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2000 CHEVROLET PRIZM — SEATS

crash1 injured · 453626 · 2004-02-06

Vehicle

Make
CHEVROLET
Model
PRIZM
Year
2000
Manufacturer
General Motors, LLC
Component
SEATS
Miles at failure
48,000
Speed
65 mph

Severity

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

Narrative

I WAS INVOLVED IN AN AUTO ACCIDENT ON 9/1/2002 IN WHICH MY SEAT BACK FAILED. I WAS TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH IN MY 2000 CHEVROLET PRIZM LSI. I WAS REAR ENDED BY A HONDA CIVIC TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 100 MPH. THE FORCE OF THE IMPACT WAS SUCH THAT WHEN I WAS THROWN TO THE BACK OF THE SEAT IT BROKE AND CHANGED THE POSITION OF THE ENTIRE SEAT FROM APPROXIMATELY 90 DEGREES TO 150 DEGREES. WHEN I APPLIED THE BRAKES I WAS THROWN FORWARD AND TORQUE-TWISTED AROUND THE THREE POINT HARNESS. I THEN HAD TO REGAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE WHILE ALSO USING THE STEERING WHEEL AS A SUPPORT TO KEEP MYSELF UPRIGHT WHEN THE SEATBELT WANTED TO PULL ME BACK INTO THE SEAT BACK WHICH WAS NOT THERE. THE SEAT WAS SUPPOSEDLY REPAIRED; I'VE BEEN TOLD THE HARDWARE HAS BEEN REPLACED. HOWEVER, A NEW PROBLEM HAS MANIFESTED ITSELF. THE METAL FRAME OF THE HEADREST (A U-SHAPED PIECE OF METAL) HAS BECOME EXPOSED (AS OF 2/1/2004) AND NOW COMES IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE FABRIC SIDE WHICH THE DRIVER'S HEAD SITS AGAINST. I REMOVED THE HEADREST AND GAVE IT TO MY MOM, THE UPHOLSTERER, FOR REPAIR AS I HAD ASSUMED THE FOAM BUN HAD BECOME LOOSE AND MISADJUSTED. INSTEAD, SHE INFORMED ME THAT THE FOAM BUN ITSELF HAD SHATTERED INTO AT LEAST TWO PIECES AND THERE WAS NO WAY TO REARRANGE THE FOAM AND STILL HAVE IT FULFILL ITS SAFETY FUNCTION; I.E. IF I GOT REAR-ENDED AGAIN, THE BASE OF MY SKULL WAS GOING TO BE SLAMMED INTO A HORIZONTAL ROD. AS A RESULT, WE INSPECTED THE OTHER THREE HEADRESTS OF THE CAR

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10056644
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown