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28 March 2024

GM to recall more vehicles in UAE

Less than 35 vehicles are affected in the UAE of the 2009-2010 models of the Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia. (SUPPLIED)

Published
By Waheed Abbas

General Motors Middle East on Wednesday announced second recall of its 2009-2010 sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in less than three months in the UAE following potential fault in second-row safety belts that in rare cases could make an occupant incorrectly think that the belt is securely latched.

In a statement to Emirates 24|7, the auto major said that “less than 35 vehicles are affected in the UAE of the 2009-2010 models of the Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia".

The US automaker said on Tuesday it would globally recall more than 243,000 crossover sport utilities (model year 2009/2010), mainly in the United States, to inspect safety belts for possible damage.

The automaker said the Chevy Traverse, Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, and Saturn Outlook vehicles were shipped, among other countries, to China and Saudi Arabia.

The General Motor’s local office said that only two models - Chevrolet Traverse & GMC Acadia - out of these four are sold in the Middle East.

“GM has voluntarily issued a safety recall to prevent the risk of future buckle damage.  All customers are asked to come to their dealer for the inspection and repair.

“Dealer service departments will modify the seat side shield [plastic trim piece] for the seat to prevent the buckle from being trapped. If buckle(s) are damaged, the safety belts will be replaced. The repair itself will take less than half an hour, but affected vehicles may need to be in the dealership longer. Scheduling an appointment is recommended,” the statement said.

"All our dealers in the Middle East are supplied with the VIN [Vehicle identification Number] of the vehicles involved and contact their customers to ask them to bring in their vehicles for a checkup. Any necessary repairs are done free of charge," it added.

Galadari Automobiles, the distributor of Mazda vehicles, on Wednesday said that the latest recall campaign of Mazda vehicles in the US will not have any impact in the UAE.

Mazda said on Wednesday it would recall over 300,000 Mazda3 and Mazda5 vehicles sold in the US, Canada and Mexico because of the risk that they could lose power steering without warning.

GM claimed that "it was only aware of three confirmed cases worldwide where the seat belt buckle was damaged to the point where the latching mechanism would not fully engage.  A customer may not have the condition today, but this damage could occur any time the second-row seat is folded down during the life of the vehicle. We want to be sure all customers come to their dealer for the inspection and repair, so that all seat belts in the vehicle operate properly."

In its first recall in the region, General Motors in June said it had recalled 22,472 vehicles in the Middle East as part of its worldwide recall of 1.5 million vehicles.

GM's Middle East spokesperson said in June that it had recalled 22,472 vehicles in the Middle East. Of this, 6,126 vehicles are from the UAE. The company has recalled models like Cadillac, Hummer, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe, and Chevrolet Traverse, among others.