11 of the 334 complaints about the 1998 Dodge Stratus are about the seat belts — 3% of everything reported for this model year.
11
Complaints
1
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
Filed with NHTSA, in their own words.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
DRIVER'S SEAT BELT BUCKLE IS INOPERATIVE. THE BUCKLE DOES NOT LOCK. DRIVER CONTACTED THE DEALER, AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE BUCKLE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *AK....A PENNY WAS FOUND STUCK IN THE RECEIVER. ONCE REMOVED THE SEAT BELT PERFORMED PERFECTLY.
NHTSA complaint #10115899 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
I WAS IN A CAR ACCIDENT ON FEB. 16 1998/1999??. AND MY CAR WAS ALMOST TOTALLED. THE COLLISION REPAIR SHOP WAS SUPPOSED TO REPLACE ALL OF THE BAD PARTS TOTALLING SOMEWHERE A LITTLE OVER 9,000$ . EVERY TIME I WOULD GO TO PICK UP MY CAR THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH IT. FINALLY AFTER LIKE 5 TRIPS TO THE REPAIR SHOP I TOOK IT HOME. A WHILE LATER I HAD TAKEN IT IN TO BE WORKED ON THE SIDE THE DAMAGE WAS DONE TO IT. THE CHRYSLER DEALERSHIP TOLD ME THEY WOULD NOT TOUCH IT BECAUSE IT WAS A HAZARDOUS SITUATION AND THE CAR SHOULDN'T EVEN BE ON THE ROAD. WELL COME TO FIND OUT THE DAMAGE WAS NEVER REPLACED BUT BUFFED AND COATED WITH BONDO. THE COLLISION SHOP ENDED UP PAYING FOR IT TO GET FIXED BUT STATE FARM SAID HE WAS GUILTY OF INSURANCE FRAUD AND I WOULD LIKE THIS INVESTIGATED. IF HE HAS DONE IT TO ME HOW MANY OTHER PEOPLE HAS HE DONE IT TO. NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT EVERYONE INCLUDING MY 7 YEAR OLD NEPHEW, WAS IN DANGER EVERY TIME WE WOULD GET IN MY CAR. THEY SAID THAT IT WOULD BUCKLE UNDER THE LIGHTEST OF HITS. PLEASE GET BACK TO ME REGARDING THIS MATTER. THE COLLISION SHOP IS CALLED EXPERT COLLISION ON 14 MILE & DEQUINDRE/ JOHN R.
NHTSA complaint #765917 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
REAR SEATBELT WILL NOT BUCKLE,CAUSING IT TO BE USELESS IN EVENT OF A VEHICLE CRASH. CAUSE UNKNOWN.DEALER NOTIFIED.
NHTSA complaint #8014135 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH THIS VEHICLE, OTHER THAN THOSE LISTED, PLUS THERE IS MUCH MORE INFORMATION TO SUPPORT THE PROBLEMS I HAVE LISTED. I HAVE EXPERIENCED A HEATER CORE FAILURE, BRAKES REPLACED ALREADY TWICE ON THE VEHICLE WITH LESS THAN 40,000 MILES ON THE CAR. I HAVE HAD A DEFECTIVE SEAT BELT (PASSENGER), THE TIMING CHAIN IS A MAJOR ENGINE REPAIR THAT I JUST HAD DOWN. NOW I AM STILL DEALING WITH THE RESIDULE PRODBLEM WITH MY HEATING/DEFROST SINCE K & M REPLACED MY WATER PUMP ON 10/17/01. OVERALL I CONSIDER THIS CAR TO BE A REAL PIECE OF CRAP AND I ABSOLUTELY WOULD NEVER BUY ANOTHER STRATUS AND IN FACT, I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER CHRYSLER VEHICLE EVER. I FEEL I HAVE STUNG WITH A LEMON AND BASICALLY I NO LEGAL RECOURSE WHICH IS VERY UNFAIR TO ME, THE CONSUMER. I AM STILL PAYING ON THIS PIECE OF CRAP. IF NOTHING ELSE, I HOPE TO WARN ANYBODY ELSE, PLEASE DO YOUR HOMEWORK AHEAD OF TIME AND DON'T BUY A DODGE STRATUS. ANY ASSISTANCE NHTSA MIGHT OFFER WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. I CAN PROVIDE ANY DOCUMENTATION AND DETAIL THAT YOU REQUIRE. THANK YOU.
NHTSA complaint #754515 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:WEBBING
REAR SHOULDER BELTS WAS BEGINNING TO FRAY UNDER NORMAL USE. RIGHT REAR SHOULDER BELT WAS FRAYING MORE THAN THE LEFT SIDE, EQUAL USE ON EACH SIDE. DEALERSHIP INFORMED CONSUMER THEY CANNOT REPAIR AT NO COST TO CONSUMER BECAUSE IT WAS NO LONGER COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/ATTACHMENTS.
NHTSA complaint #885800 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
DRIVERSIDE SEATBELT WONT FULLY RETRACT AUTOMATICALLY. THE CLIP HAS BEEN SLAMMED IN THE DOOR SEVERAL TIMES NOW.
NHTSA complaint #740644 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
THE CLIP WHICH SLIDES ALONG THE SEAT BELT AND CLIPS INTO THE ANCHOR HAS A PLASTIC PORTION ON THE REAR THAT PROVIDES THE TENSIONING. IN THREE SEPARATE INCIDENTS THIS PLASTIC PART CAME APART WHILE INSTALLING CHILDS SEATS. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON BOTH THE PASSENGER AND DRIVER'S SIDES OF THE CAR. I HAVE REPORTED THIS TO DEALERSHIP, AND ON MY LAST VISIT ONE OF BELTS WAS REPLACED, BUT NOT THE ONE THAT I HAD ORIGINALLY DISCOVERED THE PROBLEM. I WOULD ACTUALLY LIKE TO SEE AN INVESTIGATION DONE ON THE SAFETY OF THESE SEATBELTS. IT SEEMS VERY LIKELY THAT ONE OF THESE COULD FAIL IN AN ACCIDENT THEREBY RELEASING ANY TENSION ON THE BELT AND CAUSE INJURIES TO THE PERSON USING THE SEATBELT.
NHTSA complaint #716534 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
REAR PASSENGER SEAT BELT FAILS TO WORK PROPERLY. CSS WAS LOCKED IN SEAT BELT & IT BECAME UNLATCHED. LOCKING MECHANISM WAS BROKEN. ALSO, DRIVER'S SEAT BELT WOULD LOCK COMPLETELY WHEN A LITTLE PRESSURE WAS APPLIED TO BRAKES. WOULD HAVE TO JERK TO RELEASE BELT. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP & MECHANIC ORDERING PARTS.
NHTSA complaint #853619 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
WHEN CONSUMER IS USING THE REAR SEAT BELTS THEY WON'T RETRACT OR WON'T WORK PROPERLY.
NHTSA complaint #852790 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:WEBBING
WE HAVE PROBLEMS INSTALLING A CARSEAT IN THE REAR PAASENGER SIDES. THE SHOULDER STRAPS DO NOT LOCK, CAUSING THE CARSEAT TO FLOP AROUND. TRYING TO INSTALL A TODDLER CARSEAT WAS IMPOSSIBLE DUE TO THE SEAT BELT NOT BEING LONG ENOUGH NOR WOULD IT LOCK. WE HAVE CALLED THE DEALER IN OUR AREA SEVERAL TIMES TO HELP FIND A SOLUTION AND THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO PROVIDE US WITH ANY INFORMATION ON HOW TO FIX IT. WE NEED A WAY TO INSTALL THE CARSEAT BACKWARDS AND CAN NOT DO SO.
NHTSA complaint #708575 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER
LEFT REAR SEAT BELT DOES NOT RETRACT PROPERLY. REQUIRES OWNER TO PLAY WITH THE BELT TO HAVE IT RETRACT.
NHTSA complaint #540117 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.