General Motors LLC (GM) announced Sept. 26, 2018 they will recall more than 15,000 vehicles equipped with faulty seatbelts.
The Warren, Michigan-based manufacturer sent the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) a safety recall report stating they will recall 15,800 2018-2019 GMC Yukon XL, 2018-2019 Cadillac CT6, 2018-2019 Cadillac Escalade ESV, 2018-2019 Chevrolet Suburban, and 2018-2019 Chevrolet Volt vehicles built between June 1, 2018 and Sept. 20, 2018.
If you are an owner of a lemon GM vehicle, contact Allen Stewart’s team of experienced lemon law attorneys today.
The affected vehicles contain seatbelt retractor assemblies with automatic locking retractors (ALR). These retractors let child seats be installed using the vehicle’s seatbelts. The ALRs are designed to lock the seatbelt when it is fully pulled out of the retractor. However, the affected ALRs can fail to lock the seatbelt when it is fully pulled out of the retractor. An unlocked seatbelt cannot properly secure a child seat, increasing injury risk.
A July 13, 2018 vehicle inspection at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant found a rear-center seat ALR that failed to lock the seatbelt in a 2018 Cadillac CT6 vehicle. The component’s manufacturer, ZF TRW of Livonia, Michigan, notified GM on July 19, 2018 they found a manufacturing error that caused a locking problem.
GM launched its formal product investigation on July 23, 2018, inspecting approximately 633 rear seatbelt retractors in service part inventories, GM employee vehicles and vehicles on yard hold. Inspectors found enough defective retractors the company initiated a safety recall on Sept. 21, 2018.
GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the rear seatbelt retractors and replace them if necessary, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM’s number for this recall is 18315. Concerned consumers can also visit the NHTSA’s website and enter their VIN to see if their vehicle is included in any recalls.
Your vehicle’s manufacturer is legally required to fix any recalled problems for free. If the dealership refuses to fix the part or tries to charge you for the repair, contact the manufacturer immediately. The Highway Safety Act of 1970, which created the NHTSA, requires car manufacturers to pay for the recall and replacement of a defective part.
If the manufacturer fails to repair, replace, repurchase, or provide your recalled vehicle’s loss value, they are violating the warranty and a lawyer may be able to help you. Lemon law attorneys help their clients by dealing directly with the manufacturer on the clients’ behalf, working to promptly resolve the issue and get their clients back on the road. Thanks to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, attorneys can seek their fees directly from the manufacturer, meaning a client can obtain legal counsel without having to pay attorneys’ fees directly out of pocket.
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