Subaru is recalling 275,000 2009-2012 Forester models because the seat belt that holds a child safety seat in the center rear position is defective. A stop-sale is also in effect on new models since the retractor mechanism may not lock, meaning the child seat is not securely attached to the vehicle, Subaru said in a filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Subaru said that due to the large number of parts required to fix the safety defect, a phased approach would be used. First, the production line will be fed; then Port and dealer inventories will be fixed so that new vehicles are saleable; finally, customer vehicles will be fixed.
Subaru’s recall campaign number is WQA-37. Customers may contact NHTSA’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or http://www.safercar.gov.
