Coach And Equipment Seat Belts: Retractor

Coach and Equipment is recalling about 850 vehicles over a problem with the seat belts. If this occurs, one of the load bearing pins in the connector could separate from the connector and render the seat belt unusable.

Campaign
02V160003
Manufacturer
COACH AND EQUIPMENT MFG CORP
Reported
16 October 2002
Vehicles
850
Built between
Dec 1999 – Apr 2001
Models
3
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
Not yet
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between December 1999 and April 2001. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1999-2001 Coach And Equipment 3400Built December 1999 to April 2001
  • 1999-2001 Coach And Equipment E350Built December 1999 to April 2001
  • 1999-2001 Coach And Equipment E450Built December 1999 to April 2001

What the defect is

On certain transit buses equipped with passenger seat belts with retractors, the cover halves for the retractable portion of the belt can separate completely and release the seat belt connector. If this occurs, one of the load bearing pins in the connector could separate from the connector and render the seat belt unusable. In the event of a crash, the seat occupant would not be properly restrained resulting in an injury. The seat belt supplier, am-safe, will provide a snap on "over-cover" to owners to prevent the seat belt cover from separating.

What could happen

If this occurs, one of the load bearing pins in the connector could separate from the connector and render the seat belt unusable. In the event of a crash, the seat occupant would not be properly restrained resulting in an injury.

What gets fixed

OWNERS WILL BE PROVIDED A SNAP-ON "OVER-COVER" TO PREVENT THE SEAT BELT COVER FROM SEPARATING.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtDecember 1999 to April 2001
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA16 October 2002

No owner-notification date has been published yet. Manufacturers normally write to registered owners within 60 days of reporting a recall.

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 16 October 2002.

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 do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact amsafe at 574-266-8330 or coach and equipment at 1-315-535-7517.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
COACH AND EQUIPMENT MFG CORP
Recall initiated by
ODI

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, customers can 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