TRW Recalls Ford, GM Seatbelts

DETROIT--TRW Inc. is recalling seat belt buckle latches in almost 300,000 General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. vehicles due to concerns that occupants may not be properly restrained during a wreck. GM’s Saab is recalling the entire 1998 and 1999 lines of its 9-5 model over a non safety-related engine electronics problem.

Apparently there have been no injuries resulting from the TRW buckle assemblies on the 156,305 GM vehicles and 144,435 Ford vehicles under recall. All are from the 2000 model year.

According to TRW, bases on the seat belt buckle assemblies were improperly heat-treated, making them weaker than federal rules allow.

TRW notified federal safety officials last month of the potential problem, traced to manufacturing during a two-week period in April, the company said.

The buckle assemblies are built by a TRW supplier, and a factory fire forced the supplier to switch production to an outside contractor during a two-week period

By the end of October, Ford plans to notify affected owners of the recall with instructions on having the seat-belt buckles inspected and replaced, if needed. GM said it had already sent out letters to owners and dealers.

Affected Ford vehicles include 47,855 Explorer sport utility vehicles; 25,647 Ranger pickups; 16,439 F-150 pickups; 16,377 Lincoln Town Cars; 14,488 Escorts; 13,780 Explorer/Mercury Mountaineers; 5,194 Mercury Villager vans; 4,532 Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique sedans; and 123 Windstar vans.

GM models include 23,400 Buick Century sedans; 31,900 Chevrolet Lumina and Impala sedans and Monte Carlo coupes; 43,000 Chevy Blazer SUVs; 7,600 Chevy Venture minivans; 11,400 GMC Jimmy SUVs; 4,700 Oldsmobile Intrigue sedans; 2,600 Olds Silhouette minivans; 2,700 Olds Bravada SUVs; 14,700 Pontiac Grand Prix sedans; 4,300 Pontiac Montana minivans; and 9,800 Saturn L-Series vehicles.

The Saab recall of 130,000 vehicles is over of faulty electronics, according to published reports. Reuters quoted a Saab spokesperson as saying the recall includes the entire 1998 and 1999 lines of the 9-5 model.

Reportedly the problem involves engine electronics components that aren’t adequately protected from rain--possibly causing corrosion and eventual deterioration of engine performance.

Saab, a unit of GM, said a supplier was the source of the problem, and that unnamed supplier will pay for the recall efforts.

For more information, contact www.gm.com, www.trw.com and www.ford.com.