Acura Seat Belts: Buckle Assembly

Acura is recalling about 3,700,000 vehicles over a problem with the seat belts. The safety belts would not provide adequate protection to an occupant in a vehicle crash.

Campaign
95V103001
Manufacturer
AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO.
Reported
24 May 1995
Vehicles
3,700,000
Built between
Jan 1986 – Mar 1991
Models
6
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
19 May 1995
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between January 1986 and March 1991. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1986-1991 Acura IntegraBuilt January 1986 to March 1991
  • 1986-1990 Acura LegendBuilt January 1986 to March 1991
  • 1991 Acura NSX
  • 1986-1991 Honda AccordBuilt January 1986 to March 1991
  • 1986-1991 Honda CivicBuilt January 1986 to March 1991
  • 1986-1991 Honda PreludeBuilt January 1986 to March 1991

What the defect is

The front safety belt buckle release buttons can break. These red plastic release buttons are marked "press." if a button breaks, pieces can fall into the buckle assembly causing the buckle to operate improperly.

What could happen

The safety belts would not provide adequate protection to an occupant in a vehicle crash.

What gets fixed

OWNERS SHOULD PROMPTLY CHECK THE CONDITION AND OPERATION OF BOTH FRONT SAFETY BELT BUCKLES. CAREFULLY INSPECT THE RED RELEASE BUTTON FOR ANY BREAKS OR CRACKS. CHECK THAT BOTH BUCKLES ARE OPERATING PROPERLY BY INSERTING EACH LATCH PLATE INTO ITS BUCKLE, TUG ON THE BELT TO MAKE SURE THE LATCH IS SECURELY LOCKED, THEN PRESS THE RELEASE BUTTON. THE LATCH PLATE SHOULD POP OUT OF THE BUCKLE WHEN THE BUTTON IS PRESSED. IF EITHER RELEASE BUTTON SHOWS ANY SIGN OF BREAKAGE OR CRACKING, OR IF EITHER BUCKLE FAILS TO OPERATE PROPERLY, PROMPTLY CONTACT YOUR AUTHORIZED HONDA/ACURA DEALER TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE THE BUCKLE REPLACED OR REPAIRED, FREE OF CHARGE. THE MANUFACTURER IS DEVELOPING A REMEDY DESIGNED TO PREVENT THE FAILURE OF THE BUTTONS THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY BROKEN.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJanuary 1986 to March 1991
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA24 May 1995
  3. Owners notified19 May 1995

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 24 May 1995.

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
AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO.
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

System: interior; seat belts; belt buckles.vehicle description: 2-DOOR, 4-DOOR and 5-DOOR passenger vehicles equipped with safety belts made by takata corporation.note: if your vehicle is presented to an authorized dealer at an agreed upon service date and the remedy is not provided free of charge within a reasonabletime, please contact honda/acura at 1-800-999-1009. Also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-800-424-9393.

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