Safety defect leads to recall of 8500 Holdens

Holden New Zealand is recalling about 8500 vehicles after a serious safety defect was detected in some models.

Holden's public affairs manager Aalbert van Ham told NZPA that Holden had established that the cooling hose in some vehicles' power steering was not strong enough.

If it ruptured, which might be possible during cornering, a driver could lose control of the car.

Cars affected were Commodore utility and Holden special vehicles bought between August 26, 2002, and September 2, 2003, and Statesmen and Caprice models bought between March 20, 2003, and September 2, 2003.

He said staff were sending out letters, which would probably be with owners by early next week.

People who purchased affected vehicles second-hand would also have the fault fixed free of charge.

He said the fault was identified after analysis of a recent "incident" that occurred in New Zealand.

The vehicles in question were manufactured in Australia.

- NZPA