Suzuki NZ repeats safety organisation’s concern about possible risk to rear seat passengers.

THE Suzuki small sports utility slammed by the national crash test auditor for shortcomings including a seatbelt failure is now subject to a recall.

Suzuki New Zealand has also suggested owners of the Fronx which it determines are deficient should not carry passengers in the car’s rear seat.

That advice echoes a warning voiced yesterday from NZTA Waka Kotahi and Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP).

The latter is the Government-funded independent safety auditor which raised the alarm after a rear seat belt in the car failed during its crash test process.

That issue, and others in respect to occupant protection, led to the Melbourne-based organisation determining the Fronx could achieve a safety standard of one stars out of a possible five, a very low score.

Failure of a rear occupant seat belt retractor mechanism during a full-width frontal crash test was of most immediate concern.

Video suggested that rather than locking the belt down it appeared to instead release and allowed a dummy to strike the back of the front left seat with force.

Fronx released in New Zealand in July and so far 1115 have been registered. It has proven popular with older drivers.

Wanganui-based Suzuki New Zealand issued a press statement today that was not wholly specific to this market, but instead reflected the position of parent Suzuki Motor Corporation, which bases in Japan. The car is built in India by Maruti-Suzuki.

The statement says:

“Suzuki Motor Corporation acknowledges the recent ANCAP assessment of the 2025 Fronx Hybrid and has taken decisive action, including the implementation of a thorough investigation.

“Customer safety is non-negotiable and remains Suzuki’s highest priority across Australia and New Zealand.

“As the investigation continues, Suzuki has identified a VIN range of potentially affected vehicles for which a voluntary safety recall is being announced.

“It appears that the functionality of the rear seat belt retractor mechanism may not perform as designed and as a potential consequence excessive belt length may release in the event of collision. This may result in injury.”

Suzuki New Zealand says it is contacting all Fronx customers and advising whether their vehicle is affected or not.

Customers with affected vehicles are requested to immediately cease using the rear seats.

The statement said Suzuki Motor Corporation “is committed to transparency and safety of Suzuki owners and drivers throughout Australia and New Zealand and are taking the necessary steps to ensure all affected vehicles are addressed as soon as possible.”

The announcement of the ANCAP rating for Fronx comes exactly a year after the same organisation decided the latest version of Suzuki’s biggest-selling car, the Swift, was also deficient.

Swift was originally accorded a one star as well, though that raised to three stars several months ago after the car underwent rectification.

While a much better result, the amended score only applies to cars built from September and also is not high enough for many fleets, which have historically been important to Swift sale.

Most will only consider cars with five stars, a standard reached by many Swift and Fronx competitors.