REAR SEAT LAP/SHOULDER BELT KITS/PASS. CARS & LIGHT TRUCKS
Model and Year 1977-88 PASSENGER CARS AND LIGHT DUTY TRUCKS
To ensure that Chevrolet Dealer Service Management and employes are aware of the availability of GM Dealer-Installed Rear Seat Lap/Shoulder Belt Kits, we are providing a copy of General Motors' Service Parts Operations Dealer Bulletin No. 88-68.
This information is being provided to assist you in addressing customer comments regarding the availability of dealer installed rear-seat lap/shoulder belt kits in Chevrolet model vehicles.
Parts & Accessories Information Bulletin
SUBJECT: GM Dealer-Installed Rear Set DATE: May 20, 1988 Lap/Shoulder Belt Kits
TO: All GM Dealers
General Motors made a commitment in 1986 to become the first American automaker to provide rear seat lap/shoulder belts as standard equipment in domestic automobiles. At the same time, GM Parts released newly designed, dealer-installed rear seat lap/shoulder belt kits for most current and past model vehicles. With seat belt use required now in most states, public acceptance of all kinds of occupant restraints is increasing.
What's Available: GM Parts distributes more than 90 different kits designed to equip 20 different body styles and over 50 models of GM cars, trucks and vans-some as far back as model year 1976. Older models can be retrofitted with black belts, while owners of some late model vehicles have a choice of as many as eleven colors. A complete list of kits and part numbers is attached for your convenience.
What's Not Available: Although parts availability is excellent for passenger cars kits, delivery for some vans and trucks may be delayed. Kits are not released for GM passenger cars imported from Japan. Kits also are not offered for the 1978-88 Oldsmobile Cutlass, Buick Regal, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, or Pontiac Grand Prix, because GM safety engineers have concluded that in these cars, a rear seat lap/shoulder belt combination would not enhance the safety offered to rear seat occupants by the lap belt alone.
What's In A Kit: Most kits include right and left outboard lap/shoulder belts, and some kits also include a belt for the middle seating position for color coordination. All kits include installation hardware, instructions and buckles.
How to Order: For your convenience, the kits are listed in the Accessories Group (21.040) of the Parts & Illustration Catalog. Kits also are listed as "Dealer Installed Accessories" in the GM Parts Accessories Catalog.
Thank you for your cooperation.
D. P. Robison Director of Administration
DEALER-INSTALLED REAR SEAT LAP/SHOULDER BELT KITS
PASSENGER CARS
Model Years Colors Part Number Notes ----- ----- ------ ----------- ----- A 82-86 Black 999852 87 Dk Blue 999650 Type 8 Buckle 87 Lt Saddle 999651 Type 8 Buckle 87 Dk Claret 999652 Type 8 Buckle 87 Black 999567 Type 6 Buckle 87 Dk Blue 999568 Type 6 Buckle 87 Med Sage 999569 Type 6 Buckle 87 Lt Saddle 999570 Type 6 Buckle 87-88 Dk Claret 999571 Type 6 Buckle 87-88 Med Dk Gray 999572 Type 6 Buckle 87-88 Med Dk Gray 999653 Type 8 Buckle 88 Med Beechwood 12340239 Type 8 Buckle 88 Vry Dk Sapphire 12340237 Type 6 Buckle 88 Med Beechwood 12340238 Type 6 Buckle
X 80-85 Black 999852
B 77-86 Black 999857 87 Dk Blue 999708 87 Med Sage 999709 87 Lt Saddle 999710 87-88 Dk Claret 999711 87-88 Med Dk Gray 999712 88 Dk Sapphire 12340240 88 Med Beechwood 12340241
C(RWD) 77-83 Black 999857
D 77-86 Black 999857 87 White 999713 87 Black 999714 87 Lt Gray Pearl 999715 87 Dk Blue 999716 87 Lt Saddle 999717 87 Dk Carmine 999718 87 Dk Claret 999719
C(FWD) 85-8 Black 999855 87 Med Emerald 999696 87 Lt Driftwood 999697 87 Lt Pearl Gray 12340185 87 Med Amethyst 12340187 87-8 Vry Dk Sapphire 999695 87-8 Garnet Red 999698 87-8 Med Dk Gray 999699 87-8 White 12340184 87-8 Lt Yellow 12340186 88 Med Antelope 12340188 88 Dk Rosewood 12340189
Model Years Colors Part Number Notes ----- ----- ------ ---------- ----- H 86 Black 999855 87 Same as 87 C(FWD)
E 79-85 Black 999858 86 Black 999856 87 White 999656 87 Black 999657 87 Lt Pearl Gray 999658 87 Vry Dk Sapphire 999659 87 Med Emerald 999660 87 Lt Yellow 999661 87 Lt Driftwood 999662 87 Dk Rosewood 999663 87 Garnet Red 999664 87 Med Dk Gray 999665 87 Med Amethyst 999666
K 80-85 Black 999859 86 Black 999856 87 Same as 87E
F 78-81 Black 999733 82-86 Black 999854 87 Lt Saddle 999667 87-88 Med Dk Gray 999668 87-88 Black 999669 87-88 Dk Carmine 999670 88 Med Beechwood 12340213
H 78-80 Black 999732
I 82-86 Black 999861 87 Lt Saddle 999724 87 Dk Rosewood 999725 87-88 Black 999722 87-88 Vry Dk Sapphire 999723 87-88 Med Dk Gray 999726 88 Med Beechwood 12340262 88 Dk Carmine 12340263 88 Lt Yellow 12340264
N 85-86 Black 999860 87 Dk Copper 999728 87 Dk Rosewood 999729 87-88 Vry Dk Sapphire 999727 87-88 Garnet Red 999730 87-88 Med Dk Gray 999731 88 Med Beechwood 12340265
L 87 Vry Dk Sapphire 999897 87 Lt Driftwood 999898 87 Garnet Red 999899 87 Med Dk Gray 999900
Model Years Colors Part Number Notes ----- ----- ------ ----------- -----
T 76-87 Black 999853
W 88 Vry Dk Sapphire 12340271 W/Rear Bench Seat 88 Med Beechwood 12340272 W/Rear Bench Seat 88 Garnet Red 12340273 W/Rear Bench Seat 88 Med Dk Gray 12340274 W/Rear Bench Seat 88 Med Beechwd/Dk 12340275 W/Rear Bench Seat Sienna 88 Vry Dk Sapphire 12340266 W/Rear Bucket Seats 88 Med Beechwood 12340267 W/Rear Bucket Seats 88 Garnet Red 12340268 W/Rear Bucket Seats 88 Med Dk Gray 12340269 W/Rear Bucket Seats 88 Med Beechwd/Dk 12340270 W/Rear Bucket Seats Sienna
TRUCKS
Model Years Colors Part Number Notes ----- ----- ------ ----------- ----- CK-06,16 79-86 Black 996378 Rear Seat CK-06 82-86 Black 997449 Center Seat
RV-06,16 87-88 Black 996378 Rear Seat RV-06 87-88 Black 997449 Center Seat
ST-16 83-88 Black 997922
M 85-86 Black 998555 Center Seat Bench 85-88 Black 998556 Center Seat Bucket 85-86 Black 998682 Rear Seat Bench 87-88 Black 999720 Center Seat Bench 87-88 Black 999721 Rear Seat Bench
G 84-87 Black 998537 1st, 2nd, 3rd Seats, LH only 84-87 Black 998900 3rd Seat, RH only
INFORMATION ABOUT DEALER-INSTALLED REAR-SEAT LAP/SHOULDER BELT KITS
The following information may be useful in responding to inquiries from customers about rear-seat lab/shoulder belts. Any media inquiries on this subject should be referred to Jane Mott, GM Public Relations, (313)986-5717.
Rear-seat shoulder belts have been available as either factory-instaUed options or dealer accessories since the late 1960s. At that time, studies showed that more people would wear lap belts than lap/shoulder belts, and so GM made both systems available to accommodate the different needs of our customers. New information on the effectiveness of rear-seat lap/shoulder belts, increased consumer acceptance of safety belts, and increased use of safety belts in rear seats (especially in states with mandatory seat belt laws) have led GM to make rear-seat lap/shoulder belts standard equipment.
Q. How long has GM offered rear-seat lap/shoulder belts as standard equipment?
A. GM began to include rear-seat lap/shoulder safety belts as standard equipment on selected 1987 models. Rear-seat lap/shouder belts will be standard on all domestically produced GM cars by the start of the 1989 model year. We are phasing them in on domestic trucks and vans as soon as technology permits.
Q. Which current models have rear-seat lap/shoulder belts as standard equipment?
A. Buick LeSabre and Rivera; Cadillac Eldorado, Fleetwood Brougham, and Seville; Chevrolet Corsica, Beretta, Nova, Suburban (second seat), full-size van and full-size pickup; Oldsmobile Delta 88 and Toronado; Pontiac Bonneville and LeMans; GMC Sierra and full-size van.
Q. What about models that don't come equipped with rear-seat lap/shoulder belts?
A. GM dealers offer more than 90 different retrofit kits for 20 different body styles and over 50 models of GM cars, trucks and vans, some as far back as model year 1976. Owners of most late model vehicles may have a choice of as many as eleven colors, but older models can only be retrofitted with black belts.
The Chevrolet Sprint and Spectrum, which are imported from Japan, do not have dealer-installed kits available. Also, there are no dealer-installed kits available or planned for the 1978-87 G-cars (Oldsmobile Cutlass, Buick Regal, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Pontiac Grand Prix).
Q. Why don't you sell dealer-installed kits for the G-cars?
A. Our engineers concluded that for rear seat occupants in these vehicles the benefit from a lap/shoulder belt would not be greater than that of the lap belt alone.
Q. What has GM done to inform dealers about the kits?
A. GM advised dealers about the new seat belt kits when they first became available in 1986, advertised the kits in the GM Parts Accessory Collection Catalog, and sent an information bulletin to all GM dealers in May 1988 (IB 88-68, copy attached) to further familiarize them with availability and ordering procedures for the belts.
Q. Where are the kits listed in the parts catalog?
A. If a vehicle was not originally equipped with rear-seat lap/shoulder belts, the part number of its retrofit kit will appear in the accessories section of the parts book, in Group 21.040. For such vehicles, the belts described as "service belts" in Group 14.875 are only lap belts, designed to replace the belts that originally came on the vehicle. (If the vehicle had rear-seat lap/shoulder belts as original equipment, then there is no dealer-installed kit, because the regular service belts that appear in Group 14.875 of the parts catalog are lap/shoulder belts.) For convenience, the dealer-installed kits also are advertised and listed in the GM Parts Accessory Collection catalog, in the section called "Dealer Installed Accessories."
Q. What does a kit include?
A. Most kits include a right and left outboard lap/shoulder belt, and some include an additional belt for the middle seating position for color coordination. All kits include buckles, installation instructions and attachment hardware.
Q. How much does a dealer-installed kit cost?
A. The prices varies between $70 and $99, depending on the model, plus installation.
Q. How much does installation cost?
A. The dealer determines the installation cost, and it varies by dealer, model, and area of the country. GM estimates that installation of a kit would take from 1-1/2 to 3 hours. The average labor rate, nationally, is between $30-40 per hour.
Q. What is GM's response to recently-televised claims by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) about the potential danger of lap-only belts?
A. The studies NTSB cites from the 1950s involved front seats and were not relevant to this issue. The NTSB's own, more recent study focused on a few exceptional cases, and by the Board's own admission was not statistically significant. Moreover, the NTSB's report was limited to frontal collisions, so the benefits of lap belts in other kinds of accidents were not analyzed.
No restraint system can guarantee immunity from injury. In very severe crashes, injury can occur from whatever stops the occupant, including any type of restraint. On the other hand, it has been shown that when properly worn, seat belts--including lap belts--improve overall occupant survival and injury rates. We continue to recommend that passengers wear their seat belts.
General Motors bulletins are intended for use by professional technicians, not a "do-it-yourselfer". They are written to inform those technicians of conditions that may occur on some vehicles, or to provide information that could assist in the proper service of a vehicle. Properly trained technicians have the equipment, tools, safety instructions and know-how to do a job properly and safely. If a condition is described, do not assume that the bulletin applies to your vehicle, or that your vehicle will have that condition. See a General Motors dealer servicing your brand of General Motors vehicle for information on whether your vehicle may benefit from the information.
