The 2010 GMC Acadia is among the vehicles recalled for potential safety-belt problems.General Motors is recalling 243,403 Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook SUVs from the 2009 and 2010 model years.
The car maker says it has to inspect and possibly repair seat-belt buckles in the second row of seats because they can be damaged when the seats are folded down for carrying cargo instead of passengers. In some cases, GM says, the damage could result in passengers thinking a belt is properly latched when it isn’t. The company says it isn’t aware of any cases in which the belts haven’t performed properly in a crash.
GM says it noticed damaged second-row safety belt buckles among warranty returns. In some vehicles, pieces of trim on the sides of the second-row seats restrict the upward rotation of the seat belt buckle when the seat back is returned to a seating position after being folded flat, the company says. In some cases damage to the buckles is cosmetic, but it is possible to damage the buckle mechanism so the red belt-release button doesn’t move properly. Sometimes the button can appear to be jammed and “in rare cases,” GM says, the buckle can appear to latch when the mechanism isn’t fully engaged.
Most of the vehicles in the recall were sold in the U.S. but several thousand were also exported to Canada, Mexico, China and Saudi Arabia and smaller numbers in other countries. The company says owners will begin receiving letters this month to schedule appointments for dealership service departments to inspect and make the fixes. Service technicians will reshape the seat-side trim to allow easier belt clearance and replace damaged buckles.