Better known as the Fiat Ducato across the pond, the Ram ProMaster full-size van has been hit with a safety recall. According to documents published by the NHTSA on Chrysler's behalf, seatbelt buckle assembly supplier Autoliv North America has produced a plethora of driver seatbelt buckle assemblies with incorrect switch sense magnets.
The incorrect magnets were introduced in 2022 Ram ProMaster production back on March 7, 2022. Affected vehicles also include 2023 models, the cut-off date being August 1, 2022. The incorrect magnets incorrectly activate the seatbelt warning system, indicating that the belt is unlatched when it's actually latched. But why is this such a big deal?
Failure to detect if a driver has buckled up can impede the seatbelt warning system from deactivating, which ultimately leads to reduced seatbelt usage, increasing the risk of injury in a crash. That's not all, though, because said condition goes against Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 section S7.3 for occupant crash protection.
The driver seatbelt buckle assembly's part number is 1ZS81JXWAA, with said assembly compatible with 2014 through 2024 models ranging between the ProMaster 1500 and ProMaster 3500. At press time, it costs nearly $350 on Mopar's website.
Affected owners, however, won't have to spend a cent because FCA US LLC dealers will replace the original assemblies with properly manufactured ones at no charge whatsoever. Dealers will be informed about recall 24V-129 no later than April 12, 2024. Notification letters will be sent by Chrysler via first-class mail by April 12, 2024 as well.
Photo: Ram
What boggles the mind is that FCA US LLC started investigating this problem back in June 2022, analyzing claims and records through October 2022. Technical Safety and Regulatory Compliance worked together with US Restraints Engineering and Manufacturing through October 2023 to understand the part design, assembly process, and failure mode. TSRC then reviewed supplier and vehicle production records through January 2024.
It's hard to understand why the Auburn Hills-based automaker takes so much time to identify such an obvious issue, but then again, this isn't the first time Chrysler faffed about instead of being laser-focused on identifying and remedying the recall condition.
Not to be confused with the ProMaster City, the full-size van competes with the Ford Transit. Care to guess which one sold better in 2023? That would be Ford's large van, which moved 129,009 units in the United States market. By comparison, the ProMaster clocked 81,663 deliveries last year.
The Transit carries a starting price of $46,890 (sans destination charge) for the panel van or $42,985 for the cutaway. Over at Ram, the ProMaster is $44,960 and $44,405, respectively. Mercedes-Benz's van division also deserves a shout-out, with the Sprinter kicking off at $49,900 and $53,000, respectively. All three can be had as EVs, but alas, the limited range makes them viable only in the urban jungle.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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