a few times.

There's also another link lower in this forum about Gen3 belts (it's in the title).

We have a 2000 Wrangler, DD has never ridden in it, but I have been concerned about this since the chance is there that she would need to be in it someday.

There's a good video on you tube - just put "Gen 3 seatbelts" in the search. It helped me better understand the issue and why it's different from other seatbelts. If you got the belts replaced, they would replace them with the same belt, which may or may not help you. I guess it's possible that there is some sort of malfunction with your belts aside of the Gen3 design issue.

I even thought of the idea of going to a salvage yard to get Gen 4 belts off of a newer of the same vehicle! That idea got nixed since you wouldn't know if the belts were ruined in the crash, which they probably would be if it was at the salvage yard!

I hope you find a solution. Keep us posted.....

Kalinky · Sep 8, 2007

Hi my anti-chrysler buddy TNMary! You posted while I was typing

skaterbabs · Sep 8, 2007

You can't replace the belts. Chrysler will just give you a new set of Gen3 belts. All you can do is report the problem to NHTSA (something I strongly encourage!), limit projectiles, keep a close eye on the seat belt buckles, and limit trips in that vehicle.

schalliol · Sep 9, 2007

Thanks for the quick posts. Unfortunately, this is our only vehicle that will easily fit both of our tikes. It's really amazing that our Graco ComfortSport seat will release the passenger seatbelt if in the rear condition. The support bezel on the seat is just right on top of the belt area. My wife says that it occurs every time, so we're of course not going to have that configuration anymore and get different car seats that hopefully won't fit right above the belts. I really worry that others have car seats above their belts which will bounce onto the belt release during a crash nearly all of the time.

While it wouldn't be NHTSA approved, I'm sure, I figured that someone could develop a metal guard with an opening that would sort of mirror Gen4 or other safe versions. I envision that this would cause absolutely no decrease in ability to quickly release the seat belt over belts that are considered the safest kind.

Has someone (or shall we) come up with a consistent message that we report to the NHTSA, except of course our personal stories, so perhaps it can get noticed?

TN Mary · Sep 9, 2007

It's been brought to their attention numerous time through various lawsuits and complaints.

Apparently, the NHTSA still doesn't think the risk is prevelant enough to make Chrysler do a recall.

Not sure how many more people are going to have to die to send a message.

Our Husky (Regent) is attached by the seatbelt, but the buckle is practically buried behind the seat (since the seat is so wide) the chances of it coming undone is VERY slim. Because of this, I'm not that concerned about this seat.

We just put our youngest in a latch seat - so not utilizing the Gen 3 belt there gives me even more peace of mind.

It's our oldest that I'm worried about. He's in a booster and is completely reliant on his Gen 3 belt. I just keep saying my prayers that nothing will happen between now and the time we get our new van.

skaterbabs · Sep 9, 2007

You can twist the female buckle to get it out of the way of the seat's beltpath. For your Comfort Sport try turning the buckle backwards or twisting the female beltstalk up to three times to get it out of the belt path.

schalliol · Sep 9, 2007

skaterbabscpst said:
You can twist the female buckle to get it out of the way of the seat's beltpath. For your Comfort Sport try turning the buckle backwards or twisting the female beltstalk up to three times to get it out of the belt path.

That's great advice. So twisting doesn't compromise safety? I guess I can't see why it would. Thanks!

skaterbabs · Sep 10, 2007

It's an acceptable fix. Just not more than 3 full twists.

schalliol · Sep 10, 2007

Well, it seems that the buckle is firmly attached, so it cannot be twisted, and at the moment, it doesn't seem that there's any risk of the seat unbuckling any other seats. However, on the Evenflo Triumph Advance DLX, in the front facing position it was hard to get the belt to firmly stay latched with the integrated self locking clip, and the belt passed through it relatively freely. As such, I installed the provided self-locking clip and the belt now seems very secure. What awesome seat belts for 2002! If only they incorporated the full LATCH system.

Seatbelt Replacement or Help Chysler Gen3? Big Problem

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