Seatbelt Failure Risks Lead to GM SUV Recall

General Motors (GM) is recalling about 95,000 sport utility vehicles (SUVs) after seat belts in the third row were found to be damaged or trapped in the seat’s folding mechanism, which may cause them to fail in the event of an accident.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration announced the GM SUV recall on March 23, due to a seatbelt failure risk in certain Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC vehicles.

The auto-maker determined the seat belts may be damaged by the vehicles’ third row seat, including one or both third-row outboard seat belts, and could become inadvertently trapped behind the outboard seat-folding mechanism, causing potential damage. The problem appears to have occurred during the installation of the third-row seat during vehicle assembly.

GM warns the damaged seat belts could break in the event of an auto accident, increasing the risk of injury to occupants of those seats and other passengers. The company says it began addressing the problem on November 18, 2020, which required a post-installation inspection of the third-row seats and seat belts at the assembly plant.

The recall affects 2021 model year Cadillac Escalade vehicles manufactured between March 16, 2020 and November 18, 2020; Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles manufactured from June 24, 2020 to November 18, 2020; Chevrolet Suburban vehicles manufactured from January 6, 2020 through November 18, 2020; Chevrolet Tahoe vehicles manufactured from November 11, 2019 through November 18, 2020; , as well as GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles manufactured from November 12, 2019 through November 18, 2020.

GM anticipate the problem affects about one percent of the 94,641 recalled vehicles, and no vehicles built on or after November 18, 2020 were affected by the recall.

GM indicates it plans to begin notifying owners of affected vehicles beginning on May 3. Owners will be able to take the vehicles to a GM dealer who will inspect the third-row outboard seat belts for damage. They will correctly route any misrouted seat belts and will replace any seat belts which are damaged. Free of charge.

Owners with questions can contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782; and Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. The recall number is N202313000.