2004 Saab 9-3 Recall: Seat Belts

The defect

GENERAL MOTORS IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004 SAAB 9-3 SEDANS. SOME OF THESE VEHICLES WERE PRODUCED WITH FRONT SEAT BELT RETRACTORS THAT, OVER TIME, COULD FAIL TO RETRACT.

The risk

USING A SEAT BELT THAT HAS NOT RETRACTED, AND IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH, A SEAT OCCUPANT MAY NOT BE PROPERLY RESTRAINED INCREASING THE RISK OF PERSONAL INJURY.

The fix — what to do

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE DRIVER SIDE RETRACTOR FREE OF CHARGE. IF THE FRONT PASSENGER RETRACTOR WERE TO FAIL TO RETRACT, GM WILL REPLACE THE FRONT PASSENGER RETRACTOR FREE OF CHARGE UNDER A SPECIAL COVERAGE THAT WILL BE RELEASED FOR THE SAME POPULATION FOR 10 YEARS FROM NEW VEHICLE DATE OF SALE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING JULY 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SAAB AT 1-800-955-9007 OR AT THE OWNER CENTER AT SAABPARTS.COM/US. Note: In June 2014, GM expanded the special coverage from 10 years to be for the lifetime of the vehicle.

GM'S RECALL NO. E090273.OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO <A HREF=HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV>HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV</A> .