American Motors Seat Belts

American Motors is recalling about 742 vehicles over a problem with the seat belts.

Campaign
81V016000
Manufacturer
CHRYSLER CORPORATION
Reported
4 January 1981
Vehicles
742
Built between
Nov 1980 – Nov 1980
Models
2
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
22 July 1981
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between November 1980 and November 1980. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1981 American Motors ConcordBuilt November 1980 to November 1980
  • 1981 American Motors EagleBuilt November 1980 to November 1980

What the defect is

The left or right front safety belt assembly may have been installed on the incorrect side of the vehicle. The shoulder belt locking mechanism may not function under rapid deceleration. Under hard braking applications or in a collision, the shoulder portion of the seat belt system may fail to properly restrain the passenger. There is increased risk of injury to passengers who may contact other objects under these circumstances.

What gets fixed

SEAT BELTS WILL BE INSPECTED FOR PROPER INSTALLATION AND, IF NECESSARY, SEAT BELTS WILL BE EITHER REPLACED OR RELOCATED IN CORRECT POSITION. WORK WILL BE COMPLETED WITHOUT CHARGE TO OWNERS.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtNovember 1980 to November 1980
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA4 January 1981
  3. Owners notified22 July 1981

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 4 January 1981.

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.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
CHRYSLER CORPORATION
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

Vehicle description: passenger and multi-purpose passenger vehicles.system: interior; seat belt assembly.

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