The vehicles had their seatbelt safety warnings programmed for the wrong markets
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by Sebastien Bell
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Seatbelt chimes are at the heart of a new recall from Porsche, which affects a total of 6,531 vehicles in Canada and the U.S., though not on the mainland. The problem relates to incorrect software that does not comply with federal regulations.
The issue mostly impacts Canada, where 6,401 vehicles are affected. That includes the 2020MY Porsche Taycan Turbo, as well as the 2020-2021MY Taycan, and the 2020-2021MY 911 Carrera. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the problem is entirely confined to Puerto Rico, where 130 Porsche Taycans from the 2020 model year have become wrapped up in this recall.
In documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Porsche reports that the vehicles aren’t defective, as such. Instead, they were simply given coding for the wrong market.
Read: Faulty Water Pumps Trigger Porsche Panamera, Bentley Continental Recall
That means that when an occupant enters any of the above-mentioned Porsches and does not buckle up, the car’s seatbelt warning behaves incorrectly. In fact, the warning makes no sound at all. Instead, the vehicle simply lights up a warning sign on the dashboard that stays on until the occupant in questions buckles their seatbelt.
As a result, the vehicles do not comply with safety regulations in the U.S. and Canada. In the latter market, seatbelt warnings must include both a visual and an auditory sign that a passenger has not buckled up.
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As has been well documented, vehicle passengers who don’t wear their seatbelts are much likelier to be injured in the event of a crash. That’s why both markets have specific requirements for seatbelt warnings.
Fortunately, since this is a software issue, it will be a relatively simple one to fix. In both markets, Porsche plans to ask owners to take their vehicle to a dealership to have their instrument cluster software updated, and brought back into compliance with regulations. American owners can expect to start being notified on May 16.
