
Volkswagen fixes seat belt flaw with zip ties that snap apart when braking - velmu
https://metropolitan.fi/entry/volkswagen-fixes-seat-belt-flaw-with-zip-ties-that-snap-apart-when-breaking
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TheSpiceIsLife
How is this even possible?

 _It ties together the two rear seat belt buckles to prevent them being
squeezed together and leading the bottom one to be unbuckled by itself while
driving._

It should be obvious to anyone who dabbles in physics that the seat belt
buckles should be fixed to the vehicle in a way that makes this impossible to
happen.

The pictures in the reference linked to Tekniikan Maailma[1] show the obvious
absurdity of the design.

1\. [https://tekniikanmaailma.fi/tm-testasi-uudelleen-
volkswagen-...](https://tekniikanmaailma.fi/tm-testasi-uudelleen-volkswagen-
konsernin-turvavyokorjaus-on-kelvoton-korjaus-hajoaa-ensimmaisessa-
jarrutuksessa/)

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cptskippy
Sadly this doesn't strike me as unusual.

I am trying to remember the car I was in, an 80s American car for sure, but
the two back seat buckles were similar to this but had a rivet driven through
the nylon strap to keep them ganged together.

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mc32
One would hope design would have improved over the last 30 - 40 years....

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jacquesm
That's pretty silly. The overhead of a recall on a cheap fix versus a proper
fix is such that risking _another_ recall is simply stupid. Besides the
obvious image damage.

Models affected: recent model years Volkswagen polo, Seat Ibiza and Arona.

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stephengillie
They don't have time to do it the right way the first time, but they have time
to do it twice.

~~~
gambiting
Because any recall done the second time will be done by the dealerships, which
will simply bill VW for the time spent on this. The first one was done at
factory, which slows down production and results in delays.

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detaro
What makes you think that it'll happen that way?

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gambiting
Because as I said in another post, I'm literally about to pick up a brand new
Polo this Friday - my car was manufactured, was awaiting loading in South
Africa, and then had to be returned to factory specifically because of the
seatbelt recall - which delayed delivery by about 4 weeks. If VW now issues a
second recall, it will be done by my local dealership - how else could it
work?

~~~
detaro
But that's the same as the first recall? Already sold vehicles go back to the
dealership, those "in transit" get fixed by the factory?

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amelius
That's bad, but if software was physical, I suppose this is what it would look
like all the time.

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gambiting
Ha, so I'm actually taking delivery of a brand new Polo this Friday, which was
delayed 4 weeks in production because they had to rectify the seatbelt issue.
I'll be very curious to see how it was fixed on my particular car.

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maltalex
This is very disturbing. From what I’ve read, VW isn’t the kind of company
that leaves room for improvisation. So this was probably some sort of process
around this decision. How did they end up doing THAT?

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rusk
_> VW isn’t the kind of company that leaves room for improvisation_

I would have thought so, but the last few years have sewn the seeds of doubt
in my mind. I would have always been a Volkswagen driver but I'd think twice
now before splurging on anything from the last few years.

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amarant
wow, the reasons not to get a VW just keeps on piling up huh?

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foxyv
After seeing my friend struggle with her Golf, with it spending more time
disassembled for various unrelated issues than actually on the road, I am
staying very far away from VW cars.

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sekh60
I find the tone odd at the end, like they were trying to elicit some sympathy
for VW for still dealing with emissions scandal fallout.

Is this a sign of how things are at VW these days? We are probably going to
need a "new for us" car in the not too distant future and I have been
suggesting to my spouse that we get another VW since out mechanics who we love
only only on VW and Audi Cars.

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codeduck
VW and AUDI do make good cars.

~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
It depends on your definition of good.

If by _good_ you mean: _needs a new turbo at 223,000 kilometers, and removing
and replacing the alternator is a 6 hour job_ , then yes I agree, my 2004 VW
T5 Transporter is a great car!

The alternator in the T4 was accessible from underneath the car. I suppose
they intend for you to sell the car to someone else before those things need
doing. Oh wait, that's me.

I'm suspicious of any claims that "auto manufacture _x_ makes good cars _,
because the auto manufactures mostly don 't make very much of the car at all.

Toyota have a reputation of assembling a reliable set of components. VW not so
much.

The trouble with all of this is we can't know what is a good _new car* to buy
today, because we don't have statistics on maintenance and repair costs for
new cars.

I reckon your best bet is to look at those guides that detail maintenance and
repair costs of used vehicles, then find one you like in your price range.

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ginko
So needing some repairs after over 200,000 kilometers is considered unreliable
these days?

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TheSpiceIsLife
I'll admit I'm having a bit of a whine. But yes, a turbo diesel engine
shouldn't need a new turbo before 500,000k.

It's not uncommon to hear "oh, the turbos a bit tired", but it shouldn't be
pumping the entire oil content of the engine out in to the engine bay every
three months at 220,000k.

I say I'm having whinge because, of course, I understand how mean time to
failure rates work.

My larger point was more about checking the reliability stats though.

~~~
wolfi1
there was a time when the diesel fuel pumps of a certain brand were the
predetermined braking point of many diesel cars. but the turbo itself...

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OliverJones
Cable ties inducted to Botched-repair Hall of Fame, take their place alongside
duct tape and baling wire!

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TheSpiceIsLife
Only half sarcastically: I wasn't aware there was a genuine legitimate use for
cable ties.

I suppose they could be used to tie cables to things, and I suspect
electricians and their ilk probably actually do use them for that. But the
general public? I'm willing to bet the general public is _not_ using cable
ties for tying cables to things.

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blattimwind
Use on humans is discouraged because of nerve damage. Apart from that, I don't
care...

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compcoffee
There was an defect, they tried to fix it, fix was approved by a regulatory
body, it didn't work, so they recalled the cars.

Hanlon's razor: what is the story here that puts it on the front page?

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smcl
The continued decline of standards at a major manufacturer of automobiles,
that's pretty interesting to me.

Poor design happens, but when given opportunity to resolve this they attempted
to resolve it with _zip ties_. That's embarrassingly cowboy, especially in the
wake of the emissions scandal. It's kind of impressive that the regulatory
body permitted it too.

~~~
compcoffee
> _The continued decline of standards at a major manufacturer of automobiles_

Do you have any data to support this? I would argue that standards are
increasing, and that cars are safer and better today than at any other point
in history.

~~~
smcl
I'd say that the emissions scandal alone represents a pretty substantial
decline in standards

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hugg
I was confused by the title at first, but they actually mean braking, not
breaking.

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netsharc
"Braking". God damn...

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tmalsburg2
Non-native speaker here. Could you please elaborate?

~~~
Yetanfou
_braking_ : the act of stopping motion, generally by means of friction against
a moving surface

 _breaking_ : the act of rendering something unusable by means of destruction
(see ' _sabotage_ ' when done wilfully)

The pronunciation of 'braking' and 'breaking' is /ˈbɹeɪkɪŋ/, they are
homophones ('same-sounds').

See also: [https://writingexplained.org/break-vs-brake-
difference](https://writingexplained.org/break-vs-brake-difference)

