Seat belts
- Component
- Seat belts
- Manufacturer
- Daimler Trucks North America LLC
- Vehicles affected
- 938
- Reported to NHTSA
- 2014-03-28
- Owners notified
- 2014-05-22
Defect description
Daimler Trucks North America LLC (DTNA) is recalling certain model year 2014 Freightliner 108SD, 114SD, 122SD, Coronado, Argosy, Cascadia, Columbia, and M2 Business Class, and Western Star 4700, and 4900 vehicles manufactured August 5, 2013, through November 15, 2013, and equipped with IMMI-brand L9 seat belt buckles. When the button is pressed to release the seat belt, the latch plate can become partially engaged with the buckle, making the seat belt difficult to unlatch. Thus, these vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies."
Safety risk
If the latch plate remains partially engaged after the button is pressed, egress from the vehicle could be hindered which would increase the risk of injury in the event of an emergency.
Manufacturer remedy
DTNA will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the seat belt buckle, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 22, 2014. Owners may contact Daimler at 1-800-385-4357. DTNA's number for this campaign is FL-661. Note: This is an expansion of recall 13V-604.