As GM Authority has been following for over a decade, several of General Motors crossovers from the 2010s have been dealing with issues regarding their seat belts since they were new. While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched an investigation into the matter back in 2019, it now appears as though the agency has closed the probe.
Per documents obtained from the NHTSA, the agency has closed its investigation into the aforementioned seat belt problems. As context, it was believed that failure / detachment of the flexible steel seat belt anchor cable attached to the outboard side of the front seats could result in a loss of seat belt protection for the driver and front passenger.
“In view of the Special Coverage conducted by General Motors, the high detectability of the subject failure, and the low rate of occurrence, this Engineering Analysis is closed,” the NHTSA document reads. “The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist.”
For reference, here are the involved GM Lambda platform models:
- 2009 – 2014 Chevy Traverse
- 2009 – 2014 GMC Acadia
- 2009 – 2014 Buick Enclave
- 2009 – 2010 Saturn Outlook
In other NHTSA-related developments, General Motors was one of several major automakers represented by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation that requested the agency reconsider its Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) standards. More specifically, the alliance claimed that making all cars and trucks stop and avoid striking vehicles in front of them at speeds of up to 62 miles per hour is “practically impossible with available technology”. Furthermore, it’s believed that these higher speeds could inversely result in an increase of rear-end collisions due to braking far in advance of what other drivers would typically expect.
“NHTSA’s action will require more costly systems that won’t improve driver or pedestrian safety,” Alliance for Automotive Innovation CEO John Bozzella noted. He added that the agency has rejected the concerns of automakers and that the regulation “points to the breakdown of a deliberative rule-making process at the country’s top traffic safety watchdog.”
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