More than 192,000 General Motors and Isuzu midsize pickup trucks are being recalled because of a problem with the system that anchors child safety seats, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday.
The recall affects Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon models from the 2004 to 2011 model years. Also affected are Isuzu I-280 and I-350 pickups from 2006 and I-290 and I-370 models from 2007 and 2008. The Isuzus were built by GM at its factory in Shreveport, Louisiana.
NHTSA said on its website that the trucks all have bench front seats and no rear seats. Owners can't get to the top child seat anchor for the center of the front seat, and the owner's manual has no instructions on how to use the top anchor, NHTSA said. No accidents or injuries have been reported, GM spokesman Alan Adler said.
Both NHTSA and GM discourage people from using child seats in the front seats of vehicles.
"We don't want anybody to put it there anyway because it's not safe," Adler said.
The repairs are being made because there could be circumstances that require putting a child in a safety seat in the front-center seating position, since the trucks have no rear seats, NHTSA said. The affected models could be regular cab or extended cab vehicles.
The lack of access to the top tether anchor and lack of instructions could result in the seat being improperly installed, increasing the risk of injury or death in a crash, NHTSA said.
The automakers do not yet have a schedule for notifying owners of the problem, NHTSA said. Dealers will cut a hole in the back panel to open access to the anchor, and the automakers will give owners information on how to properly secure the seats.
