This story would make me angry, if it weren't so funny. The point: Don't click the front shoulder belt latch into the back-seat buckle. It may lock and leave you without a seat belt and no warranty coverage to fix the problem.

THE LONG STORY:

I get home from work the night immediately after picking up the car. My wife, who was against my buying a sportscar (she wanted a PRIUS) is decidedly unenthusiastic about going with me for a drive, so I talk my 6-year old son into going out for a quick ride around the neighborhood. The car has about 80 miles total on it, almost all of that from driving home from the dealer the night before.

My son gets into the passenger-side back seat and I ask him if he can fasten his seat belt alone. He says "sure," but it turns out he can't get the latch to click in the buckle. I get out of the car, go back and confirm that it won't click. Hmmmm. Defective buckle? I know, I'll try the driver-side back seat and see if that one is doing the same thing.

I leave the car running with his doors open and move the driver's seat up so I can squeeze into the back seat next to him. I sit down, grab the belt closest to my shoulder and it clicks fine. So, it must be his belt buckle that is broken, right? Wrong! When I go to unclick the belt, it won't budge. Not a millimeter of play in the red button. It's just locked and I am tightly latched. After ten minutes of struggling, I ask my son, "Can you go and tell mommy I'm trapped in the RX-8?"

This is very freaky, sitting in my driveway with all the doors open, the motor running, all alone and trapped inside the car. By the way, it's very cold with the wind whipping across me. I can't hear what my son says at the front door to my wife, but I heard her say, "He's What?!?!"

With my wife's help, and by taking off my shoes, I was able to squeeze my foot under the lap belt and get out of the back seat. I am really P.O.'d at the world now, and my wife just says, "Calm down, and take a drive. You will feel better and the dealer will fix it in the morning."

I help my son go back in the house and I help get him ready for bed, then come out and get ready to go for a drive, only to discover that I have no belt -- then I realize what I did... I put the driver's belt in the rear-passenger's buckle. I have no belt, and either does the rear passenger seat. I work on the buckle for an hour or so, until my thumbs are almost broken, then give up in frustration and just go to bed.

The next morning, I come out to the car to find the dome light on! Agghhh! Had it on while I was working on the belt the night before. This story almost got worse. Fortunately, the car started.

The service person at the dealership was stunned: "How did you do this?" He explains that he may need to remove the seat to get better access to the buckle or break the plastic covering to remove the latch, or both. He also tells me that it will not be covered under the warrany. I'm very upset about this, but he assures me that it will not be more than $100.

Later that day, the service person calls me at work to tell me that he has contacted Mazda and they will not cover it. He was able to remove the latch by breaking the plastic housing and the new plastic covering will take a few days to arrive. The only problem right now is a cosmetic one, and the total charge will be $85. They tell me that they should have the part in a few days.

I have my own theories about why this should be a warranty covered incident, and you may disagree or agree with me, but I think everyone must agree... funny story. :p

Zoom Zoom.

rofl
I can just see you sitting there waiting for help.

DO NOT feel bad....I ALMOST did the same thing when I first put my 6 year old in the backseat for the first time....she also grabbed the front seat belt and was trying to latch it but wasn't strong enough to do so and after a couple of min. I realized what she was trying to do......the way the front belt is sticking out there when the door is open one would think that it is the one to use when your in the backseat....seems you got more than a hug from your new 8, (like in the commercial) it didn't wanna let you go! :D

It sounds like they designed the buckles in the front and back to be slightly different sizes to prevent this happening, but obviously they aren't different enough.

If this does get fixed at some point in the future you could have a claim. Although for 85 bucks its not worth it, the embarasshment costs more!

Cheers
---Dave

Originally posted by druck
It sounds like they designed the buckles in the front and back to be slightly different sizes to prevent this happening, but obviously they aren't different enough.
---Dave

That's just it. This looks like a design defect, which may not be covered under a "materials and workmanship" warranty, but the fact that the right-rear seat acted differently suggests a materials or workmanship defect in my particular car... anyone want to try their belts and let me know if the front belt becomes impossible to remove? ;)

Sounds like a crappy design problem to me as well. I know how we can get it fixed though. Go do it at every dealer you can find. They'll get the hint. ;)

Megareds
Sorry to hear about your run in with the seat belt , but must confess i found it Mega funny.

I am sure they realised the weakness of the design ---- write it up to Mazda and threaten to send it to a motor magazine. Even if they do not respond. I am sure it will be a story that will win you a prize in the magazine :D

My wife, who was against my buying a sportscar (she wanted a PRIUS) is decidedly unenthusiastic about going with me for a drive

Now this appears to be the much bigger problem than your seat belt snafu.

Ouch! With two little ones (4 & 6), I will learn from your painful lesson and make sure they are using the correct belts.

But the picture of you stuck in the back trying to crawl out without shoes and the motor running --- pricless! ;)

Design defect - definitely. Likewise, if you accidentally put gas into the oil filler and the motor takes a crap, then that also is clearly a design defect. How could they not protect you from yourself?

Seriously though, that IS unfortunate, and I'm sure it's not hugely difficult to do. I'm glad they got you sorted out so you can at least drive the car, now. I just happen to disagree about it being a design flaw. If it proves to be a common occurence, then surely they'll want to make an adjustment to help out the cutsomers. For now, though, I'd have to say it is a freak occurrence.

I was riding with my Mom in the backseat (she loves getting in and out of there) when I discovered another seatbelt issue. When you are riding with someone in the backseat, don't open your front door without unbuckling your seatbelt first. Your seatbelt is attached to the back door, which, when opened quickly really does 'take your breath away'.

Reminds me of the Apollo 13 CO cartridge filters not being the same in both the command module and the lunar module.

"Tell me this isn't a government operation..."

Awesome and frightening. But the best thing about this story is that you can still say "but I think everyone must agree... funny story." I'm glad it didn't leave you a hollow, bitter shell. ;-)

Originally posted by RedJade
I was riding with my Mom in the backseat (she loves getting in and out of there) when I discovered another seatbelt issue. When you are riding with someone in the backseat, don't open your front door without unbuckling your seatbelt first. Your seatbelt is attached to the back door, which, when opened quickly really does 'take your breath away'.

question when did u get the car?

W/o the center pillar my first thought was where does the seltbelt attach front or back door? this was answered when i first saw the car at the dealer.

maybe since ive always had 2 dr i am use to wierd seat belt placements. My grandam had it connected tot he front door, which wierd cuz the seat belt would lock if u tried to throw the door open quickly.

Megareds, i was laughing soo hard at work while reading ur story. glad things are getting fixed at a nominal price.

Originally posted by rx8ntexas
DO NOT feel bad....I ALMOST did the same thing when I first put my 6 year old in the backseat for the first time....she also grabbed the front seat belt and was trying to latch it but wasn't strong enough to do so and after a couple of min. I realized what she was trying to do......the way the front belt is sticking out there when the door is open one would think that it is the one to use when your in the backseat....seems you got more than a hug from your new 8, (like in the commercial) it didn't wanna let you go! :D

My sales rep almost did the same thing too in my first test drive. He let my father sit in the passenger's seat and he sat in the back. It was pretty funny considering he should know the "in's and out's" of this car

Originally posted by MEGAREDS
After ten minutes of struggling, I ask my son, "Can you go and tell mommy I'm trapped in the RX-8?"
This is very freaky, sitting in my driveway with all the doors open, the motor running, all alone and trapped inside the car. By the way, it's very cold with the wind whipping across me. I can't hear what my son says at the front door to my wife, but I heard her say, "He's What?!?!"


LMFAO :D
That's too funny. Thank you for the entertainment. I can just picture it.:D

I read this laughing but also thanking my lucky stars. Last week, I had to give a ride to 3 people from work. Both the persons who got in the back grabbed the front seat belts and started to try to buckle themselves in before I stopped them.

Dodged a bullet there!!!!

Originally posted by druck
It sounds like they designed the buckles in the front and back to be slightly different sizes to prevent this happening, but obviously they aren't different enough.

If this does get fixed at some point in the future you could have a claim. Although for 85 bucks its not worth it, the embarasshment costs more!

Cheers
---Dave

For general knowledge, how can you claim about something that later on you find out it got fixed on later models?

Your story had me laughing! Just last week I decided to give our new baby a ride in "Zoomie". I've got one of those new car seats that allow you to attach a plastic base in the seat and then simply click the larger car seat in and out without having to mess with the seat belt. Anyway, I knew I had to put in in the back seat so I opened both doors and tried to use the latch system...gave up and tried the seat beat which was "right there" by my hand. You guessed it, it was the front seatbeat! I felt kinda lame when after about 5 minutes I looked at the upper back seat and saw the correct belt staring me in the face. :)
Doh!!!

DeBug

Here's the dealer's invoice information for the repair that was completed today, in case anyone has the same problem:

Part No. F151-57-720, Belt A RE, $34.88
Total Labor $50.00
Tax $ 2.27
TOTAL $87.15

I forgot to ask how the plastic buckle housing was removed. It doesn't look like the seat was removed.

A friend of mine had a similar crisis. They'd arrived at a restaurant and he desperately had to use the bathroom. Then he discovers he's trapped by his seatbelt that won't unlatch. After a titanic struggle he manages to get out of the car without spoiling the seat! It turns out his toddler had developed a habit of taking coins from the coin holder and slipping them into the buckle :D

Thanks for the funny story and I'm glad you got it worked out. This was so good I had to share it with the Miata community.

Kirk

Excellent story. Thanks.

I have two comments that I haven't seen anyone mention...

- Getting trapped by your seatbelt can be comical when Mrs Prius is tickling you, but seatbelt cutters can be a life saver in certain extreme situations. I keep a multitool within arms reach (near my fire extinguisher). No need to share graphic horror stories on this (and I'm not talking just Pintos here).

- Replacing seat buckles can be easy to do yourself. The RX-8 backseat pops out very easily. A sympathetic dealership might have given pointers on how to do it yourself as an alternative to the $50 labor hit.

I keep a multitool within arms reach (near my fire extinguisher).

Ok, I never touch my fire extinguisher since I bought it in '86. I post about it to this forum, and then the very next day...

One hot rotary.

Between this mess and the buyback, I've gone from two rotary sports cars to none in the span of two days.

Here's perhaps the most frustrating part of the "rotary flambe"...

I had taken my RX-7 into this Mazda dealership to have it checked out because I smelled a gas leak. They charge me $35 in labor to tell me that the fuel hose feeding the injectors is cracked. I'm thinking that this is a simple fix. They tell me that as a matter of policy, they REFUSE to fix old cars like mine.

A Mazda dealership refusing to fix a Mazda?!

...and this is the same dealership that had charged me >$12,000 to fix the engine on my RX-8 that had sucked water into the intake. I politely remind them of this not-so-insignificant fact. They still refuse to replace the fuel hose.

I plan to pay the owner a visit.

I had felt burned with the RX-8 five-figure non-warranty repair job. I had felt burned a second time with their refusal to help me with what should have been a minor repair job on my RX-7.

Now I have pictures about being burned.

Ironic to see these words on the repair (make that non-repair) slip they gave me:

"...THANK YOU FOR USING OUR SERVICES..."

Geez, I'm sorry man. That looks more like a rotisserie than a rotary! :(

Rotisserie? Ha! If the smell wasn't so horrendous, I might have been tempted to get some marshmallows.

My insurance company is talking about totalling it out. No surprise there. I may ask to buy it back from them so that I can pluck the rotors out before it goes to the salvage yard. I've been wanting to have a rotor for a desk display for a long time. It will take a good bit of wrench bending to get them, though.


Eccles, if you had roadtripped to Houston for the Rev-It-Up, I'm sure that I met you. You and I both got Blue8s (with custom tags) and both did the buyback. I'd be interested to know if you are planning to get the exact same options second time around. That's the way I'm leaning, though I'm toying around with alternatives. I even took an automatic out for a spin yesterday.

My first 8 was a SPT-6spd-mp3. My second may be a SPT-6-3+NAV. I've got two dealerships offering me great deals, but I'm in no rush. If you wait until the 2005, that might be the smartest move.

My crystal ball is too hazy right now for me to hold out for that. I may be back in the saddle within a month. For the interim, I'm driving my mom's Saturn!

I'm hoping the best for your job situation. I preordered my 8 way back in January, two weeks after getting laid off. It turned out to be a much longer break than I expected. I was preparing to buy my new car on plastic!

Here's the ironic part...

I was able to feel more productive working solo for those months without a paycheck than I was working for "The Man". Now that I'm back in big business, I'm still working those solo projects on the side with huge market potential.

I hope everything's going well on your end, and whenever you're feeling those rotary withdrawl symptoms coming on strong, you can always run off to Roger Beasley and go out for a spin!

Yep, when I get back into an '8, it'll be exactly the same as the one I had to give up - MT Sport w/MP3 & spare. No joy on the job front yet, but at least the wife is back behind a desk and keeping the wolf from the door. I could get used to this househusband gig if the pay wasn't so crappy. :)

I saw that Roger Beasley has a Blue-MT-Sport. I've considered buying it since it's the closest one to Houston that I've found...

But I thought that it was curious that it's been sitting around since October, by my info:

"Date received 10-3-03"

One other issue is that it has fender strakes. I don't expect that these are difficult to take off, but I'm concerned about the marks left behind.

Also, there is this "AUSTIN ASSESSMENT" invoice charge of $232. I would hope that a Houston dealer could get this knocked off for a dealer trade.

I remebered seeing this thread a year ago and laughing about it wondering how it could ever happen. Well, damn if this didn't happen to me over the weekend. A friend and his wife came into town and as we were driving out into the west Chicago suburbs when I stopped at a gas station in the Loop. The wife got out for a second and when she came back she got back into the rear passenger side and put back on the seatbelt. I guess after struggling with it a bit, she clicked it into place only for me to discover that it was the front seatbelt. And the damn thing absolutely will not budge. I'm going to try and order the part and just do this one myself...More proof that Karma does exist.

After ten minutes of struggling, I ask my son, "Can you go and tell mommy I'm trapped in the RX-8?"

LOL, LOLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!! I can see it now…LOL…Asking your son to tell your wife to come save dad…

LOL!!!!!!!!!! I’m sorry…it is just so funny…LOL!!!!


This is very freaky, sitting in my driveway with all the doors open, the motor running, all alone and trapped inside the car.

No deep thoughts huh, LOL, just anger boiling…LOL!!!

By the way, it's very cold with the wind whipping across me. I can't hear what my son says at the front door to my wife, but I heard her say, "He's What?!?!"

LOL, how much did she laugh at you…”I told you to get the Toyota…” LOL…LOL!!!!”

I help my son go back in the house and I help get him ready for bed, then come out and get ready to go for a drive, only to discover that I have no belt -- then I realize what I did... I put the driver's belt in the rear-passenger's buckle.

OK OK…my sides hurt…LOL, I’m sorry…I laugh cause I care…LOL. Your son is 6 and he already has saved a life...LOL, GOD BLESS HIM!

Although for 85 bucks its not worth it, the embarasshment costs more!

Yes, but you have given us all a HUGE laugh…


Don’t feel too bad, I could see myself making mistakes like that…just too funny…but that’s the only way to respond to that because the other option is PURE RAGE!!! LOL…

Mazda RX8, $28,000
Gas to drive home, $20

Getting trapped in your car while your wife and son save you…and the look on your face and theirs…

PRICELESS!!!!!

LOL, thanks for making my day…I’m going to share this story with everyone…LOL, sorry again…

REMEMBER, we laugh with you…LOL!!!!!

The wife got out for a second and when she came back she got back into the rear passenger side and put back on the seatbelt

LOL, OK...OK...it's time for a label on that thing....

"FRONT!!!!! SEAT BELT ONLY!!!!!"

You might want to put it on the back connection also...LOL, sorry...sorry...

I'm implementing a new rule from now on, anyone in the backseat cannot put on his/her seatbelt until the front occupants have first done so...now I'm going to be paranoid about it every time.

Poor RED...poor poor RED...

Thanks for the story because I now know that I have to be careful about what happend to you. I know the fruit does not fall far from the RX8 Tree....

Yow ... Rotary Car-B-Que!

thats sorta silly i can see how they can make a mistake like that but..... if anyone has ever sat in the bakc of a sedan b4 knows the seatbelts are laying to your side not 1 1/2 feet infront of you srry but dumb things happen when you dont pay attention. lol i would have mad e this mistake eventually so thanks for the friendly reminder.

Hilarious! Sorry to hear you had to go through the trouble though...:)

There's an old axiom goes like this:

"Right after you build something that's idiot-proof, the world will build a better idiot."

Funny story, and thanks much. When I have rear passengers I'll now know to keep an eye on them as they belt in. I used to only worry about them shutting the front door first when they got out.... :rolleyes:

"Right after you build something that's idiot-proof, the world will build a better idiot."

This is one funny thread...LOL

I was riding with my Mom in the backseat (she loves getting in and out of there) when I discovered another seatbelt issue. When you are riding with someone in the backseat, don't open your front door without unbuckling your seatbelt first. Your seatbelt is attached to the back door, which, when opened quickly really does 'take your breath away'.
I keep forgetting when I drop off the kids. It can squish you pretty tight! My middle daughter is smart enough to remind to unbuckle before she gets out.

I just ordered the part, does anybody know, or have any ideas on how to remove the back seat cushion? I'm not sure if I"m going to have to, but I should get to it this weekend...

Nice to see this thread back from the dead... it was one of my first (obviously). At the time I wrote the original, I was sure I was going to be the first among many... guess there are just two of us :)

If there are so few of us, that should put us in the elite, correct? ;)

I was glad to read this thread in the last week. I had people in the back seat last night and I was panicked that they were going to use the wrong seat belts. I'm pretty sure they thought I was insane when I described which seat belts to use. Then I told them this story and they understood completely.

I am also glad I read this thread, I took a couple people to lunch yesterday and she almost did this. Thanks for the heads up!!!

Just did the same thing last weekend.

Taking my parents for a ride. My Mom tries the correct rear seat belt and it won't engage. She gets out and I try to "fix" it by trying it myself. It must have been her fault right?

I hastily kneel in the back seat and grab the front seat's belt. After a little work it engages.... and you know the rest of the story. It's stuck in there and I can't drive it without a front seat belt!

My wife and I try quite a few ways to get the buckle undone, but no cigar. We finally used a screw driver and snapped it off.

Like the other "victims", I'm feeling stupid, however....

The original reason this started was because the correct seat belt wouldn't engage. Now the other side is having the same problem. I'd feel a little more embarrassed if I wasn't so pissed that the primary safety devices for my kids have both failed within one week of each other. My wife tells me later that when she was driving, my daughter told her that her seat belt came open.

My kids have been very well trained from a young age to never mess with seat belts and that we don't do anywhere without being buckled. For example, just once did we pull away without someone buckled and they screamed and cried so bad I thought we were running someone over.

Bottom line - these were mechanical failures and not "user error."

I'd appreciate any thoughts before I go ballistic on the Mazda dealer. I didn't see any posts on similar problems.

This happened to ... a friend of mine, just yesterday, on a test drive with a 3-year-old in the back passenger seat. Sales person was so paranoid about liability with the installation of the car seat, he didn't even offer ... my friend any instruction whatsoever about how to install car seats in the RX-8, didn't even come outside of the dealership at all to offer advice about which seatbelt to use. It just so happens that ... this friend of mine has driven a Miata for the past 10 years and never ever thought that a seat belt attached to a rear door could be anything but a rear seatbelt. This poor guy, before realizing that there was a problem, drove his 3-year-old son home in the RX-8 to show ... his wife how this car is really a family car and NOT A SPORTS CAR AT ALL. Of course this is where the problem is discovered and ... they tried to get the car seat out of this FAMILY FRIENDLY SEDAN for quite some time. My friend is a really nice guy so he even offerred to pay the dealer for the repair if they wouldn't tell his wife what the problem was. :sad: ;)

BTW, I hear that the RX-8 handles really well for a family sedan that incorporates many new safety features such as a revolutionary pistonless engine, an extra large tachometer and an audible rev limiter to help discourage 9.5k rpm.

Wow, the thread is back from the dead! Thanks for reminding me about this -- it was a long time ago.

I'm curious if the newer 8s still have this problem. But not curious enough to test it out! :P

And I have to agree, such a poor design on Mazda's part.

I'm curious if the newer 8s still have this problem. But not curious enough to test it out! :P

And I have to agree, such a poor design on Mazda's part.

I doubt that anything has been changed. When I posted this, I was sure it was going to be a common problem, but time has proven me wrong.

I realize this is an old thread, but did you check your warranty book? Our Acura's seat belts are covered for "the useful life of the car." Plus did you ask them if indeed the front and rear latches are different? If not it may have been a warranty repair.

I doubt that anything has been changed. When I posted this, I was sure it was going to be a common problem, but time has proven me wrong.
It's not a common problem because of this thread! Duh! :)

I'm curious if the newer 8s still have this problem. But not curious enough to test it out! :P

And I have to agree, such a poor design on Mazda's (#) part.I'll have to ask my friend. ... Yep, it was still a problem on the 2005 he test drove. :hahano:

I realize this is an old thread, but did you check your warranty (#) book? Our Acura's (#) seat belts (#) are covered for "the useful life of the car." Plus did you ask them if indeed the front and rear latches are different? If not it may have been a warranty repair.The male part of the latches are slightly different. Not different enough to keep the front belt from latching to the rear seat, but different enough to keep them from unlatching. The dealer declined my friend's offer to pay for the repair, saying that Mazda would pay for it under warranty. But, of course, they didn't for Megareds, but he'd already bought the car.

I just had the same thing happen I put my 4 yr old in the back and strapped him in for a quick ride to the store and used the front seat belt in the back and now it is jammed. I just go the car 3 days ago brand new.

I was riding with my Mom in the backseat (she loves getting in and out of there) when I discovered another seatbelt issue. When you are riding with someone in the backseat, don't open your front door without unbuckling your seatbelt first. Your seatbelt is attached to the back door, which, when opened quickly really does 'take your breath away'.
I keep forgetting when I drop off the kids. It can squish you pretty tight! My middle daughter is smart enough to remind to unbuckle before she gets out.Just FYI for the rest of you - good habits will prevent this problem. My middle daughter typically rides behind me. When I "let her out" I unbuckle, open my door, get out and open her door for her. When parked on the street this means my wide-open front door acts as primary deterrent to the traffic and my rear-facing glare acts as secondary deterrent. By facing back towards the rear of the car I can see the traffic and let her know when it is clear to get out.

I always marvel at how small the rear door is compare to the front. She can scoot around the rear door without stepping as far into the street as the front door and I stand. However, that rear door is also small enough to simply shut (again, without forcing anyone into traffic) before she scoots to the trunk to get her dance bag.

No Lethal Weapon 2 scene here.

My oldest daughter is the one who is leery of the front-seatbelt-choke. I have accidentally caught her by trying to open the front passenger door while she is buckled.
:eek:

Back on the original topic - most of my first-time, rear-seat passengers go for the front seatbelt too (because they see it!) so I'm well accustomed to holding the rear door away from them, pointing at it and saying, "that's mine, yours is there," and pointing to their seatbelt (behind their shoulder where a seatbelt should be!).

Mazda's poor design strikes again. My 9 year old and his friend were is my back seat and his friend stick the front seat belt into the rear....stuck. Has anyone had any success with freeing this with out going to the dealer. I can't believe they would be so stupid as to design this thing like this. What is the point???? Make the front and the back the same or very different so they can't fit into each other this is not rocket science.

Well at least I get to enjoy some of Mazda's world renowned service at the dealer. :crying:

I hate Mazda!!!!!

don't feel bad. this happened to me over the weekend as well. someone suggested using a butter knife to free it but i couldn't figure it out. all i got for it was a few cuts and bruises. finally i took it to the dealer who charged $40 for half an hour of labor. if you have a screwdriver that's all they're going to do to jam it in there and break it out. the new part is another $40 plus any additional labor (my guy wanted to charge $80 for installation).

i had a not so pleasant conversation with mazda about it and they did nothing. i asked for a supervisor who called me today and gave him my story. he said this was an outside influence and not a design flaw. his mistake was that in our conversation he slipped and said it was a design flaw but quickly said he never said that. how can you do that, i don't know.

what finally came of it was that i said it was crazy that one person on the net could be charged $85 for parts and labor for this while i was being charged $160. his finally solution was to meet me halfway and give me two $40 gift certificates that i could use at mazda to have it only cost me $80.

of course this came after my question to him about what it would take to get mazda to wake up and take care of their people. i posed the very hypothetical question of whether it would have to hit their own pocketbooks instead of ours. i mean, what would happen if suddenly across the country people were test driving 8s and 'oops' there goes another seatbelt into the backseat. it would quickly add up to have to break all of those and replace. of course this was all very hypothetical but he offered the gift certificates as a gesture of goodwill. gee, how nice of him.

if you don't get anywhere with them i still have his extension at mazda and you can make sure you let him know i sent you. i'm sure that will just make his day.

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=99767&page=2&pp=15

That's not a bad idea, maybe every time I'm at a Mazda dealer I should check if they have fixed the seat belt problem by plugging them in on the floor demo. May be the only way to get Mazda to do anything about it. God knows they wont do it to better service their customer base.

That's not a bad idea, maybe every time I'm at a Mazda dealer I should check if they have fixed the seat belt problem by plugging them in on the floor demo. May be the only way to get Mazda to do anything about it. God knows they wont do it to better service their customer base.
Thats cruel! The perfect revenge for a dealer that has given you horrible service. haha

as i said this was a hypothetical question and would never condone such behavior :naughty: but it is food for thought, isn't it?

wasn't there a day when customer service actually serviced the customer? why would it take such a drastic suggestion for them to wake up and 'help' their customer base? i suppose this isn't the right thread for that question as it has been asked before but the above is just funny food for thought.

This happened to me as well the first time my daughter sat in the back. I was lucky and quickly realized what happened.

Anthony

Mazda's poor design strikes again.Sorry this happened to you, too, and yeah, the console cover could be designed better and it's hard to reach the dipstick and the spare tire blocks the trunk light, but jeez… saying "Mazda's poor design strikes again" strikes me as somewhat unfair—and very misleading. Your statement makes it sound like Mazda has a reputation for poor design. If anything, Mazda is associated with good design, as reflected in their engineering, product lineup and history.

Don't get me wrong—people here make a good argument for redesigning the seat belt latch. Fair enough. But gimme a break… Mazda designs a bona fide sports car with "freestyle doors," no B-pillar, that seats four adults (and oh yeah, is powered by a rotary engine) and you come out with… "Mazda's poor design strikes again"?!?!!! Sheesh—I feel like I'm watching Fox News.

Pathetic.

as i said this was a hypothetical question and would never condone such behavior :naughty: but it is food for thought, isn't it?

wasn't there a day when customer service actually serviced the customer? why would it take such a drastic suggestion for them to wake up and 'help' their customer base? i suppose this isn't the right thread for that question as it has been asked before but the above is just funny food for thought.

I believe it is this type of poor support which earned Mazda the dubious honor of being the 3rd worst car company in regards to servicing their customers according to JD Power, of all manufacturers.

I think I am going to tackle this myself. I found out how to remove the seat and unbolt the seat belt. I'm hoping once I have this free I can unstuck it. More as it develops.

PS Don't forget lets keep testing those new RX-8s at the dealers.

Sorry this happened to you, too, and yeah, the console cover could be designed better and it's hard to reach the dipstick and the spare tire blocks the trunk light, but jeez… saying "Mazda's poor design strikes again" strikes me as somewhat unfair—and very misleading. Your statement makes it sound like Mazda has a reputation for poor design. If anything, Mazda is associated with good design, as reflected in their engineering, product lineup and history.

Don't get me wrong—people here make a good argument for redesigning the seat belt latch. Fair enough. But gimme a break… Mazda designs a bona fide sports car with "freestyle doors," no B-pillar, that seats four adults (and oh yeah, is powered by a rotary engine) and you come out with… "Mazda's poor design strikes again"?!?!!! Sheesh—I feel like I'm watching Fox News.

Pathetic.

Agreed that was a little harsh, their design is usually pretty good it is the support after words and the inability to fix what is wrong that has me going. It just spills over into areas they are actually good at some times.

Sorry this happened to you, too, and yeah, the console cover could be designed better and it's hard to reach the dipstick and the spare tire blocks the trunk light, but jeez… saying "Mazda's poor design strikes again" strikes me as somewhat unfair—and very misleading. Your statement makes it sound like Mazda has a reputation for poor design. If anything, Mazda is associated with good design, as reflected in their engineering, product lineup and history.

Don't get me wrong—people here make a good argument for redesigning the seat belt latch. Fair enough. But gimme a break… Mazda designs a bona fide sports car with "freestyle doors," no B-pillar, that seats four adults (and oh yeah, is powered by a rotary engine) and you come out with… "Mazda's poor design strikes again"?!?!!! Sheesh—I feel like I'm watching Fox News.

Pathetic.
this is more of a case of poor design, and very bad customer service. you've designed a car that has a seatbelt at your left when the door closes, and that seatbelt fits into a seatbelt clip but doesn't release. that = poor design. the fact that they don't acknowledge there is a mistake and help their owners out, that is poor customer service. that and the fact that they don't do anything to correct a known issue in current/future production is just bad management of an issue.

i know, it would be more expensive to halt/change production at this point and change all belts b/c of a few of us that have had the problem but then that goes back to the customer service issue. either fix the issue so it doesn't happen or since you know there's an issue, help your people; don't try to make them out to be some sort of dopes.

Agreed. They should redesign the rear latch. And agreed… that's poor customer service. I just take exception to the blanket statement "Mazda's poor design strikes again". "Mazda's poor customer service strikes again" or "Mazda keeps missing the little things" would've been more accurate—and less misleading—IMHO. But you're absolutely right—they should fix that little problem, no matter how unlikely it is to occur.

I think they based the price of fixing it on your mileage. Seriously though, that is a very funny story..."Go tell mommy I am stuck in the RX-8. rofl.

The problem exists, it was very stupid to design it like this and it serves no point. If you don't want people plugging the front belt into the rear you design it so it dose not fit not to become stuck.

So your Mazda and it was a design flaw what do you do. Redesign for the next model year is a good start, they've dropped the ball two years in a row on that one.

Existing cars have this issue do you recall. To expensive and most users will probably never experience this. Mazda actions are acceptable here.

If an existing car gets stuck you fit it for free knowing you incorrectly designed it in the 1st place, just like any good car manufacture would do. Not Mazda, sorry that would be treating your customers as if they had value. Mazda's view is get the cash and run. Once you have their car they are pretty much done with you, this also explains why Mazda has such poor customer loyalty.

Once again MAZDA STAND BEHIND YOUR CARS AND CORRECT YOUR MISTAKES DON"T MAKE IT THE OWNERS PROBLEM.

The problem exists, it was very stupid to design it like this and it serves no point. If you don't want people plugging the front belt into the rear you design it so it dose not fit not to become stuck.

So your Mazda and it was a design flaw what do you do. Redesign for the next model year is a good start, they've dropped the ball two years in a row on that one.

Existing cars have this issue do you recall. To expensive and most users will probably never experience this. Mazda actions are acceptable here.

If an existing car gets stuck you fit it for free knowing you incorrectly designed it in the 1st place, just like any good car manufacture would do. Not Mazda, sorry that would be treating your customers as if they had value. Mazda's view is get the cash and run. Once you have their car they are pretty much done with you, this also explains why Mazda has such poor customer loyalty.

Once again MAZDA STAND BEHIND YOUR CARS AND CORRECT YOUR MISTAKES DON"T MAKE IT THE OWNERS PROBLEM.
I totally feel this way. Mazda should make running improvements/changes to the car like the seatbelts, visors, etc.

To me it directly says that Mazda doesn't give a lot of money in its budget to the RX-8 team.

Here is the latest and it just keeps getting better by the moment.

I tried to unstick the seat belt myself and just couldn't do it, stupid design on Mazda's behalf. So I figure I'll just bring it to the dealer and argue design flaw and see what happens. I bring the car in for that and other service work it needs. Later that day the service guy calls me and tells me I'll looking at $450 for the repair. I ask him to explain this and he informs me they plan to order a whole new front seat belt and rear assemblably....Time out. I explain to him that this is not a new occurrence for the RX-8 any many other have suffered from this design flaw. I explain to him that the general approach is to break the plastic cover of the rear seat belt receptacle and then free the stuck belt, as other have reported their dealers doing. He tells me they will look at it.

The next day I get a call and it is the service manager informing me that he will not break the rear seat belt receptor and that I will have to do it and then request the parts I need. I'm listing to this and just holding my head in my free hand.

Once I do this they will replace the parts and bill me for the work, naturally they said they don't have the authority to cover this repair and it would have to be kicked up to the regional service manger who won't be out for a few weeks.

Well this is going so well I figure lets call Mazda North American and see if they can show me some of that great customer support they claim they want to deliver. Well to make a long story short after about 1/2 an hour they tell me sorry it was damage inflected to the car. I asked how I damage it and they said by forcing the front seat belt into the rear receptor. I pointed out that the forcing they are taking about was administered by a 9 year old boy. Quite for a few seconds "sorry it is your issue have a nice day."

So it's looking like Mazda's commitment to improving service is just so much lip service. I'll be buying the part myself and installing it. Thanks for the help Mazda you guys are the best :puke:

Zoom - Zoom - Doomed!

raptor--

sounds oddly familiar to the experience i had. if you want the number to that rep that helped me out i can PM you with it. i was just about to toss it out but have it on my still. let me know.

Raptor75, you don't go to Lake Shore Mazda, do you? I've used Mazda dealers in IL, NJ, NY, CT and NH, and Lake Shore was positively the worst for service.

Raptor75, you don't go to Lake Shore Mazda, do you? I've used Mazda dealers in IL, NJ, NY, CT and NH, and Lake Shore was positively the worst for service.
i guess you didn't use mazda of milford did you? i'm sure they could rival any.

Raptor75, you don't go to Lake Shore Mazda, do you? I've used Mazda dealers in IL, NJ, NY, CT and NH, and Lake Shore was positively the worst for service.

No I haven't, I originally used Autobarn in Evanston and they were terrible. I'm at Muller in Highland park right now. They are nice enough but have not solved some out standing problems which include Stuck Seat belt, 12mpg mileage problem and high oil consumption (a quart every 500 to 700miles) They are presently monitoring the oil situation so we will see.

No I haven't, I originally used Autobarn in Evanston and they were terrible. I'm at Muller in Highland park right now. They are nice enough but have not solved some out standing problems which include Stuck Seat belt, 12mpg mileage problem and high oil consumption (a quart every 500 to 700miles) They are presently monitoring the oil situation so we will see.
sorry, meant for raptor since he had lived in CT. actually, i used to live in chicago as well but didn't have the 8 out there so i'm not any help for finding a good mazda dealer.

My mechanic, who apologetically charged me about $85-$100 to unstick my belt the same week that the car was delivered to me, is "Frank" at Liberty Auto City in Libertyville, IL, on Rte. 176 about 1 mile west of Rte. 94 -- 35 miles north of the Loop.

Over the past couple years I've come to believe that the import mechanics at Liberty Auto City do a good job, and won't charge you $450 for something that should take less than an hour of time. They've also done this precise repair before, so you might consider them if the buckle is still stuck, even if you have to drive a way to get there.

As for Mazda's attitude, I'm surprised. Add me to the "class" if you ever decide to go that way. I'm sure there is a bunch of us by now.

Well I just got the car back with noting being done to the stuck buckle, the official company line was they wouldn't break a safety feature. Like it was working so well with the front buckle stuck in it.

Well I bought the replacement back buckle only $24, I have to get under the car to remove one bolt to replace the buckle. The 1st thing I did was break off the plastic housing on the rear buckle and now can see how the damn think works. I will be posting a DIY on how to open the buckle and fix it with out ruining the rear buckle. At least I can save others from the same fate that Mazda's poor design and service inflected on me and other in this post.

Zoom-Zoom-Doomed

One of the things they did in fixing my buckle was to remove the rear seat, which is apparently easy if you know what to do. Keep that in mind when you are trying to figure it all out... and good luck.

One of the things they did in fixing my buckle was to remove the rear seat, which is apparently easy if you know what to do. Keep that in mind when you are trying to figure it all out... and good luck.

Already have that done, you just grab the front of the cushion and pull straight up. Two small clips hold it down. You then need to slip the seat from under the belt which is stuck. At this point you have good access to the buckle. Again I'll lay the whole thing out with picture in a DIY.

Already have that done, you just grab the front of the cushion and pull straight up. Two small clips hold it down. You then need to slip the seat from under the belt which is stuck. At this point you have good access to the buckle. Again I'll lay the whole thing out with picture in a DIY.
how's this install going for you?

Just getting to it to day, I had a project come up that consumed my free time this week. It is very simple job pull the seat out and one bolt to undo, unfortunately this bolt is in pretty tight. I was going to remove it with my socket wrench but they are 12 pt. sockets and started to strip the bolt. We have a Impact driver at the office so I'll use that to remove the bolt to be safe. I'll up date this weekend.

Thanks Raptor75. Keep us updated.

Just finished the job and it took me all of 5 minutes. Pull the seat, use the impact wrench to undo the buckle receptacle from the floor. Bolt down the new buckle Receptacle($24) and put the seat back. I'll DIY this weekend with details.

Mazda wanted $450 to replace the receptacle and the belt.

Zoom-Zoom-Screwed

DYI posted, hope it helps.

This made me chuckle.

Thanks for the DIY Raptor. For all the new owners, the preventative DIY is, "Tell you first-time back-seat passengers, 'Don't do that!' "

Check, I just secured my son's car seat with the front seat belt. Just like it happened to you, I could not take it out. I think I must have fractured my thumbs trying to muscle it out. New seat belts are $23, and come with everything.

holy bump

WooOoOoO Posting in a zombie threadddd! :mchase:

Since someone already necro'd it...

I looked at mine today, the back latch is quite a bit longer than the front latch so they never even fixed that in the s2's. I still don't know how this could happen though.