Hyundai To Recall Almost Million Sonata and Hybrids Due To Seat Belt Problems In U.S.

Hyundai are quick to jump on any points that may affect their vehicles and this is the case with a potential faulty seatbelt which has recently come to light. The fault may in reality only affect one percent of the vehicles involved, but it's a better safe than sorry scenario to get all potential vehicles recalled for evaluation.

The vehicles involved will cover the Sonata from 2011-2014 which were produced from December 11 2009 to May 29th 2014. This also includes the 2011 to 2015 Sonata hybrid produced from December 2 2010 to January 9 2015 at Montgomery, Alabama Hyundai's manufacturing plant.

The South Korean automaker filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) the details of the recall, which highlights that the seatbelt pretensioner which connects to the sill may not be attached correctly during the assembly process. This could possibly result in the seatbelt coming away from the anchor point during a collision.

There has been only one reported minor injury due to the defect which has resulted in the recall.
The problem was first spotted last September 1, 2013 when the Sonata owner above discovered the front passenger belt came loose in a collision.

It's advised that all affected vehicle owners should contact their dealers where the vehicle will be inspected to test if affected and then perform the necessary changes. All affected vehicle owners should also be notified by mail by early April. Customers can also call an information line at 1-855-371-9460 or enter their vehicle's VIN number on the NHTSA recall website to see if their vehicle is affected.

Hyundai are looking into the issue with ZF-TRW who supply the seat belts and the linkage.