Purchasing a new vehicle can give you some peace of mind. After all, new cars, trucks and SUVs tend to have fewer mechanical problems than their older counterparts. If you have a newer GM vehicle in your driveway, though, you should check to see if it has an outstanding recall notice for potentially defective seat belts.
According to reporting from NBC News, GM has recalled roughly 500,000 vehicles because of concerns about seat belts that may not work correctly. Specifically, third-row seat belts on recall-covered SUVs may be faulty, conceivably putting your passengers in grave danger.
How do you know?
If you have a motor vehicle accident, you undoubtedly are going to be thankful for your car’s seat belts. Indeed, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notes, seat belts have saved more than 50,000 lives during the past few decades. If your seat belts are defective, however, they are not likely to do much good.
To know whether your GM vehicle is subject to the recent recall, watch your mail for a recall notice. Alternatively, you can enter your SUV’s identification number into the NHTSA’s recall database. If your vehicle has an outstanding recall, there is a good chance GM will fix the issue for free.
Why should you not wait?
Waiting to address a safety-related recall is a bit like playing Russian Roulette. Because you can neither predict nor mitigate all car accident risks, it is critical to ensure all your SUV’s safety features are working properly.
Ultimately, by addressing any outstanding safety recalls immediately, you do what you can to keep everyone in your family as safe as possible.
