Volkswagen recalls new-gen Polo
BY TUNG NGUYEN | 17th May 2018
VOLKSWAGEN Australia has recalled its new-generation Polo light hatchback over a “rare situation” that could cause the rear left seatbelt to unintentionally unbuckled while in motion.
According to the German car-maker, the fault only has a chance of occurring if both the rear centre and rear left seats are occupied, with Volkswagen also advising “customers not to use the middle rear seat until the car is equipped with the redesigned belt lock fixture”.
The defect was first discovered by Finnish car publication Tekniikan Maailma, which found that they could consistently reproduce the release of the seatbelt if the driver made a high-speed left turn with occupants in the second row.
The middle seatbelt buckle applies enough pressure to the rear left buckle to cause the seatbelt to become free, according to the magazine.
While the problem was first uncovered in a Seat Arona, the fault has since been verified in other Volkswagen Group products with the same underpinnings including the Seat Ibiza and aforementioned new-generation Polo.
Globally, around 400,000 vehicles are affected, including about 220,000 Polos, while the impact to Australia is “being determined”, according to Volkswagen Australia.
The new sixth-generation Polo has only been available in Australia for two months.
Volkswagen Australia will contact affected customers immediately, while the rollout of the fix is expected in the coming months.
