Mazda Seat Belts: Webbing

Mazda is recalling about 17,800 vehicles over a problem with the seat belts. In the event of a vehicle collision, the occupant would not be adequately restrained increasing the risk of personal injury.

Campaign
96V173000
Manufacturer
MAZDA (NORTH AMERICA),INC
Reported
16 September 1996
Vehicles
17,800
Built between
Dec 1988 – May 1991
Models
2
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
17 February 1997
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between December 1988 and May 1991. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1990-1991 Mazda RX-7Built December 1988 to May 1991
  • 1989 Mazda RX7Built December 1988 to May 1991

What the defect is

The rail of the automatic shoulder belt can wear sufficiently such that the cable which retracts the buckle assembly will become jammed in the rail rendering the shoulder belt inoperative.

What could happen

In the event of a vehicle collision, the occupant would not be adequately restrained increasing the risk of personal injury.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL REPLACE INOPERATIVE SHOULDER BELTS. MAZDA HAS EXTENDED THE WARRANTY COVERAGE ON THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER AUTOMATIC SHOULDER BELT RAIL AND MOTOR FOR THE LIFE OF THE VEHICLE.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtDecember 1988 to May 1991
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA16 September 1996
  3. Owners notified17 February 1997

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 September 1996.

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
MAZDA (NORTH AMERICA),INC
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

Owner notification:owner notification is expected to begin during october 1996. Note: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 mazda at 1-800-222-5500.ALSO contact the national highway traffic safety administration'sauto 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