1995 Lexus LS400

THE SEAT BELT TENSIONERS ON BOTH DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE WILL NOT RETRACT LEAVING A LARGE AMOUNT OF SLACK WHEN FASTENED CREATING A SAFETY ISSUE IN THE RESULT OF A CRASH. SEAT BELTS WILL NOT RETURN TO THEIR ORIGINAL POSITION WHEN UNFASTENED. UPON DOING A SEARCH ONLINE IT SEEMS THE PROBLEM IS VERY COMMON IN THIS MODEL VEHICLE. OWNERS HAVE HAD VARYING DEGREES OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FROM LEXUS REGARDING REPAIRS AND REPLACEMENTS. SAFETY ISSUES SUCH AS THIS SHOULD BE COVERED REGARDLESS OF AGE OF VEHICLE MUCH LIKE TAKATA AIRBAGS ARE COVERED. THIS WAS A DESIGN FLAW BY THE MANUFACTURER AND COULD BE ARGUED THAT SUCH FLAWS RENDERS THE VEHICLE UNSAFE FOR USE/SALE.

SEAT BELT RETRACT ASSEMBLY FAILED. SEATBELT RETRACT ASSEMBLY, IS COVERED UNDER THE FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS, PART 571.209, AND STANDARD NO. 209. SPECIFICALLY, THE RETRACT ASSEMBLY IS ADDRESSED IN STANDARD 209, PARAGRAPH S5.2, (K), . THE INSTALLED SEAT BELTS FAILED TO MEET OR EXCEED THE CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT FOR THE RETRACT ASSEMBLY. DURING THE REQUIRED TESTS THE RETRACT ASSEMBLY IS SUBJECTED TO THE FOLLOWING CYCLES OF RETRACTION: CORROSION TEST:2500 CYCLES ,TEMPERATURE RESISTANCE TEST:2500 CYCLES, DUST TEST:2500 CYCLES, AUTO LOCKING RETRACTOR TEST:5000 CYCLES, EMERGENCY LOCKING RETRACTOR:45000 CYCLES, TOTAL TEST CYCLES REQUIRED FOR DESIGN CERTIFICATION:57500 CYCLES THE VEHICLE IN QUESTION IS 16 YEARS OLD AND HAS APPROXIMATELY 150K MILES ON THE ODOMETER. TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THE AGE AND USE OF THE VEHICLE, FOR SAKE OF PRESENTATION, WE WILL ASSUME THE CAR IS USED EVERY DAY FOR EACH OF THE SIXTEEN (16) YEARS IN SERVICE: 16 YEARS X 365 DAYS PER YEAR = 5840 DAYS ASSUMING THE CAR IS USED TWICE (2) PER DAY = 11680 CYCLES IN THIS EXAMPLE, THE SEATBELT RETRACT ASSEMBLY FAILED AT 20% OF ITS CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT. (57500 CYCLE CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT) ASSUMING CAR IS DRIVEN THREE (3) TIMES PER DAY = 17520 CYCLES IN THIS EXAMPLE, THE SEATBELT RETRACT ASSEMBLY FAILED AT 30% OF ITS CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT. (57500 CYCLE CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT) ASSUMING THE CAR IS DRIVEN FOUR (4) TIMES A DAY = 23360 CYCLES IN THIS EXAMPLE, THE SEATBELT RETRACT ASSEMBLY FAILED AT 40% OF ITS CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT. (57500 CYCLE CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT) LEXUS HAS BEEN NOTIFIED AND HAS REPLACED THE BELTS AND COVERED PARTS BUT NOT LABOR. THIS ISSUE APPEARS TO BE COMMON AMONG TOYOTA AND LEXUS VEHICLES. SHOULD BE A SUBJECT OF A RECALL CAMPAIGN. PLEASE RESPOND IN WRITING. *TR

THE FRONT SEAT BELT RETRACTOR IN MY 1995 LEXUS LS-400 WILL NOT RETRACT THE SEATBELT. EVERYDAY WHEN I PULL IT OUT AND BUCKLE IT WONT RETRACT SO THAT IT IS SNUG AGAINST THE BODY, ITS LOOSE WHICH IN AN ACCIDENT COULD RESULT IN INJURY BECAUSE THE SEATBELT COULDN'T DO ITS JOB. LEXUS DEALER REFUSES TO DO ANYTHING ACCEPT REPLACE THE WHOLE SYSTEM WHICH IS OVER $250 (PER SEAT) WHICH WAS A FAULTY DESIGN FROM THE FACTORY. *TR

FRONT SEAT BELTS BECOME LOOSE AND DO NOT HUG CLOSE TO YOUR CHEST ONCE THE CAR IS STARTED. I HAVE CHECKED LEXUS FORUMS AND HAVE FOUND OTHER LEXUS OWNERS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. IT APPEARS TO BE A DESIGN FLAW IN THAT THE RETRACTOR SYSTEM IS A DUAL RECOIL SYSTEM THAT IS ACTUATED BY A SECONDARY RELAY ONCE THE CAR IS STARTED. THE SECONDARY RETRACTOR IS SUPPOSED TO GIVE YOU MORE FREEDOM WHEN THE CAR IS RUNNING BUT SEEMS TO BECOME EXCESSIVELY LOOSE TO THE POINT OF HANGING DOWN AWAY FROM YOUR BODY. I FEAR IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT THE SEAT BELTS WILL BE OF NO USE AND THUS THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SAFETY ISSUE. *TR