- Vehicles
- 17,398
- Built between
- Not published
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Equipment
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 20 February 2003
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
The manufacturer did not publish a build-date range for this recall, so the model and year list below is the only way to tell whether your vehicle is covered.
- BELL Safety Hammer
What the defect is
Bell automotive safety hammers identified as "life-saving escape and rescue tool." these hammers were intended to be used as an instrument to shatter automotive safety glass in the event of an emergency. However, the plastic handle was not designed to withstand the force required to shatter automotive glass.
What could happen
As a result, the plastic ribs, which hold the safety hammer's metal heads, can break upon use, rendering the hammer no longer able to perform as intended.
What gets fixed
BELL WILL REIMBURSE CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE PURCHASED THE SAFETY HAMMER. NOTIFICATION BEGAN FEBRUARY 20, 2003.
Timeline
- Recall reported to NHTSA30 January 2003
- Owners notified20 February 2003
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 30 January 2003.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Manufacturer contact
Owners who do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact bell at 480-991-5055.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- BELL AUTOMOTIVE
- Recall initiated by
- MFR
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Also, customers can contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.