Holden Commodore recalled for fifth time in three months

[BHDOGS]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/techno...-1226999120540

THE Holden Commodore has been recalled for the fifth time in three months — and for the third time in July alone — because the seat may wriggle loose.

The latest recall affects 25,055 Commodore sedans and Caprice limousines built between February 2013 and May 2014.

It means that almost 100,000 Holden Commodores have been called back to dealers this year alone.

A statement from Holden says some vehicles “may have been built with an incomplete weld on the front seat hook bracket assembly”.

“In an accident, if the weld is incomplete, the seat hook may separate from the seat track increasing the risk of occupant injury,” the Holden statement says.

The fault was identified by a worker on the Elizabeth production line near Adelaide, and inspections later found six cars with the incomplete weld.

Holden says there have been no reports of any accidents or injuries as a result of the fault.

Dealers have been instructed to inspect the welds and, if not correct, the seat base assembly will be replaced free-of-charge.

The latest Holden Commodore recall follows a safety campaign earlier this month because the LPG fuel system may cut out or catch fire.

Two recalls issued for separate faults on the same system affected 3,472 Commodores and Caprice sedans built between February 2011 and April 2014.

The recalls.gov.au website said one recall relates to the LPG system cutting out “posing an accident hazard to the driver and other road users” while a second recall for the same system was issued because the LPG fuel feed hose can leak and “may pose a fire hazard”, although Holden says the risk is low.

The latest recall brings Holden’s tally to eight so far this year, overtaking Toyota with a total of six recalls issued year-to-date.

Last month Holden recalled 27,000 Commodores because the windscreen wipers may not work properly, and in May Holden recalled 42,000 Commodores over a potential fault with the front seatbelts.

The Holden recalls in Australia come as its parent company General Motors comes under intense scrutiny from government regulators in North America for being slow to recall vehicles for a faulty ignition switch that has so far been linked to 13 deaths.

General Motors has admitted it had known about the ignition fault since 2004 but the first batch of 2.6 million potentially affected cars weren’t recalled until February 2014.

Earlier this month General Motors recalled a further 7.6 million cars dating back to 1997 to replace the potentially faulty ignition switch.

General Motors says it will offer to pay up to $1million to families of those who died as a result of an ignition switch defect that led to an airbag failure.

Holden cars sold in Australia are not affected by the ignition switch problems in the US, which can cause the engine to switch off unexpectedly and disable the airbags in a crash.

Holden has told News Corp Australia twice in the past month that a recall of the Chevrolet Camaro ignition switch in the US does not affect the Holden Commodore locally even though they share the same part.

“We can confirm that Holden vehicles sold in Australia are not affected by the same airbag and key rotation issues that have prompted vehicle recalls by GM North America to date,” said a statement from Holden.

This means Holden has so far avoided what would become Australia’s single biggest vehicle recall: every new generation Commodore sold since 2006, about 432,000 vehicles.

General Motors has issued 54 recalls in the US so far this year, covering about 28.9 million cars globally.

[bobthebilda]

They obviously mulled over this one for a while, It was caught by a Holden line worker in May. Doesnt say too much about the quality checks being done at Futuris. Futuris import the track assemblies for both Holden and Ford from china, so I wonder if this will affect Ford Australia.