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Do you need a longer seat belt?
Some automakers provide a means for larger passengers to buckle up in their vehicles. This is done by providing a seat belt extender, which is a piece of seat belt material about 8" long with a buckle on the end of it that clicks into the existing seat belt. It costs about $25, but is often provided at no charge. A seat belt extender can be added or removed with one click so that it can easily be removed when not needed. Unfortunately seat-belt extenders are not universal in fit and cannot be purchased after market. They are only available through select automakers' dealerships.To ensure that ALL automakers are required to manufacture seat belt extenders for their vehicles, please SIGN THE PETITION .
9/13/01 update
Cleacia writes... Elizabeth; I wanted to give you an update for Chevrolet.
I own a '95 cheve Camaro and I was able to pick up a seat belt extender today
with no problem. I called the number you supplied and they were more than happy
(and friendly) to find a local dealer near me who carried them. You did have
to go in person to get it but it is free of charge to all owners. They had a
9 in. and a 15 in. I got the 9 in and it was plenty for me. There were absolutely
no questions as to why I needed it and no funny looks were given. I mentioned
to customer service about your campaign and they said that Chevrolet strives
to make their customers happy as well as safe.
I contacted Daewoo myself, and got some more information. Here is their response to my letter:
8/28/2001 From daewoo@crosscountry-auto.com Thank you Elizabeth Fisher for visiting our website. Seat belt extenders are available through your nearest Daewoo Authorized Dealer Parts Center for year models 00-01. Please contact the parts or service manager to discuss this option since you mentioned having a 99 Daewoo Nubria and we do not have seat belt extenders for the year you own. If you have any further questions or comments please feel free to send us another email or call our Customer Assistance Center at 1-877-463-2396 Monday-Friday 8am-8pm Eastern Standard Time. Thank you. Daewoo Customer Assistance Here is the name and number to your nearest dealership: Coleman Daewoo 9150 Airline Highway Baton Rouge , LA 70815 Phone: 225-925-2525 Fax: 225-935-2097 E-Mail: colemantoyota@dealernet.com
Honda Canada Customer Relations
715 Milner Avenue
Toronto, ON M1B 2K8
Number: 1-888-9-HONDA-9 (1-888-946-6329)
Hours: 8:00 am to 7:30 pm Monday to Friday (eastern
time)
4/3/02 HYUNDAI UPDATE: Daewoo extender
number 33025650 fits the Hyundai Accent. Visit
http://www.daewoous.com/ to locate a Daewoo dealership near you.
If you are a Hyundai owner
and you find a match for your seat belt with a Daewoo extender, please let me
know so I can pass the information on to others. Email me at
info@ifisher.com
3/5/2001: A satisfied customer update!...
"I'm especially impressed with our salesman, Ernie Schmidt at Peninsula Infiniti
in
Redwood City, California. He went out of his way to make sure the issue was
resolved
and that we were completely happy with our car and the extender. I would personally
recommend him to anyone (large or small) interested in buying an Infiniti in
the San
Francisco area... I suppose the end result of this is, extenders are avaialble
from Nissan
for any model of Infiniti, but something is wrong with the part categories.
The order needs
to be for a 200 model car in order to get the extender that fits [a 1997 model]."
Thanks to Ernie Schmidt, for solving an extender
dilemma!
Jaguar
USA
Today reports that Jaguar has no extenders
Customized longer seat
belts available
Jeep
Check with the parts department of your local dealership. Extenders are available.
Kia
Kia does not offer seat belt extenders
Land Rover
USA
Today reports that Land Rover has no extenders
Customized longer
seat belts available
Lexus
1-800-USA-LEXUS
Mazda
Customer Service: 800-222-5500
Richard Beattie, President/CEO Mazda
North American Operations
7755 Irvine Center Drive
Irving, CA 92618-2922
Mercedes-Benz
USA
Today reports that Mercedes-Benz has no extenders
Customized longer seat belts available
On 10/26/2001, Steve
Chisholm reports that he has been corresponding with Mercedes-Benz about their
"Extended Belt Kit." While they do offer it, it costs around $1200 PER SEAT to
purchase and install.
Mitsubishi
Customer Service: 800-222-0037
Pierre Gagnon, Vice President
Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America
PO Box 6400
Cypress, CA 90630
Added 10/7/04: I have a Mitsubishi
Outlander, and needed a seat belt extension. I called the dealership and
was told there was no listing in the parts computer. I then found your
website and called the 800 number you provided for Mitsubishi. The
gentleman I spoke with was very nice and helpful. He gave me the part
number (MR562268) and told me that the cost is $22 each. I called my local
dealership back, gave him the part number and placed the order. I received
it in 2 days. I’m very glad I found your website. It saved me a
lot of headaches. Thanks! Donna in Houston, TX
Nissan
Customer Service: 800-647-7261 (800-NISSAN-1)
Oldsmobile
800-442-6537
GM Motor Corporation
PO Box 43103
Detroit, MI
48243-7301
Plymouth
1-800-PLYMOUTH
Pontiac
Customer Service: 800-762-2737
Pontiac/GMC Customer Assistance
PO Box 436008 Mailcode 483-631-830
Pontiac, MI 48343-6008
Porsche
USA
Today reports that Porsche has no extenders
Saab
USA Today
reports that Saab does have seat belt extenders. Check with the parts
department of your local dealership.
added 4.12.2004
Mara Nesbitt-Aldrich wrote:
I called SAAB's main parts
department 800 number and spoke to a supervisor named Della. She was very
helpful and gave me this information. You can purchase an extender directly
though them for $115. The catalog number for the extender is Part number
0283630. The toll free parts number is 800 722-2872, and again I spoke with
Della. She said anyone could help you order it, but the first woman I spoke with
was less than helpful, so if it were me, I'd immediately ask for Della.
Saturn
added 6/22/99
I called Saturn's Customer Service Department today and asked about extenders.
They told me seat belt extenders are available through the parts department of
my local dealer. I called the parts department of Saturn of Baton Rouge (225)926-0229
and was told that yes, they are available (and IN STOCK). They come in two lengths
--
nine inches long and fifteen inches long. They come in one color (ebony), and
are $30.71
per extender. To email Saturn, or find the closest dealership,
visit
http://www.saturnbp.com/talk_to_us/.
Customer Service: 800-553-6000
800-263-1999 (in Canada)
080-22-1100 (in Taiwan)
800-TDD-6000 (TDD)
100 Saturn Parkway Mail Drop S-24
Spring Hill, Tennessee 37174 USA
9/12/2001 Dee Golden writes...
We bought our Saturn Station Wagon in 1998 after owning a Sedan since 1992.
The seat belts in the back of the sedan fit all of us. The seat belts in the
wagon are too short. We complained to Saturn of Sunnyvale (California) about
the wagon back seat belts being too short only to be told nothing could be done.
Since we don't ordinarily all ride in the wagon it wasn't a problem, only a
concern. However, the 92 is getting many miles on it and the air conditioning
went out and it gets too warm to be comfortable in the car.
Figuring a seat belt extender shouldn't be that much a problem to obtain I proceeded to call Kragen Auto Parts and some stores similar to it. However most of the people answering the phone didn't think any seat belt extenders were available or never heard of them.
I called our local Saturn dealer in Colma and they never heard of seat belt extenders for the Saturn. I asked who I could call to further investigate this and was given Saturn's 800 number. I called and spoke to a man who never heard of seat belt extenders. Never heard of there being a problem with seat belts being too short and offering no further help or advice.
I then turned to Yahoo.com and typed in seat belt extenders and got your site. There was a listing for Saturn with information that Saturn of Baton Rouge had seat belt extenders.
I immediately called Saturn's 800 number again, got a different person. After going sort of the same direction of the first man I spoke to and saying there weren't any seat belt extenders, I then proceeded to give her the information I found on your website about Baton Rouge Saturn. I told her there was a petition to change the seat belt rules. I asked if I'd have to call Baton Rouge to get seat belt extenders? She asked if it were close by and I replied no.
She said they didn't have access to a parts list. I said, "You don't have access to parts that Saturn makes for their cars?????" She said she thought the seat belt extenders were an "after market" accessory that SOME dealers carried. I asked how I would be able to find out which dealers carried seat belt extenders, since two local dealers told me they didn't exist? She asked if I'd called Marin and Oakland and I replied I hadn't. She called called Saturn of Marin. I was assured that there were two sizes, 9" and 15" and that they were FREE. We will have to go pick them up, but we were given the option of paying for them to be mailed to us. Unfortunately it will take about a week for them to come in. I've been assured we'll be notified as soon as they arrive.
I've also been told a "case study" will be opened and that both Sunnyvale and San Francisco will be contacted and told that seat belt extenders do indeed exist.
I don't know Saturn's official stance on the problem, but if after your own confirmation, you wanted to add that Customer Service may not know about the seat belt extenders and to be persistent and ask the representative to research local dealers, perhaps there will be more awareness among the representatives. I doubt if all the seat belt extenders will be offered for free but it seems really strange to me that some dealerships (individually owned, I was told) are aware and supportive of the problem while Saturn itself is not.
Updated on 10/29/02. I just received an email from someone who said he got extenders for a 2002 Subaru Forester from Subaru. I've contacted Subaru to find out the details, and I'll post them here as soon as I know. info@ifisher.com
Suzuki
Toyota
Added 10/7/04:
Just so you know, Toyota only
makes the seatbelt extenders for their newer cars. I have had a 1997 and a 2000
Toyota pickups and they gave me seatbelt extenders at no charge. They were very
courteous and great about it.
However, I now have a 1980 Toyota pickup and my local dealership says they do not make the seatbelt extenders anymore for it. I don't like not wearing a seatbelt, but feel that I have no choice unless I can find an extender or go to the expense of changing my seatbelts to accomodate whatever seatbelt extender I can find. The worst of this is that it puts me in violation of state law, but I do not seem to have any choice. --Carole
Volkswagen
7.23.01
Volkswagen says they are committed to safety. Mary Genera, with the Volkswagen
US Customer Care Center, 1-800-822-8987, reports that Volkswagen is testing
seat belt extenders and expect to release this product after September os 2001.
No exact date is know at this point. Customer Service: 800-822-8987 (US &
Canada)
5.17.2002
A website visitor writes:
After re-reading your site today, I was encouraged to contact VW America, again.
I found out that my dealer now has seat belt extenders. Here was the trick to
the dealerships that said VW didn't make extenders. In the computer, it is classified
as a "safety" belt extender. I know it sounds weird...but that was why my original
dealer couldn't find the part number.
Here is the current part number for the VW safety belt extender for the VW New
Beetle: # 1J0857722FCN (in the sequence, that is a zero, not the letter oh).
I don't know how long the belt is, but the computer showed the cost of the belt
at $0.01 each. I suspect that there will be no charge when I go to the dealer
to pick them up. I ordered 4 extenders, just to be on the safe side.
If you have additional
information, contact Elizabeth Fisher,
info@ifisher.com.
Volvo
6.5.01
Customer Service: 800-458-1552
email:
customerservice@volvocars.com
Dan Werbin, President and CEO
Volvo Cars of North America, Inc.
Seven Volvo Drive
Rockleigh, NJ 07647