Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corp.: Seat Belts
Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corp. reported this defect to federal regulators on Jul 25, 2014 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 10. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corp. (Kovatch) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Predator and 2014 Panther fire fighting vehicles manufactured October 2013 to March 2014, and equipped with IMMI-brand L9 seat belt buckles. When the button is pressed to release the seat belt, the latch plate can become partially engaged with the buckle, making the seat belt difficult to unlatch. Thus, these vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies."
The risk
If the latch plate remains partially engaged after the button is pressed, egress from the vehicle could be hindered which would increase the risk of injury in the event of an emergency.
The remedy
Kovatch will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the seat belt buckle, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on August 24, 2015. Owners may contact Kovatch at 1-800-235-3926. Kovatch's number for this campaign is 2014-SR01.
4 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 Kme Panther | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 Kme Predator | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 Kme Panther | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 Kme Predator | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 14V455000.
Full record for the 2014 Kme Panther → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →