Hyundai is Recalling Almost 980,000 Sonatas for Detaching Seat Belts
Hyundai is issuing a recall for 977,778 Sonatas because some seat belts could detach from the anchor pretensioner.
The recall includes 2011-2014 model year Sonatas and 2011-2015 Sonata Hybrids.
According to NHTSA’s recall report, the pretensioner is attached to the sill before the seat belt linkage is connected to it. “If, during vehicle assembly, the connector does not fully latch when the linkage is pressed onto the connector, the seat belt can detach from the anchor pretensioner.”
Detachment of the seat belt in a collision is unsafe for obvious reasons, and affects an estimated 1 percent of recalled vehicles.
Hyundai will notify owners by mail from April 7 to May 5, and direct them to their Hyundai dealer to inspect (and repair, if needed) the seat belts in question.
There are no deaths attributed to the defect, but the report states, “Hyundai is aware of one reported minor injury related to this condition.”
Hyundai and the supplier of the seat belts are still investigating the issue.
[Image: Hyundai Motor Company]
[Source: Autoblog]
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This will be Recall #13 for my son's 11 Sonata... but I'm losing track. Sounds like human error during assembly, so I'm guessing it may not affect the Kia Optima. ?
Detachable seatbelts...the latest fashion trend for the stylish Hyundai owner with a death wish.
Pro: Convenient egress Con: Inconvenient cranial trauma
"Korean Kwality!"