Great Wall hits handbrake hitch

AUSTRALIA’S first Chinese brand vehicle brand has come in for its second product safety recall, with every Great Wall V240 utility sold since the dual-cab’s launch here last June potentially affected by a manufacturing defect that could cause handbrakes to fail.

Mazda has also recalled more than 20,000 BT-50 utes to fix bonnet strikers that could fail and pop open under certain conditions.

Great Wall’s latest recall for the handbrake problem involves 2514 examples of the V240. Last December, the same model was subject to a seatbelt retractor fix after a seatbelt failed during ANCAP crash testing last September, when it scored a sub-standard two-star safety rating.

Great Wall advises that in certain circumstances a side impact may cause the V240’s parking brake lever to release.

“On some V240 vehicles there may be a manufacturing defect in the handbrake assembly which could cause the handbrake to disengage,” said Great Wall.

“Contact your authorised Great Wall dealer to inspect and replace the handbrake lever with the correct part,” it advised on the ACCC recall notice.

Left: Mazda BT-50.

Great Wall’s other twin-cab ute, the SA220 – which unlike the V240 is not available with airbags or ABS but has also scored a two-star ANCAP rating – is again unaffected by the latest recall.

The pioneering Chinese brand made headlines for the right reason earlier this week, when its first SUV – the X240 – matched Toyota’s advanced Camry Hybrid by achieving four-star ANCAP rating.

Mazda issued an even larger recall of 21,662 versions of its BT-50 ute to replace bonnet strikers after it was found the vehicle’s bonnet could open while being “continuously driven under severe conditions”.

Affected BT-50s carry VINs ranging between MMO UNYO** 00613091 and MMO UNYO** 00813977, plus MM8 UNFE 9300601527, MM8 UNBE 1300602706 and MM8 UNFE 9300602711.

“On certain BT-50 vehicles, the bonnet striker may receive more lateral input than expected when driven in severe conditions like a rough road and/or if the bonnet fitting condition is less that optimal,” said Mazda. “This may cause fatigue breakage of the bonnet striker in some cases.”

Mazda Australia said it will contact the owners of all affected vehicles by mail to arrange the fitment of a modified bonnet striker and to adjust bonnet alignment.