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Hyundai recalls thousands of its vehicles in the US after discovering a glaring seatbelt glitch. The belt pretensioners have an issue that causes them to explode and injure the driver and other car occupants.
The company sold around 239,000 cars affected by the issue. Car owners are advised to take their vehicles to the dealership to fix the problem. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has provided Hyundai time until July 15 to notify all their car owners.
Hyundai has three car models affected by the problem
The seat belt pretensioner explosions have caused three reported injuries, two in the US and one in Singapore. In a letter sent by government regulators, the Korean automaker was informed that the pretensioners on the driver and front passenger seat belts have a chance of exploding on deployment.
The company also recalled vehicles for oil leaks and fire risks. All the cars repaired in the previous recalls will have to pay another visit to their Hyundai dealerships.
The recall will primarily affect three models from the company: 2019-2022 Accents, 2021-2023 Elantras, 2021-2022 Elantra HEVs, and hybrid electric vehicles.
The seat belt pretensioners in the affected car models will be fitted with a cap free of any cost.
Concerned customers can contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460 and reference recall number 229. They can also call the NHTSA vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or complain at NFTSA's website www.nhtsa.gov.
What are seat belt pretensioners?
A seat belt pretensioner is a safety device that activates when a car gets into a head-on collision. The pretensioner retracts the seatbelt to adjust the rider to a safer seating position when the airbags deploy.
It uses a mechanism where an explosion charge activates a concealed piston after the sensors detect an abrupt deceleration of an accident. The piston spools around the fabric strap, which removes any slack from the belt in a fraction of a second.
The seat belt's correct body position and extra pressure give the driver and front-seat passenger maximum protection benefit from the front airbags.
The pretensioner also safeguards the car's occupants from getting jerked from collision impact. Similar technology is used in planes and fighter jets to keep the pilots safe if they have to abandon the aircraft by seat ejection.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration explained that drivers with pre-tensioners have a better chance of avoiding severe injuries during an accident. They said:
"In passenger cars, CUVs, and minivans, a belted driver or right-front passenger has an estimated 12.8 per cent lower fatality risk if the belt is equipped with a pretensioner."
According to reports, car accidents cause 1 in 84 deaths in the US. Good car safety, seat belts, pre-tensioners, and other safety equipment help keep the fatalities as low as possible.
