Toyota FJ Cruiser recall: Auto maker recalling about 209,000 FJ Cruiser vehicles

Toyota to pay $16M settlement
Photographer: AP Graphics Bank
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Regular Photo Size

Posted: 03/15/2013

By: Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Toyota Motor Co. is recalling about 209,000 FJ Cruiser vehicles because mountings for the driver and front passenger seatbelts could become loose.

In the FJ Cruiser, the front seatbelts are mounted to the back doors. Ordinarily, the front seatbelts would be mounted to a metal pillar between the front and back doors, but the FJ Cruiser has no such pillar. Instead, the retro-styled SUV has rear-hinged "suicide" doors, with the front and back doors opening like a clamshell.

A metal piece inside the door to which the seatbelt retractor is mounted can become cracked, according to Toyota, especially if the back door is repeatedly slammed.

FJ Cruiser owners should be notified of the recall by mail soon, Toyota said in a statement. Toyota dealers will perform the necessary repairs on the vehicle free of charge.

™ & © 2013 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.