Problematic Seatbelts May Prompt Recall

Government officials are considering ordering a recall of up to 9 million automobiles in the United States because of a possible defect found in Japanese-made seatbelts, sources said Wednesday.

The industry and government sources, all speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the recall was being considered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as automakers were hoping to head it off.

The safety arm of the Department of Transportation has been investigating more than 700 complaints that seat belts manufactured by Takata Inc. have jammed or are difficult to lock and unlock.

The seat belts also were installed in more than 5 million 1986-1991 model vehicles sold by Nissan, Daihatsu, Isuzu, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki, General Motors, Chrysler and Ford.