Acura Seat Belts: Buckle Assembly

Acura is recalling about 8,168 vehicles over a problem with the seat belts. In the event of a crash, the seat occupant may not be properly restrained.

Campaign
01V166002
Manufacturer
AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO.
Reported
14 August 2001
Vehicles
8,168
Built between
Not published
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
20 August 2001
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

The manufacturer did not publish a build-date range for this recall, so the model and year list below is the only way to tell whether your vehicle is covered.

  • 2000-2002 Acura TL

What the defect is

Vehicle description: the following vehicles were repaired with incorrect parts: 2002 acura 3.2TL sedans with replacement buckles installed per recall 01V-166001; certain 2000 acura 3.2TL vehicles with replacement buckles installed as product update repairs; and certain 2000-2002 acura 3.2TL vehicles with replacement buckles installed as warranty or collision repairs. Repairs were made from march 9 through july 27, 2001. Some of the noncompliant buckles were mislabeled and redistributed to acura dealers to be used as recall repair parts. Honda also determined that incorrect front seat belt buckle replacement parts were used for some product update repairs of 2000 acura 3.2TL vehicles, and warranty or collision repairs of 2000-2002 3.2TL vehicles. These seat belt buckles may not comply with requirements of FMVSS no. 209, "seat belt assemblies."

What could happen

In the event of a crash, the seat occupant may not be properly restrained.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL INSPECT, AND IF NECESSARY, REPLACE THE FRONT SEAT BELT BUCKLES. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN AUGUST 20, 2001.

Timeline

  1. Recall reported to NHTSA14 August 2001
  2. Owners notified20 August 2001

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 14 August 2001.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact acura at 1-800-999-1009.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO.
Safety standard
FMVSS 209
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand