Toronto, Ontario — GM Canada is recalling more than 75,000 pickup trucks nationwide due to a seat belt defect capable of setting the vehicle’s carpet flooring on fire.
The seat belt pretensioners are at fault—modern pretensioners utilize a small explosive that, in the event of a crash, are detonated in order to move a piston that quickly tightens the seat belt. In certain 2019 and 2020 Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierras, the hot exhaust gasses from the seat belt pretensioners could set fire to the nearby carpet flooring of the vehicle.
In the U.S., GM is recalling 640,000 trucks as a result of this defect. The company notified dealers in both countries on Nov. 14, ordering them to stop any future sales of the vehicles until repairs have been conducted. Silverados and Sierras with vinyl flooring, however, are not included in the recall—seemingly unaffected by expelling of hot gas.
Although there have been two fires in the U.S. due to the affected seat belt pretensioners, no injuries, accidents or fatalities have been reported.
