Land Rover to recall nearly 15,000 Range Rover SUVs to fix seatbelt issue

Land Rover will issue a recall for 14,812 Range Rover SUVs made between 2016 and 2017 because the emergency locking retractors in these vehicles might not be working, in turn compromising the efficacy of the seatbelts during an accident or a mishap. Specifically, the company will recall 5,553 Range Rovers and 9,259 Range Rover Sports.

Land Rover has already recalled these vehicles earlier for the same reason but it later found that its service instructions had a mistake, implying that the vehicles have to be called back and checked again. The safety belt assembly of the driver’s seat in these vehicles are not as per specification.

This means that they might not lock off at the correct g-force level, which could impact the operation of the seatbelt, making it less effective in an accident and in turn increasing the risk of injury or death.

Owners of these vehicles will be notified about the recall starting on June 3, and will be asked to bring their vehicles to the nearest service center for inspection. A technician will investigate the seatbelt assembly and, if necessary, replace it with a new part that meets specification provided by the carmaker. The service will be provided free of cost.

In a separate development, the British luxury carmaker launched a special edition of its iconic SUV Defender to celebrate 60 years of famous British spy character James Bond. Christened as Land Rover Defender Rally Special, the special edition of the luxury SUV is a rally-prepared Defender 90, claims the automaker. It comes wearing special livery to celebrate 60 years of the James Bond film franchise.

Land Rover has updated its suspension setup as well. The Upgraded suspension comes with modified subframes and new springs. The Defender 90 runs on strengthened 18-inch wheels from Bowler wrapped with all-terrain tyres.