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U.S. Regulators Probe Seatbelt Failures in Volkswagen SUVs

U.S. Regulators Probe Seatbelt Failures in Volkswagen SUVs

(Bloomberg) -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into Volkswagen AG’s latest Tiguan SUV after the vehicle’s front seatbelts failed in two government crash tests.

In two tests in December, the driver’s seat belt webbing "completely separated" where it loops through tongue latch that clicks into the buckle, the agency said in a memo posted on its website. The failures occurred during separate frontal impact tests where the vehicle crashed into a rigid barrier at 35 miles per hour.

Failures did not occur in Volkswagen’s internal testing and the company intends to determine the cause of the different results in NHTSA’s tests, Volkswagen spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan said in a statement. The company will cooperate with NHTSA’s investigation, she said.

"Volkswagen takes its commitment to safety very seriously," Ginivan said. "The Tiguan was designed to meet or exceed safety standards and has performed well in internal testing as well as other third party tests such as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety."

The probe covers an estimated 129 Volkswagen Tiguans from the 2018 model year, which Volkswagen redesigned to be larger for the U.S. market and went on sale last year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ryan Beene in Washington at rbeene@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Wasserman

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