— A Chevrolet SS and Caprice Police Pursuit recall has been issued for nearly 1,800 cars that were recalled four years ago for the same seat belt pretensioner cable problems.
General Motors says the 2014-2016 Chevrolet SS and Caprice Police Pursuit vehicles may not have been repaired properly during the 2016 recall.
According to GM, the seat belt pretensioner cable may be repeatedly bent over the shield/cover as a driver gets in and out of the vehicle. This could cause the seat belt pretensioner cable to wear out and finally break.
During the 2016 recall, dealerships were supposed to install new seat trim with redesigned openings to improve the cable routing. However, some dealers didn't replace the trim as required by the automaker.
General Motors opened an investigation in August 2020 after receiving a complaint about a seat belt pretensioner cable that broke on a car that was included in the 2016 recall. Engineers inspected the affected car and found the dealer didn't replace the seat trim as required in the recall repair instructions.
GM’s investigator reviewed warranty records from the 2016 recall and discovered more cars which may not have had the redesigned seat trim installed. Inspections of two cars confirmed the trim had not been replaced, consistent with warranty claim records submitted by the dealership.
The covering on the pretensioner cable may have tears, holes or wear marks (photo above), clear signs the cable may break and increase the chance of a driver being injured in a crash.
GM isn't aware of any crashes or injuries related to the missing trim, but dealerships will need to determine whether the cars need new trim, and it's possible the seat belt pretensioner cable assemblies will be replaced.
The Chevrolet SS and Caprice Police Pursuit recall is scheduled to begin November 30, 2020.
Owners may contact Chevrolet at 800-222-1020 and ask about recall number N202312100.
Apparently GM is having trouble with repairing recalled cars the first time because in September, the automaker recalled 2014-2016 Chevrolet Caprice Police Pursuit cars a second time. The September recall involved steering gear replacements that should have been performed during a 2016 recall.