VW seatbelt fault in 64,000 cars

VOLKSWAGEN and Seat have sold thou- sands of cars with seatbelts that unbuckle at high speeds – despite knowing they are potentially unsafe.

German car giant VW Group issued a safety recall for 28,000 new VW Polos, Seat Ibizas and Seat Aronas in May.

But the number of cars with faulty rear seatbelts has now surged to almost 64,000 as VW and Seat have continued to sell them across Britain – meaning about 36,000 have been sold since the recall.

Owners of affected cars have been given a temporary fix which entails securing the central and back left seat buckles together. But VW has said a permanent solution to the problem – which can cause the left rear seatbelt to open if three people sit in the back – will not be available until November.

VW Group, which owns the Seat brand, said retailers have been instructed to warn people who buy these cars not to use the middle rear seatbelt. Drivers will be given a warning sticker to attach to their dashboard in ‘due course’.

The car manufacturer stressed there is only a risk of the left rear seatbelt flying open if there are three adults in the back and the car moves sharply to the left at high speed. It pointed out that there had been no complaints from drivers of the fault happening.

But Alex Neill, of consumer group Which?, said: ‘It’s shocking that VW and Seat are selling thousands of cars that they know have a serious safety issue but don’t yet have a proper fix for.’

‘Volkswagen Group should not be selling these potentially dangerous vehicles at all. Supplying a warning sticker is a startlingly inadequate response to a fault which is putting lives at risk.’

Which? said it was another example of how the current car recall system is failing to protect people. It called for increased powers for watchdog the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.