General Motors is recalling nearly half a million large SUVs to fix a potential problem affecting the vehicles' rear safety belts.
A malformed rivet may not properly restrain occupants of the vehicles' third-row seats, increasing the risk of injury during a crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recall affects 484,155 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe, and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles from the 2021-22 model years.
"The rivet that retains the buckle to the mounting bracket in the left or right side third-row seat-belt buckle assembly may have been improperly formed," NHTSA's report said.
"GM is not aware of any accidents or injuries related" to the defect, according to the safety recall report, though the automaker did receive several reports from dealers that could be related to the problem.
Letters notifying owners of the defect are due to be mailed Sept. 26. Owners can contact customer service at 800-222-1020 for Chevrolet; 800-458-8006 for Cadillac, and 800-462-8782 for GMC. Vehicle owners may also contact the NHTSA hotline at 888-327-4236 or check the NHTSA website for more information.
As part of the recall, dealers will inspect the third-row seatbelt assemblies and replace them as necessary at no cost to the owner, NHTSA said.
The safety recall is the ninth involving the six SUV models from the 2021 model year. The defects range from defective rear wheel driveshaft assemblies that may fall apart to a computer issue that can cause fuel pumps to fail, possibly causing the engine to stall.
