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General Motors Seatbelt Recall on 250,000 Vehicles

General Motors Co. is recalling approximately 250,000 crossover vehicles in a seatbelt recall because of seatbelts that may not latch.  According to the company, the recall includes 2009-2010 models of the Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave, GMC Arcadia and the Saturn Outlook.  A total of 243, 403 vehicles are included in the recall, and most of these were sold inside the United States.  However, a few vehicles were sold in Canada, Mexico and other countries.

According to General Motors, the seatbelts could sustain damage when the seatback is returned to the upright position.  The buckle may appear to latch, when it hasn’t.  According to the company, it is not aware of any evidence that the seatbelts failed to protect passengers in the event of a crash.  The company has said that it will inform all customers about this.  Customers will have to take the car to a dealer to get the problem fixed.  The possible defect is in the seatbelts of the second row of these passenger vehicles.

There have not have been any serious incidents involving defective seatbelts failing to latch and placing unsuspecting passengers at serious risk of injury in an accident.  However, this is a serious defect, and California product liability lawyers welcome the speed with which General Motors has responded to this issue.  Seatbelts are the single most important safety feature in an automobile, and save thousands of lives every year.  However, defective seatbelts that are damaged during a crash, fail to latch, or open during a crash, place passengers at risk of injury.

The General Motors seatbelt recall was not the only one last week.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also announced a recall of 250,000 Mazda 3 and Mazda 5 cars for steering problems.  The cars belong to the 2007 to 2009 model years.  Mazda has had similar steering problems with its vehicles sold in Japan, which it began investigating about a year ago.

The company says that there is no reasonable safety risk with the problem in the United States, but has gone ahead with the recall anyway.  The steering problem is believed to be serious enough to cause a crash.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it has received at least 33 alleged complaints about steering problems in these Mazda cars.  An electric boost to the car’s hydraulic power steering system allows motorists to turn these vehicles easily.  However when the electric boost fails,, the motorists may have to use extra strength to retain control of the car, and some drivers may not be able to keep control over the car at all.

At least three of the complaints allege loss of control because of steering problems.  Soon after Mazda discovered the problem in Japan, it sent out service bulletins to its dealers to look out specifically for power steering problems.

Since the Toyota recalls, automakers have not been taking chances with any safety problems that crop up in their vehicles.  This increased focus on auto safety and speedy auto recalls will go a long way in ensuring American consumer safety.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of defectice seatbelts. Please visit our website at http://www.robertreeveslaw.com/. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us at contact@robertreeveslaw.com.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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