according to the recall, if the latch doesn't work, the seatbelt must be replaced.

 

i called today and the dealership said $65 each for the buckles and $118 each for the retractors theres no way i can afford that. im off to the junkyard tomorrow then

 

I believe the buckles are fine if they work, if they break then replace them, If I read the info right, there is a problem buckeling or unbuckeling them then you should replace them.

JOhn

 

I called my local GM dealership earlier this week inquiring about this recall. They said the recall is still in their computer system and that the parts are still available. Just make sure you mention that the recall was issued in 1991. When I told them what year my car was, they said it was too old, but when mentioned the year of the recall, they were willing to check their computer.

The campain number is 90C22(C). This recall supersedes the other recalls from 1990; 90C22, 90C22(A), and 90C22(B).

 

For those of us who cant afford the New Belts.... The 4th gen belts match up ok??? I heard someone mention fabrication?

If i can fix the problem by putting in 4th gen seatbelts i will do that.. One would hope the 4th gen belts were built better then the 3rd gen belts..

 

See this repair kit on Ebay for 15 bucks or so plus shipping. Somebody making a buck on parts swiped from a dealer parts department?

 

I really need new belts as well, hat to take mine apart last year and fix it because it wouldnt latch at all. the guides on both sides are seperating and the belt falls down between the seats and center console all the time. I however have ran my car through VISS because I hav access to it by working as a tech at a pontiac dealer and it didnt come up. I know the dealer wont cover it because its not stated on my vehicle report. My car is a little older than most of yours so Im more likely to have even more trouble with this and may end up just having to buy new ones and put them in myself.

 

Here in the great white north i got my buttons replaced no problem this winter but my brother works as a tech at the dealership and he did the recall himself. it did show up on the computer but was a hassle even for him, and they just did the buttons, looks much better! hopefully safer too!

 

Note: if you are uncomfortable with your seatbelt being loose, just tug on it and it'll tighten up. I do this quite often.

 

Preparing to pay a dealer to replace the seatbelt buttons.

How long in minutes or hours did the job take the dealer?

I ask because of the large variation in dealer costs per hour. Some want $65/hr, some $115/hr.

Evaluating if it's worth my time to go outside the city for the $65/hour.

Thanks.

 

Your right, Safety Recalls do have a time limit... But its not the kind of limit you are thinking of...

The limit is 10 years from the date of the Recall Back. The Car must have been purchased new in those 10 years.

So For example, If they came out with a recall for all camaros with no year restrictions in 1991 then they would have to honor it for all cars bought new from 1981 to 1991.

And they have to honor that same recall in year 2004 so long as the car was bought new from the dealer by someone in those 10 years...

Well ALL off our cars were bought sometime from 1982 to 1991 if they fall into the recall, so they are ALL Covered, AND GM must fix them ALL.

Now If you managed to buy a 1984 Camaro in 1980... then your **** out of luck...

 

?

 

I'd be kinda upset if I was actually able to have the buckles repaired/replaced because I just got done forking out big bucks for new buckles.

My interior is Carmine Red and my buckles had turned a whitish/pink color and basically fell apart. Now i have nice and shiny black ones in place of them.

 

i just put 4th gen seatbelts in my fronts. the rears dont work tho

 

I have an 87 Z28. I didnt know about the recall untill I read this post. I noticed that my buckles were chaulky as well so I went to the dealership today and gave them my VIN. My car was listed to get the recall work done......I'm not sure why I had no problem with it but maybe me being in Canada has something to do with it?

Regards
Dennis

 

I forsee a major problem with my car, I know it has the problem and is under this recall. I checked the VIN breakpoints and mine falls under needing done, I have already repaired one of mine because it broke on me once already. I however have ran my VIN with GMs VIN report at the dealer I work for and it states it has no open recalls. I called customer assistance and they told me that my car is too old and so was the recall and I also ran the part numbers for the belt kits on the recall and they come up as an invalid number so I dont know what Im gonna do besides break down and buy new ones.

 

Meridius,
I call my dealership tomorrow and get the part number for you. Heck If you want to throw me your vin I can run it through their computer. After all I didnt have a prob with them I know Iam in Canada but if it shows up here as a positive you can take it to your dealership and thell them to @#$% it

Dennis

 

Meridius,
I call my dealership tomorrow and get the part number for you. Heck If you want to throw me your vin I can run it through their computer. After all I didnt have a prob with them I know Iam in Canada but if it shows up here as a positive you can take it to your dealership and thell them to @#$% it

Dennis

 

Hi
I have a 1986 camaro IROC which was imported to Australia in 1988, I also have problems with my front seat belts but being on the other end of the world it is not possible to go to a dealer and Chevrolet vehicles are not sold tfrough G.M dealers over here .
The seat belts on my car have 2 retractors per belt 1 mounted on the floor and 1 on the roof , what I would like to know is will a set of 4th gen front belts fit my car and are there problems fitting them , I see in your posts some guys have done it , any help and feedback will be greatly appreciated
Regards from the land down
under. Steve

 

Check out the NHTSA site. It will give you info about the recall and what to do if your dealer won't fix it. Here is the search for my 1989 Firebird.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/pr...ls/results.cfm

I couldn't find where to report the dealer in my quick search, but you can call them. "Call the Auto Safety Hotline toll free at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT to report safety defects or to obtain information on cars, trucks, child seats, highway or traffic safety."

Once again the repair kit is GM part # 14097930. For me it was easier to buy the kit and change the buttons my self.

Steve OC I'll trade you a button kit for some Freddo Frogs.

 

I have a 89 rs and I ordered a restoration kit book from chevy just on my year. They sent me a email saying there was a open recall on my car for the seatbelts. The recall # is 90043 - Seat Belt Buckle. So I called my local chevy dealer took it in and they said yes ordered me the parts and I will have them replaced free. It doesnt matter the age I was told because that is a safety issue so GM has to keep the parts on hand. Mine gets fixed this next week and I was told it takes about a hour to do. If you have any problems try emailing cac@chevrolet.com make sure to give your vin #. Or call them at 1-800-222-1020. Just thought I would share this info for all of you having a problem. opes this helps some of you out.

 

wow, i guess it's a good thing i replaced mine with ones out of a 01 Cavalier. both rear lap belts and the front recievers, i still have the stock front shoulder belts. i replaced them with those cause it was all i could find in the junk yard in the color i wanted.

 

Just had my recall work done took less than a hour and it didnt cost me a penny. I see the orange pink color pieces are replaced on all 4 belts and I didnt have a problem with a time limitation on this because it was a safety recall.

 

does the recall apply to my 91 camaro?

 

Im not sure you can email the address I had given a few replies ago or you can call that 800 number and ask them.

 

I believe it covers some 1991's, go to the link...

John

 

Let me try my hand at this, ready?


If for example the determination of a defect was commenced in 1995 for the thirdgens, only 1985-1992 models would be within the scope of the recall. In their example, assume the model ran from 1990 through 2003 and it will make better sense.

AFAIK once the recall has been issued the manufacturer is obliged to comply. I grant you though, I have not read any of the recall crap in about 7 years.

edit:typos- I hate 'em

 

They're saying that the defect has to be found within 10 years of the vehicle's year. So if your car is an 89 and a recall is found in 2001, you're screwed, but if you have an 89 and a recall is found by 1999, you're ok, no matter what year it is now.

Does that make sense?

Edit: Beaten

 

I have a copy of this original recall (90-C-03A) in PDF format. I will quote what the recall states exactly:

"Dealers are to service all vehicles subject to this campaign at no charge to owners, reguardless of milage, age of vehicle, or ownership from this time forward."

The full copy of the pdf format is available here:

http://www.dzhezkov.com/pdf/seatbeltrecall.pdf

I don't care what the dealership says, the DOT says that by law, GM dealerships are required to fix or change your seat belts, and they will even tow your vehicle to do so if the driver side seat belt is inoperable.

 

There has to be something wrong with the american dealerships because up here in Canada, I had ZERO problems getting this recall done on my car just the other day.

They said to me "Well we show no open status on our records or a closed status either. We are going to do this anyways because the buckles and belts do show the listed symptoms. It'll be a few days to order the parts in but just bring it back and we'll be happy to install the new belts for you..."

So 2 days later they call me up at work, I dropped by after work and in about 30 mins I had my car done and ready to go with nice new belts and buckles.
NOT A RED CENT SPENT EITHER!

I think all you guys with the problems with the US dealerships should bring your cars up to the GM dealerships in Ontario and get the recalls done because they dont seem to have a problem doing the recall work. My friend brought his camaro in (88 as well) same belt problems, and again no questions asked, just did a simple check on the vin, again no records of open or close but they did it anyhow because of the visual signs.

I guess it has something to do with customer satisfaction and safety with the people at this dealership. But at least I have that piece of mind that the belts won't fail(within reason of course) in the event of a crash.

I say good luck to the rest of you out there that still need this done and I hope that you can still do it for free instead of having to buy all new belts yourselves and install them yourselves.

 

I called my local Chevy dealer and they took my vin down. They told me that my vin did nto pull up any open recalls, which means that either 1 my car did fall under this recall, or 2. It has already been done. Well i knwo that it has not been done already. The seatbelts sholder straps will not roll back up or loosen up. And i thought this effected all camaro's in 1984.

Am i wrong?> i got the number to GM, do i need to call them?

 

As I understand the recall is only for the plastic button on the buckles. If the button is chipped or broken they will replace only the button.

 

Well 1, i gave them the seatbelt button recall info and they said it about both of the recalls. They said either both recalls were done, or mine wasnt covered, per their dealership computer.

Also, I pulled up the recalls on that website, that someone posted earlier in theis thread and it said that where was a recall for my year for the seatblet sholder strap does not retract, and if in an accident, that the driver would be seriously injured( DUHH, lol). And both of the sholder straps are fully extended and will not retract AT ALL!

Let me tel you what, i am paranoid when driving! If this doesnt get fixed soon, i will have to scrape up some cash from who knows where, to get these fixed.

Anyone else know what i am talking about? I can get the recall #'s if you want.

 

The belt latches are easy to tell if they have been changed, I am not sure if they are still this way, but there was a metal piece that you could see on the button that would be the tell tale sign.

John

 

Does anyone have infor on the seat belts not retracting in their car? Did they have this recall taken care of?

 

My Seatbelts liked to get loose as you drove but a quick tug would get them to retract, 5 minutes later they'd be loose again.

Since the GM dealership I took my car to do not replace components inside the belt mechanism because they said its too much of a PITA and they dont want to be liable if they fail due to error, they replaced the entire assemblies including the belts and buckles all around.

I might be one of the lucky ones, but then again, I think canadian dealerships do things differently than the US ones as they did the same thing for my friend with his 88 camaro.

 

Well heres an update I hope this helps out and clears up some confusion here. I work at a GM dealer and ran my VIN to check for this recall. I have found that the recall itself is actually too old, not just the cars, to be in that GM VIS which is thier database for recalls. I then called GM customer assistance and told them what I found and the guy varified it that the recall being that it came out in and around 91 was too old and he has no way, nor does GM, of finding out if my car or any 15+year old car ever had any recall open on them. The guy told me I basically have to find a dealer willing to honor this recall or shell out the cash myself for new belts.

 

Well thats you'd think safety should be there #1 priority regardless of age! Who knows how many owners there have been for these cars that would not be aware of these safety recalls, or maybe there was that ONE owner that never had access to them, that one day was killed because when he/she finally found out about the safety recall it was null and void. I swear some of these people...

Bruce (90RS305)

 

meridius I understand GM's position with this however legally they have to honor it, they have no choice in the mater. The goverment forces all car manufactures to honor safty recals for the life of the car, this means if I find a thirdgen someone had in a grage 100 years from now, and the little button is pink then guess what, If GM is still around they have to fix it for me. And trust me just because its not in the VIS system GM has a record of all the saftey recalls since the first one was ever issued, it may be on microfesh, or other hardcopy form but they do have the information, not to mention all the information is availiable in my signature. I think the only thing that makes it where GM does not have to replace the belts is if the car has been totaled, then I beleive this removes GM's responsibilities for safety recalls.

 

You can look up the recall list for just about anything at the nhtsa web site.

 

I am trying to get this done. The dealer and Chevy say the recall does not come up for my vehical and it must have already been done. The fricking latches barley workand are falling apart!!! If they did it, it must have been with the bad parts!!

How tough is it to replace if I get working ones from a boneyard?

 

You can get the kit to fix the buttons for like 10 dollars a latch if you cant get it done the dealer should be able to look it up, or read through this post its somewhere in here the part numbers that is.

 

The dealer called back to say the parts are discontinued and to try a junkyard.

 

Try gmpartsdirect.com

 

See the kits on Ebay from time to time, 15 bucks or so for all four buckles. Somebody must work in a parts department and have a big lunch box maybe.

 

i have an extra set of latches for the recall. i can send pics. i sell for $20 plus $5 for shipping. total of $25. email if interested.

 

hey I found this Bulletin I do not know if it's useful for you guys?
Document ID # 224553
1985 Chevrolet/Geo Camaro
SEAT BELT BUCKLES-CAMP. 90C22 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION #22-16-01
THIS IS TO BE SENT AS A DCS MESSAGE:

TO: ALL CHEVROLET DEALERS

ATTENTION:
SERVICE MANAGER

THIS MESSAGE IS SENT TO CLARIFY AND CORRECT ANY MISUNDERSTANDINGS REGARDING PARTS AVAILABILITY AND/OR PROPER PROCEDURES FOR THE SUBJECT RECALL. ALSO, THIS CLARIFICATION IS MEANT TO ASSIST DEALERS IN RAISING THE BELOW NORMAL COMPLETION RATES CURRENTLY BEING EXPERIENCED FOR THIS CAMPAIGN.

1. UNDER THE CURRENT PROGRAM, PUSHBUTTON REPLACEMENT IS REQUIRED FOR ALL INVOLVED VEHICLES WHICH HAVE NOT HAD THE SEAT BELT BUCKLE ASSEMBLIES REPLACED UNDER THE INITIAL 90C22 PROGRAM (NOW SUPERSEDED BY 90C22(C)). DEALERS ARE TO REPLACE RED PUSH BUTTONS FOR ALL SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS IN 90C22(C).

NOTICE: THE CURRENT PROGRAM DOES NOT REQUIRE INVOLVED VEHICLES TO HAVE A BROKEN OR IMPROPERLY FUNCTIONING SEAT BELT ASSEMBLY IN ORDER TO HAVE THE RED PUSH BUTTONS REPLACED. NEW RED PUSH BUTTONS ARE TO BE INSTALLED INTO THE UNBROKEN AND PROPERLY FUNCTIONING SEAT BELT BUCKLE ASSEMBLIES IN ALL INVOLVED VEHICLES. HOWEVER, BROKEN OR IMPROPERLY FUNCTIONING SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES ARE TO BE REPLACED WITH NEW SEAT BELT BUCKLE ASSEMBLIES WHICH ALREADY UTILIZE THE RED PUSHBUTTONS.

2. ALL PARTS FOR COMPLETING THIS CAMPAIGN ARE AVAILABLE. THESE PARTS ARE TO BE OBTAINED FROM GMSPO BY PLACING A C.I.O. ORDER WITH NO SPECIAL INSTRUCTION CODE BUT ON AN ADVISE CODE (2) AND UTILIZING THE APPROPRIATE PART NUMBER(S) FROM BULLETIN 90C22(C).

3. NO CUSTOMER IS TO LEAVE A DEALERSHIP WITH AN INOPERATIVE SEAT BELT BUCKLE ASSEMBLY. IF NECESSARY, INSTALL A TEMPORARY (DIFFERENT COLOR BUT SAME MODEL YEAR) SEAT BELT BUCKLE ASSEMBLY IF THE REQUIRED COLOR SEAT BELT BUCKLE ASSEMBLY IS NOT AVAILABLE. NOTE THAT ALLOWING A VEHICLE TO LEAVE THE DEALERSHIP WITH IMPROPERLY FUNCTIONING SAFETY BELT EQUIPMENT MAY BE A VIOLATION OF LAW IN SOME STATES.

4. DEALERS SHOULD BE FOLLOWING UP WITH OWNERS WHO HAVE NOT YET HAD EITHER:

- ALL SEAT BELT BUCKLE ASSEMBLIES REPLACED (90C22),

OR

- NEW PUSHBUTTONS INSTALLED IN OPERATING SEAT BELT BUCKLES AND BROKEN OR INOPERATIVE SEAT BELT BUCKLE ASSEMBLIES REPLACED AS REQUIRED (90C22(C)).

THESE OWNERS ARE IDENTIFIED TO DEALERS IN THEIR CONSOLIDATED AUDIT CAMPAIGN REPORTS (EXCEPT IN CALIFORNIA).

PLEASE COMMUNICATE THIS INFORMATION TO YOUR SERVICE MANAGER.

MANAGER - DEALER OPERATIONS

© Copyright General Motors Corporation. All Rights Reserved

 

I just posted links to the complete recall text, including diagrams here

 

Aww, what the heck, here they are again:

Front Seat Shoulder Belt Retractor

Seat Belt Buckles

 

merc, the belts in my car will also loosen up about 5 mins into the drive, if i tug on them they tighten up, but will loosen up again. Driver's and passenger side do this. my car is an 83 and falls into the VIN break on the recall for non retracting belts, however when I went to the dealer today they told me it was too old for them to look up so I called the 1800 Chevrolet number after 20 mins of them looking they also couldnt find any recalls. This has obviosly not been repaired, and is a huge saftey issue.

Also, the plastic buttons on my car are discollored, although they still latch OK, especially the passenger side it is very discollored and brittle. the drivers case is broken, however i notice that the recall for the latches only goes to 84... i might be at a loss here. Anyone have these problems repaired on an 83?