Holden recalls almost all VF Commodores

GM HOLDEN has issued a precautionary recall of about 46,000 Australian-made VF Commodore and WN Caprice models built between March 8, 2013 and May 22 this year over a potential seatbelt pretensioner fault.

The recall, which includes 41,933 vehicles in Australia and 3744 in New Zealand, affects almost every VF and WN produced at Holden’s South Australian plant in Elizabeth.

Both models launched in showrooms in May last year and have regularly recorded strong sales compared to their predecessors despite demand for large passenger cars continuing to plummet overall.

The vehicles affected include those with VINs in the range of 6G1FL5EP6EL900097 to 6G1NN5E48EL987612.

In a statement posted to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) website, Holden said: “A condition has been identified where the pretensioner wiring harness may make contact with a bolt at the base of the seat belt buckle assembly.

“As a result the wiring harness may wear prematurely.

“If the defect occurs, the airbag warning light may illuminate on the instrument cluster. In addition, there is a risk that the pretensioner may not deploy in the event of an accident, and this poses an accident hazard to the occupants of the vehicle.” The company said all other safety devices, including airbags, were unaffected by this condition, that there have been no confirmed reports of this condition in the field, and no reports of any accidents or injuries.

Owners of affected vehicle will be contacted, and their dealer will inspect and correct the retention of the pretensioner wiring harness to the seat base frame if necessary, free-of-charge.

The Holden recall comes in the wake of numerous multi-million vehicle recalls announced in the US by parent company General Motors, some of which did not affect Australia, and also on the same day as rival Hyundai recalled 35,000 ix35 SUVs in Australia.

Earlier this month, the Lion Brand posted its biggest-ever annual loss of $553.8 million for 2013, the year it announced that it was pulling out of manufacturing in Australia in 2017 due to high costs and reduced demand.