The defect
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."
The 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.
The 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.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
Components: SEAT BELTS
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freightliner 108SD | 2014 | 0 | 7 |
| Freightliner 114SD | 2015 | 0 | 15 |
| Freightliner 122SD | 2014 | 0 | 5 |
| Freightliner Argosy | 2014 | 0 | 3 |
| Freightliner Cascadia | 2014 | 12 | 21 |
| Freightliner Columbia | 2014 | 0 | 5 |
| Freightliner Coronado | 2014 | 0 | 8 |
| Freightliner M2 | 2014 | 1 | 11 |
| Western Star 4700 | 2014 | 0 | 9 |
| Western Star 4900 | 2014 | 3 | 11 |
Other seat belts recalls in 2014
35 of the 770 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2014 concerned the seat belts; Daimler Trucks North America LLC filed 213 campaigns in all.
| 14V818000 24 Dec 2014 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 14V744000 21 Nov 2014 | Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. |
| 14V649000 17 Oct 2014 | Ford Motor Company |
| 14V643000 14 Oct 2014 | Chrysler Group LLC |
| 14V639000 10 Oct 2014 | Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) |
| 14V597000 26 Sept 2014 | Ford Motor Company |
| 14V553000 11 Sept 2014 | Mack Trucks, Inc. |
| 14V488000 8 Aug 2014 | General Motors LLC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2014