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This is part 2 of a multiple-part series. Click here to read part 1.
 How did it happen? Our best guess is that the
driver's seat was removed when Saturn of Albany, my local dealership, was
repairing the leak, mentioned previously, in 2008. I can remember being
told that they removed one of the seats in the second row in order to pull up
the carpet and find the leak. I cannot recall being told that the
driver's seat was removed. However, based on the wear marks on the seat belt
bracket, it appears that the bracket was properly bolted at one point in time.
Additionally, there is a plastic "boot," normally located at
the base of the seat belt, which is missing. That's only apparent after
looking at the seat belt on the passenger side.
Since Saturn of Albany no longer exists, my next
step was to call GM customer service. I did so on Oct. 14th, and they
expressed the requisite concern that it was a serious situation. When I
asked what could be done to rebuild my trust, the answer was to take the
vehicle to a nearby GM dealership for a safety inspection.
That led to a discussion of cost. I was told that there would be a diagnostic
fee, probably in the neighborhood of $100. If further safety
problems were found, GM customer service said they might be able to work
out some cost reductions. I was reminded that the Relay is out of
warranty. Never mind the fact that the vehicle was under warranty when
the seat belt was installed incorrectly. Upon my request, I spoke to a
second individual, supposedly a supervisor, but the answer remained the same.
The supervisor told me that he could not kick my complaint up another
level. Wow! That's customer service, huh?
I was not content to leave it there. It's a
critical issue. Not a mere annoyance like some of the electrical problems
in the vehicle. So, I posted some Facebook messages. I tweeted
about it: here and here. But I had no intention to blog about it
until later.
No intention, that was, until I heard the news on
Friday, Oct. 15th. GM recalled over 300,000 Chevrolet Impalas. Why,
you might ask? I'll let GM's press release do the talking:
"General
Motors is recalling 322.409 Chevrolet Impalas from the 2009 and 2010 model
years to inspect for a small number of vehicles whose front seat belt webbing
may not have been properly secured to the lap belt anchor pretensioner mounted
to the side of the seat nearest the door.
Vehicles
with this condition may have an anchor that can separate in a crash, and
therefore may not meet the anchor strength requirements of the U.S. and
Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard that covers seat belt assembly
anchorages."
Yup, seat belts that may have been improperly
installed. I'll grant you, the problem is not identical. But it is
eerie. In the Impala recall, customers do not have to pay for the
inspection or repair. Not the case for me.
Editor's Note: Read the conclusion of this three-part series
tomorrow on CR4!
Photo courtesy of Hans Drews,
used with permission.
This post is a consolidation of
various posts found on the author's personal blog at thisordinarycitizen.wordpress.com.
The author is grateful to CR4 for graciously providing the opportunity to share
this story on their website.
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Re: Saga of the Unsafe Seatbelt – Part 2
