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1995 SATURN SL — SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:RECLINER

crash1 injured · 438766 · 2003-11-03

Vehicle

Make
SATURN
Model
SL
Year
1995
Manufacturer
General Motors, LLC
Component
SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:RECLINER
Miles at failure
96,000

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
Yes
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

BELOW ARE EXCERPTS FROM THE LETTER I WROTE TO SATURN. THEY BASICALLY BLEW ME OFF: PRESIDENT AND CEO SATURN CORPORATION ON JULY 5, 2000, I WAS REAR-ENDED BY A LATE MODEL FORD MUSTANG WHILE I WAS STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT IN MY 1995 SATURN SL-1. WHEN I WAS HIT, MY DRIVER'S SEAT BACK FAILED AND I WAS THROWN INTO THE BACK SEAT OF MY CAR AND SPRAINED MY LOWER BACK. AFTER ALMOST TWO MONTHS, MY BACK IS STILL IN PAIN AND I AM UNDERGOING PHYSICAL THERAPY. A YEAR OR SO AGO, I SAW A TELEVISION NEWS REPORT THAT STATED SATURN WAS RECALLING ALL 1995 SL-SERIES SEDANS BECAUSE OF AN INHERENT FAULT IN THE DESIGN THAT WOULD CAUSE THE SEAT BACK TO FAIL IN THE EVENT OF A REAR-END COLLISION. I CONTACTED SATURN OF BELLEVUE IN BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON AND AFTER TYPING MY VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER INTO THEIR COMPUTER, THEY TOLD ME MY CAR WAS NOT INVOLVED IN THE RECALL. WHEN I ASKED IF MY CAR WAS SAFE, THEY ASSURED ME IT WAS. IT IS NOW PAINFULLY OBVIOUS THAT MY CAR WAS NOT SAFE. I AM UPSET AND DISAPPOINTED WITH THE SATURN CORPORATION FOR TELLING ME IT WAS SAFE TO CONTINUE DRIVING A CAR WITH AN INHERENT SAFETY DESIGN FAULT. I RECENTLY CALLED SATURN OF BELLEVUE TO GET AN ADDRESS WHERE I COULD WRITE TO YOU, AND DURING THE COURSE OF THE CONVERSATION, THE SALESMAN I SPOKE WITH TOLD ME THAT SEAT BACK FAILURE IN A REAR-END COLLISION WAS A COMMON OCCURRENCE AND HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT MY PROBLEM WAS. I SUBSEQUENTLY SPOKE WITH TWO INSURANCE ADJUSTERS WHO ASSURED ME THAT THIS WAS NOT A COMMON OCC

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10045345
Machine
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