Owner-reported complaints naming the seat belt system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming seat belts, buckles, retractors and pretensioners. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1986 Pontiac Firebird submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 13 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
CONSUMER RECEIVED RECALL 90V105000 CONCERNING ACTIVE RESTRAINT: BELT BUCKLES: RECALL REPAIRS WERE DONE, BUT THE PROBLEM RECURRED. DEALER HAS CHARGED THE CONSUMER FOR DOING THE RECALL REPAIRS FOR THE SECOND TIME.*AK
SEAT BELT CASINGS IN THE FRONT BACK ARE CRACKING. SEAT BELT COMES OUT OF VEHICLE. CONTACTED DEALER. *AK CONSUMER STATES THAT THE BUCKLES HAVE RELEASED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. *SLC
SEAT BELT WOULD NOT LATCH DUE TO COMPONET BREAKING UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES. *AK
DRIVER'S FRONT SEATBELT BUCKLE BROKE. PLASTIC COMPONENT OF SEATBELT BUCKLE ASSEMBLY DID NOT CONTAIN AN ULTRA VIOLET STABALIZER AND EXPOSURE TO DIRECT SUN LIGHT, AND ELEVATED INTERIOR TEMPERATURE COULD WEAKEN THE PLASTIC COMPONENT. *AK
I'M AMAZED TO FIND THIS SITE AND FIND THAT ABOUT A DOZEN DEFECTS/RECALLS HAVE BEEN ISSUED ON MY FIREBIRD AND I HAVE NEVER RECEIVED ANYTHING FROM PONTIAC! WHILE THIS HAS BEEN THE "BEST" CAR I'VE EVER HAD, IT APPEARS NOW THAT I'VE SPENT WAY TOO MUCH MONEY ON KNOWN DEFECTS! WHY ARE OWNERS NOT APPRISED OF THESE PROBLEMS? I'VE HAD TROUBLE WITH THE A/C, THE SEATBELTS, THE FUEL INJECTORS, THE REAR HYDRAULICS FOR THE HATCH, STARTER, IGNITION, ETC., ETC. IS THERE ANY RECOURSE AT THIS LATE DATE? I REALLY WANT TO KEEP MY CAR, BUT I'M HAVING A HARD TIME FINDING SOMEONE QUALIFIED TO WORK ON IT. ANY SUGGESTIONS? I CAN'T GIVE YOU THE VIN NUMBER BECAUSE IT'S IN THE SHOP YET AGAIN! I'VE BEEN ABLE TO DRIVE IT ABOUT 3 WEEKS SINCE FEBRUARY - MOSTLY DUE TO INCOMPETENCY OF SHOP. OVERALL, IT REALLY HAS BEEN A GREAT CAR -- STILL ORIGINAL ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION. BUT THE "LITTLE THINGS" ARE REALLY ADDING UP. ANY SUGGESTIONS AND OR EXPLANATION AS TO WHY I'VE NEVER RECEIVED ANY RECALLS AND/OR BULLETINS WOULD BE APPRECIATED, AS WELL AS ANY RECOURSE AT THIS LATE DATE. THANK YOU! CATHERINE SIKES
THE 2 DEALERSHIPS THAT I CONTACTED SAID THAT CAMPAIGN ID# 90V105000 DOES NOT INCLUDE MY PARTICULAR VEHICLE, AND THAT THEY DONT HAVE JUST THE BUCKLES IN STOCK I DONT SEE HOW THAT IS POSSIBLE AND WE CANNOT DRIVE THE CAR SAFELY OR LEGALLY DUE TO THIS!!!!!. *AK
RECALL # 09V105000 INTERIOR SYSTEM:ACTIVE RESTRAINTS:BELT BUCKLES; EVEN THOUGH OWNER HAS A RECALL NOTICE, DEALER HAS STATED THAT THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO PERFORM REPAIRS BECAUSE RECALL NUMBER HAS BEEN DROPPED FROM THE SYSTEM. RECALL NOTICE STATES THAT REPAIRS WILL BE MADE ANYTIME DURING THE LIFE OF THE VEHICLE. THE SEAT BELT BUCKLE ON THE PASSENGER'S SIDE IS BROKEN. *AK
IN 1994, THE PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT STOPPED WORKING. THE BELT WOULD NO LONGER CLIP, THEREFORE RENDERING IT USELESS. I BROUGHT THE CAR TO BE SERVICED AT A LOCALL PONTIAC DEALERSHIP THREE TIMES, AND WAS TOLD THEY NEEDED TO ORDER A PART. THE SEAT BELT WAS NEVER FIXED. I THEN BROUGHT IT TO ANOTHER DEALERSHIP, AND WAS TOLD TO BRING IT BACK TO THE ORIGINAL ONE. THERE I WAS TOLD THAT THE RECALL WAS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. I SAW YOUR WEBSITE IN MOTOR TREND MAGAZINE AND DECIDED TO FIND OUT IF THIS WAS TRUE. I BELIEVE THAT THIS PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED, AND WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THERE IS ANYTHING THAT I COULD DO ABOUT IT. *AK
MOTORIZED SAFETY BELT HAS FAILED AND PONTIAC REFUSES TO FIX THE PROBLEM. *AK
LEFT SIDE OF THE TRACTOR OF THE SEAT BELT IS LOCKED, AND WOULD NOT ALLOW THE SHOULDER BELT PART TO COME ACROSS ANYONE THAT SAT IN THAT SEAT, TO USE THE SEAT BELT. *AK.ET.
FUEL GUAGE CONSTANTLY READ EMPTY.
PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE FELL APART. TT
VEHICLE WAS ON RECALL/90C03 WAS PERFORMED AND ACCIDENT OCCURED PASSENGER SEAT BELT FAILED PASSENGER HIT THE WINDSHIELD. TT
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Data on this page last refreshed .