1991 Honda Civic

The contact owns a 1991 Honda Civic. The contact stated that the front passenger's side and driver's side shoulder belts pretensioners failed to operate as designed and the shoulder belts failed to tighten during aggressive braking. The dealer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to an auto body shop. The vehicle was taken to the auto body shop, where the front passenger's side and driver's side shoulder belts and pretensioners were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

I OWN A 1991 HONDA CIVIC 4-DOOR SEDAN. I WAS HAVING MY CAR WORKED ON FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY UNRELATED WHEN, ALL OF THE SUDDEN, THE AUTOMATIC SEATBELT (SHOULDER HARNESS) ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE STOPPED FUNCTIONING. IT WILL NO LONGER RUN ALONG THE TRACK WHEN MY DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR IS OPENED. I AM UNSURE ABOUT THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS FAILURE ON ITS ABILITY TO PROVIDE SAFETY IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT. I KNEW OF HONDA'S "LIFETIME WARRANTY" ON THEIR SEATBELTS AND TOOK IT TO A DEALERSHIP TO HAVE IT FIXED. THEY CLAIMED THAT THE WARRANTY DOES NOT ACTUALLY COVER THE NEEDED FIX DUE TO ITS LIKELIHOOD OF BEING AN ELECTRICAL MALFUNCTION. AFTER THOROUGHLY READING THROUGH THE WARRANTY, IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT THE WARRANTY DOES NOT CLEARLY DISTINGUISH BETWEEN ELECTRICAL AND NON-ELECTRICAL MALFUNCTIONS - THUS MY COMPLAINT. *TR

I PURCHASED A 1991 HONDA CIVIC USED FROM A PRIVATE OWNER. SEVERAL YEARS LATER NOW, THE AUTOMATIC SHOULDER HARNESS SEATBELT HAS STOPPED WORKING. I HAVE READ SEVERAL PLACES THAT HONDA OF AMERICA IS TRYING TO CHARGE OWNERS FOR REPLACEMENT OF A SYSTEM THAT IN MY OPINION FOR THE SAFETY OF CAR OWNERS, SHOULD NOT FAIL IN THE LIFETIME OF THE CAR. AND IF IT DOES FAIL I FEEL THAT HONDA SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPLACING OR REPAIRING THE AUTOMATIC RESTRAINT SYSTEM ON ITS VEHICLES. *TR

VEHICLE PULLED OUT IN FRONT OF HONDA. SPEED OF HONDA AT TIME WAS 40 MPH. ON IMPACT DRIVERS SEAT BELT WORKED BUT THEN FAILED, SPOOLING OUT, CAUSING DRIVER TO HIT WINDSHIELD AND STEERING WHEEL. INJURIES INCLUDED BROKEN JAW, COLLARBONE,NECK, BOTH FEMURS,LOWER LEG AND LEFT FOOT, HAND, FINGERS AND NINE RIBS ONE OF WHICH SEVERED LOWER LEFT AORTA, EVERY ORGAN SEVERELY DAMAGED RESULTING IN DEATH. *NM

I TOOK MY HONDA IN TO HAVE RETRACTABLE SEAT BELT SYSTEM CHECKED OUT BY HOLMES HONDA, CLIVE, IOWA. PROBLEM IS THE SEATBELT WARNING LIGHT FLASHING AND BUZZER GOING OFF, AND TENSIONERS NOT WORKING PROPERLY DRIVERS SEAT BELT FEELS LOOSE, DOESN?T TIGHTEN WHEN BRAKES APPLIED. I HAD MENTIONED TO SERVICE MANAGER THAT ON THE ALLDATA WEBSITE FOR THAT YEAR OF VEHICLE FRONT SEAT BELTS WAS A RECALL ISSUE, AND THAT ALSO IN MY RESEARCH I HAD FOUND THAT HONDA CORP DOES WARRANTY THEIR "SEAT BELT SYSTEM" FOR LIFE OF VEHICLE. WHEN I PICKED CAR UP, SERVICE MANAGER STATED THEY WOULD NEED LOTS OF SERVICE DIAGNOSTICS TO PINPOINT PROBLEM AND THAT IF I WANTED IT FIXED RIGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE AN EXPENSIVE FIX. I DON?T FEEL I SHOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR THE DIAGNOSTIC, AND PARTS WHEN IT SHOULD BE COVERED BY HONDA. SERVICE MANAGER DID STATE THE SEAT BELTS ARE WARRANTIED THROUGH HONDA BUT THAT ANY ELECTRICAL COMPONENT THAT IS PART OF SYSTEM IS NOT WARRANTIED. I STATED HAVING KNOWLEDGE OF VEHICLES THAT ANY ELECTRICAL COMPONENT OF THE SEAT BELTS, IS PART OF THE SEAT BELT "SYSTEM". WHAT I NEED IS ADVICE ON HOW TO GET SEAT BELT SYSTEM FIXED AND WHETHER HONDA CORP SHOULD COVER ALL CHARGES. AS IT IS NOW WE DON'T FEEL SAFE IN VEHICLE AND I?M UPSET A DEALERSHIP WOULD COMPROMISE SAFETY OVER TAKING CARE OF A CUSTOMER RIGHT.