Transport Canada and Toyota have recalled nearly 150,000 RAV4 crossovers after discovering the rear seatbelts could sever in a frontal collision. The safety regulator discovered the flaw in a crash test conducted during an investigation into a fatal crash involving a 2011 RAV4.
In that crash, the rear-seat passengers died, while two front seat occupants survived. That caught the attention of the government department's investigators, who recreated the crash with a RAV4 of similar specification and dummies "similar in weight" to the actual passengers.
In that recreation, both rear seatbelts severed and both of the dummies in the rear seat showed evidence of what would be potentially deadly injuries.
Further investigation revealed the belts were cut through contact with a metal flange in the seat's structure.
Transport Canada has not claimed that the severed seatbelts directly caused the deaths.
The recall affects RAV4 models sold between 2006 and 2011. Dealers will install plastic covers on the metal flanges.
Check out Transport Canada's video of their crash test, which shows one of the rear belts breaking.
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