Sometimes, the finest of automobiles can't escape a pesky recall. In this case, it's the Bentley Mulsanne, which has been recalled over rear seat safety belt buckles that may detach.
Apparently, the rear seat buckles may totally detach from the seat in the event of a crash, which is a mighty ironic flaw in itself. The issue means the vehicles do not comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety standards. As fine of a vehicle the Mulsanne is, it still needs to comply with federal regulations just like any $20,000 car on the road.
Bentley isn't in the business of mass producing hundreds of thousands of cars, thus, the recall, which was filed with the NHTSA on January 15, only affects 1,059 cars total. Model years affected date back to 2012, while the newest Mulsannes affected were built for the 2018 model year.
2017 Bentley Mulsanne Extended Wheelbase
To fix the problem, owners will need to bring their Mulsanne (or let's be honest, have their driver bring the car) to a local Bentley dealership where a technican will strengthen the rear seat belt mounting. Specifically, an additional reinforcement panel will be installed to the body structure to make sure a crash will not yank the seat buckles from their place.
The seat buckle recall is the second recall for the Bentley flagship in the past few months. The Mulsanne was also recalled this past October for a rear camera that could fail to display the surroundings fully for up to two seconds. While it was a minor issue, the quirk also meant the car did not comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety standards.
Owners should be notified about the latest recall in March.