An urgent recall to address a "manufacturing defect" that caused the seatbelt of a Suzuki Fronx to fail in a crash test has been issued, after sales of new vehicles were halted.
A batch of Suzuki Fronx city SUVs have been recalled to fix a "manufacturing defect" that caused the seatbelt retractor to fail in a shock ANCAP crash test announced earlier this week.
Fronx owners have been urged to "immediately cease using the rear seats" until the seatbelt fault can be fixed, with the vehicle already pulled from sale while the crash-test investigation continues.
The recall notices issued by the Department of Infrastructure cover a combined 324 vehicles, and read: "Due to a manufacturing defect, the left rear seat belt retractor mechanism may not operate as intended.
"As a result, excessive belt lengths may be released in the event of an accident or hard braking.
"In the event of an accident or hard braking, if the left rear seat belt does not operate as intended, it could increase the risk of injury or death to [the] vehicle occupant."
At least 1447 Suzuki Fronx SUVs have been reported as sold across Australia since it launched earlier this year, but Suzuki says it has "identified a VIN range of potentially affected vehicles" that may suffer from the defect.
A stop-sale has already been issued for the Fronx, while an investigation into the defect continues.
The risk of seatbelt failure was exposed as part of ANCAP crash testing announced yesterday, which saw the Fronx emerge with a one-star rating after recording "low levels" of adult and child crash protection.
It narrowly avoided a zero-star rating, as its Child Occupant Protection result of 40 per cent was the bare minimum needed to qualify for a one-star rating overall.
The "uncontrolled seatbelt release" did not affect the ANCAP score as the Fronx had "already received zero points in the full-width frontal test before the failure occurred," the safety organisation said, "due to the high chest load recorded".
"Suzuki Motor Corporation and Suzuki Australia will advise all Fronx customers of the listed vehicles to immediately cease using the rear seats," the recall notices read.
"Suzuki Motor Corporation and Suzuki Australia are undertaking immediate and urgent investigations. Upon the completion of the investigation, Suzuki Motor Corporation and Suzuki Australia will facilitate further activities to ensure the safety of all listed vehicles."
In a media release today, Suzuki Australia called the defect a "phenomenon", and said customers will be contacted.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
