The government is investigating consumer complaints and thousands of warranty claims that indicate passengers have trouble buckling or unbuckling the seat belts on Chrysler minivans.
Some owners have complained that the belt unlatches while they are driving, according to a monthly report released Wednesday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.There are about 1.2 million of the 1991-93 Chrysler minivans with the belts on the road.
Chrysler spokesman Jason Vines said the percentage of claims was small. "We don't believe there's a defect," he said from the automaker's headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich.
There have been more than 110 complaints about the belts and one lawsuit involving a death, the report says.
Agency officials are investigating whether part of the casing around the belt buckle is slipping and pinching the red release button, causing the belt to unlatch, get stuck or fail to latch.
They are focusing on the so-called GEN2 belt buckle. There were 11,361 warranty claims filed for replacement of that buckle.
More than 8,100 of the warranty claims involved GEN2 buckles on the front bucket seat. About 44 percent of those belts were replaced because they did not always work, about 35 percent were replaced for a broken or cracked buckle and the rest were replaced because the release button was broken, the report said.
A design change was made on the buckle's release button in the summer of 1993. Chrysler officials say the belts are safe and that the switch to a GEN3 belt buckle was made to improve customer satisfaction by correcting a rattling noise and the "feel associated with the buckle."
The report says NHTSA's office of defects investigation "has yet to find a single owner complaint, warranty claim or field report concerning the GEN2 buckle `noise and feel' but has noted that the (design) changes made in the buckle eliminated the (problem) that has been reported by owners."
NHTSA opens any auto safety inquiry with a preliminary evaluation, in which the government and manufacturer exchange paper-work including any complaints.
The investigation then could lead to an engineering analysis, during which engineers study the parts to see if they are defective - as in the Chrysler case.
The investigation eventually could lead to a recall for repairs, but many investigations are dropped.
The number for the government's auto safety hot line is 800-424-9393.