Technical bulletins

Vehicle inspection requirements manual references

This bulletin only applies to vehicles that are required to comply with a frontal impact standard. It gives guidance to vehicle inspectors in applying the following requirements:

• Vehicle interior – 7-5 Seatbelts and seatbelt anchorages: Reasons for rejection 2 and 5.

Application

This document applies to all frontal impact compliant vehicles that are required to have replacement seatbelts fitted as part of entry-level certification in New Zealand.

Inspection

General safety requirements state that seatbelts fitted to a vehicle must comply with requirements relating to condition, performance or modification as set out in the VIRM: In-service certification, section 7-5. If a seatbelt does not meet these conditions, it must be replaced. The replacement part must contain at least all of the features present in the original seatbelt, unless confirmation that fitment of a seatbelt without a certain feature would not affect the safety performance of the vehicle is available from the vehicle manufacturer.

If a vehicle is presented for entry certification, it can have an original equipment (OE) (or equivalent) seatbelt fitted as a replacement. This means that the only time a webbing clamp seatbelt would need to be fitted is if the failed OE seatbelt was a webbing clamp seatbelt.

Replacement seatbelts do not necessarily have to come from the vehicle manufacturer. If a seatbelt manufacturer can confirm that a particular seatbelt is suitable as replacement for a particular vehicle model (and the seatbelt complies with an approved standard), this seatbelt would also be acceptable.