Takata Seat Belt
Buckle Recall - Are all Takata Buckles Defective?
 On
May 23, 1995 it was announced that over eight million vehicles seat belt buckles
were to be replaced or repaired under a voluntary safety recall campaign
conducted by Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Daihatsu, Ford, Subaru, Suzuki,
Izuzu, General Motors, Geo, Chrysler, and U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT) and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). The
Takata seat belt buckles manufactured by Takata Corporation were used in nearly
in all the FRONT seats and some BACK seats of nine million cars, trucks and
sport utility vehicles (SUV) between 1986 and 1991. The investigation revealed
that the Takata buckles' release buttons have broken or cracked rendering it
in a dangerous condition. If the buckles' release button cracks or breaks off,
then
the buckle may false latch, inadvertently unlatch, fail under a load, partially
unlatch , become inoperative and not latch at all.
Takata Seat Belt
Buckle Injuries & Death
Why are some Takata
buckles defective ? Due to the fact that many of the victims of the Takata
buckles suffer serious head injuries or they are killed in the wreck or
rollover, their sworn testimony of seat belt usage immediately prior is
difficult or even impossible to obtain, and must be pursued from eye witnesses,
the physical evidence, medical records and/or death certificates. ALSO the
investigating officer many times incorrectly assumes that the person was
not wearing a belt, since the person is found after the accident in an un-belted
position or ejected from the vehicle itself. Many times if the investigating
officer would look at other evidence of belt usage, and understood the nature of
the defect then many times the police report would correctly reflect the correct
belt usage. Such evidence can include lacerations or bruising of the upper torso
indicating the the interaction of the torso and the unsecured(unlatched shoulder
belt) during the collision, torn and loaded seatbelt webbing at buckle and the
D-Ring indicating loading at the point of the impact. Loading of the belt
is not always present, especially in cases where the buckle was falsely latched
and released upon a slight force of energy.
The resulting injuries
to the previously belted front seat occupants can greatly accelerate due to no
restraint system to prevent the person from impacting the dashboard, windshield,
roof pillar( roof support), steering wheel, or even being ejected, (especially
in rollovers). Such injuries can vary from severe head injuries, spinal
cord injuries ( paraplegia and quadriplegia) and even death.
Takata Seat Belt
Buckle- Unbuckling & Unlatching
 When
the buckle is working correctly as designed, the latch plate (male) is fully
inserted into the buckle (female) and then with the assistance of a spring, a
spring loaded latch rotates into the the hole in the latch plate. The lock plate
then slides forward to lock the latch into its secure position. To unlatch, the
red button is depressed, which slides away and re-rotates the lock plate and
exposes the opening(hole) in the latch plate. Then as the latch rotates up, the
hole in the latch plate slides over the projections in the buckle housing. Then
the spring loaded ejector pushes the latch plate out of the buckle. The problem
happens when the latch plate slides over the projections on the buckle housing,
it can wear it, catch it or hang it up. The design of the buckle actually
encourages this hang up on the buckle housing. Additionally, the design of
the spring pushes the latch plate into the hole of the latch plate. When the
push button is then depressed, the force on the spring vanishes to nothing,
allowing the latch plate to further hang up in the housing instead of being
pushed out of this area of the buckle, where it can hang up on the sides or
edges of the latch plate.
Takata
Recall--Vehicles & Manufacturers
Note: All below listed
vehicles have the Recalled Takata Buckle in the FRONT outboard seating
positions, unless noted otherwise. This list may not be complete.
HONDA VEHICLES
WITH TAKATA BUCKLES
Honda Legend (2 Door)
1987-1991
Honda Legend (4 Door)
1986-1991
Honda NSX 1990-1991
Honda Accord (2 Door)
1987-1991
Honda Accord (3 Door)
1986-1989
Honda Accord (4 Door)
1986-1991
Honda Accord (5 Door)
1991
Honda Vigor 1991
Honda Integra
1986-1991
Honda Civic (2 Door)
1986-1991
Honda Civic (3 Door)
1986-1991
Honda Civic (4 Door)
1986-1991
Honda Civic (5 Door)
1986-1991
Honda Prelude
1986-1991
IZUZU VEHICLES
WITH TAKATA BUCKLES
Impulse 1990-1991
Stylus 1991 Front & Rear
Seats
Storm 1990 Front & Rear
Seats
Amigo 1990 Rear Seat
ONLY
Rodeo 1991 Front & Rear
Seats
Pickup 1990 -1991
Front & Rear Seats
DAIHATSU 1990-1991
Front & Rear Seats
SUZUKI VEHICLES
WITH TAKATA BUCKLES
Samurai 1988-1991
Sidekick (3 door) 1991
Sidekick (5 Door) 1991
Swift (3 Door)
1989-1991
Swift (4 Door)
1990-1991
Swift (5 Door) 1989
MITSUBISHI VEHICLES
WITH TAKATA BUCKLES
Starion (1986 Front & Rear)
1986-1990 Front
Cordia 1986-1988
Front; 1988 Front & Rear
Galant 1986-1989 Front & Rear
Sigma 1988-1990 Front & Rear
Mirage (2 Door)
1986-1989 Front, 1986-1990 Rear
Mirage (4 Door)
1986-1990 Front & Rear ,1991(Rear)
Eclipse 1990-1991
3000 GT 1991
Montero 1986-1991
(Front & Rear)
Van 1987-1990
Wagon 1987-1990
Pick up Truck
1986-1991
NISSAN VEHICLES
WITH TAKATA BUCKLES
Infinite Q 45
1990-1991
Infinite M30 1990-1991
Pick Up Truck
1988-1991
200 SX & 240 SX
1987-1991
Sentra Coupe 1987-1990
Sentra (2 door)Sedan
1987-1991
Sentra (4 Door)Sedan
1987-1990
Van 1987-1990
Pathfinder 1987-1991
MAZDA VEHICLES
WITH TAKATA BUCKLES
323 & 323 Wagon
1988-1989
MX-6 1988-1989 Front & Rear;
1990-1991 (rear only)
929 1988-1991 Front & Rear
MPV 1989-1991
SUBARU
VEHICLES WITH TAKATA BUCKLES
Justy 1987-1991 Front & 1991
Rear
Justy (3
Door)1987-1991 Front & 1991 Rear
Justy ( 5 Door)
1990-1991 Front & 1991 Rear
Loyale (3 Door Coupe)
1988-1991
Defective
Takata Seat Belt Buckle- Lawsuits & Legal Actions:
 If
you or a loved one has been seriously injured or died as a result of the failure
of a defective Takata seat belt buckle
failure, then you may have a legal action against the Takata Corporation and/or
the automobile manufacturer
of the vehicle. Such legal actions usually include demands for (past &
future) damages for medical expenses; pain and suffering; mental anquish;
physical impairment and disfigurement, loss of earnings AND PUNITIVE DAMAGES .
If you would like to
know more what can be done to protect your legal rights, call for a Free
Confidential Consultation or call the attorney of your choosing in your State.
It is important to know, that each State has Statutes of Limitations that govern
when a case must be filed. If on waits TOO LONG, the Statute of Limitations may
expire and prevent the filing and recovery in your case. Additionally time is of
the essence in these types of cases as in any major products liability case a
full investigation is necessary, witness statements, photogragh of the wreck
obtained AND the vehicle must be obtained and
preserved as evidence. Many times the vehicle has been sold by ones insurance
company and must be located and retrieved in order to document and inspect the
Takata seat belt buckle and the interior of the vehicle.
CONTACT US FOR
A FREE
CONFIDENTIAL CONSULTATION or call us Toll Free
1-800-883-9858 or 1-800-468-4878
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