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Toyota recalling 342k Tacomas due to faulty seatbelt pretensioners

Filed under: Truck, Recalls, Safety, Toyota

2008 Toyota Tacoma Access Cab front three-quarter

Toyota is voluntarily recalling 342,000 Tacoma Access Cab pickups, produced between 2004 and 2011. The wide-ranging recall is due to faults in the screws that attach the belt pre-tensioner to the belt retractor. There are concerns that the screws can loosen themselves over time, especially if the access door is opened and closed with too much force. It’s important to note that the recall only covers the driver and front passenger seat, and is limited to just the Access Cab trucks. Other body styles aren’t affected.

If the screws come loose, the pre-tensioner and retractor spring could separate from the belt entirely, which would be bad news in a crash. There’s no mention of injuries or accidents due to the faulty pre-tensioners. Owners affected by the recall will be notified soon, and asked to come in for recall service.

Continue reading Toyota recalling 342k Tacomas due to faulty seatbelt pretensioners

Toyota recalling 342k Tacomas due to faulty seatbelt pretensioners originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Aug 2013 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM employs a safer seatbelt to retain five-star safety ratings

Filed under: Safety, GM

General Motors, like all automakers, is constantly researching new means of keeping its customers safe. One of the primary lines of defense inside an automobile is the seatbelt, and GM has fitted some select vehicles with an updated latch system that gives engineers greater control over tensioner tuning. It’s this increased level of control and tunability that has helped a handful of General Motors vehicles retain their five-star crash safety ratings, even as the tests get tougher.

Called the Dynamic Locking Latch Plate (DLLP), the system provides greater control over a passenger’s torso in a crash. The DLLP buckles also allow GM safety engineers a greater degree of fine-tuning to make sure the airbags and belts are working together to keep the interior a safe place.

Ever since the New Car Assessment Program was updated, automakers have had to work harder to achieve five-star crash ratings. General Motors vehicles equipped with its DLLP seatbelts are scoring well in NCAP testing. Not every model gets the updated tech, but GM is utilizing the technology throughout its fleet as needed.

GM employs a safer seatbelt to retain five-star safety ratings originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 May 2011 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Supreme Court clears path for additional seatbelt lawsuits

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Safety

The United States Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that automakers can be sued over product-liability complaints, regardless of whether or not the vehicles in question meet federal motor vehicle safety standards in place at the time of manufacture. The decision has been handed down in the case of Williamson vs. Mazda Motor of America, in which the family of a woman who perished in a crash involving a 1993 MPV (pictured) sued the automaker, arguing that she would have survived had there been a three-point belt available for her seating position.

The 2002 accident that claimed the life of Thanh Williamson was a head-on crash with another vehicle, and the other occupants of Williamson’s vehicle with three-point belts survived. Ms. Williamson’s family brought suit in California, contending that Mazda should have provided lap-and-shoulder belts, though it wasn’t required by law at the time the vehicle was built and sold. Despite Mazda’s compliance with vehicle safety standards, the ruling makes automakers more prone to lawsuits over issues deemed negligent by consumers.

Wednesday’s ruling opens the door for a reinterpretation of the Geier vs. American Honda Motor Company decision in 2000 that many lower courts read as a prohibition of state-level liability lawsuits pertaining to products ranging from electronics to vehicles. The Federal regulations in place for these products have been seen as precluding any contradictory state statutes, but with this latest decision, the landscape may change significantly, and not just for automobiles.

Reaction to this decision from the stock market was not positive, with Ford and other car companies down one or two percent. Mazda says the ruling is disappointing, but doesn’t assign liability, and the company will defend itself.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal | Photo: Wikimedia – IFCAR CC 2.0]

Report: Supreme Court clears path for additional seatbelt lawsuits originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seatbelt use up to 85% nationally, 1 in 7 adults still don’t buckle up [w/poll]

Filed under: Etc., Safety

Volvo Seatbelt

According to the Center for Disease Control, seatbelt use among American adults is at an all-time high. In a recent study, 85 percent of those surveyed said that they wear their seatbelts regularly. That number is up from just 11 percent in 1982, though the CDC points out that at least one in every seven adults still don’t wear their seatbelts on the road. That’s despite evidence that points to automotive accidents as the number one cause of death in the U.S. among people aged 5 to 34.

So which states take the cake for seatbelt use? The CDC says that Oregon has the highest rate of buckling up, with 94 percent of respondents from that state claiming to use their belts on a regular basis. North Dakota came in dead last, with a paltry 54 percent of those surveyed strapping in. Not surprisingly, the study found that states that have laws allowing police officers to pull over a driver solely for not wearing their seatbelt have significantly higher rates of buckling up. Click on the jump for a look at the full synopsis, but before you head over there, make sure to take our poll on seatbelt use below.

View Poll

[Sources: CNN Health, CDC | Image: Volvo]

Continue reading Seatbelt use up to 85% nationally, 1 in 7 adults still don’t buckle up [w/poll]

Seatbelt use up to 85% nationally, 1 in 7 adults still don’t buckle up [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM recalling nearly 100,000 new crossovers due to seatbelt buckle fractures

Filed under: Recalls, Safety, Crossover, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM, GMC

2011 Chevrolet Equinox

2011 Chevrolet Equinox – Click above for high-res image gallery

General Motors has issued a recall on its Theta crossover triplets, the Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain and Cadillac SRX over safety belt buckle anchors that may fracture and separate in the event of a crash. A total of 97,843 vehicles are affected, all from the 2011 model year.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued an official statement, saying that a fractured seatbelt buckle may not properly restrain the vehicle’s occupants during an accident, thus increasing the risk of injuries sustained during a crash. In all three of the affected crossovers, both the driver and front passenger seatbelts are apparently subject to this sort of breaking.

GM will begin notifying owners in the next few weeks, as the recall is expected to ramp up on or before January 18, 2011. Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC dealerships will modify one or both of the safety belt anchors as necessary, and of course, all maintenance will be performed free of charge. NHTSA’s official release is available after the break.

Gallery: 2011 Chevrolet Equinox

2011 Chevrolet Equinox

[Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]

Continue reading GM recalling nearly 100,000 new crossovers due to seatbelt buckle fractures

GM recalling nearly 100,000 new crossovers due to seatbelt buckle fractures originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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