NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE99-050: FRONT SHOULDER BELT ANCHORAGE DISENGAGEM
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE99-050 on July 28, 1999 and closed it on October 18, 1999. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 1999 Saturn Saturn for it and links recall 99V-280 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE99-050 (also written PE99050)
- Investigation type
- Preliminary Evaluation The first stage of most defect investigations: NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation gathers basic information about a possible safety defect, including from the manufacturer.
- Status
- Closed October 18, 1999
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- General Motors, LLC
- Component
- Seat Belts — Front — Anchorage
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 99V-280: GM/FMVSS 210/SEAT BELT SHOULDER GUIDE, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- 1999 Saturn Saturn
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE99-050.
ODI received a Vehicle Owners Questionnaire (VOQ) reporting that the driver's shoulder belt guide fell off of its mounting on the B-pillar within 24 hours of delivery of the vehicle (1999 SL-2) from the dealership.
The complainant observed that the shoulder belt guide anchor both had an undistrurbed portion of thread locking compound on it, leading him to believe that the bolt had not been properly tightened at the factory.
A Preliminary Evaluation has been opered to assess the scope of this phenomenon.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE99-050. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Saturn
Saturn Saturn
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE99-050
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.