When I was pulling up the Carfax for DavidG's new ride, I came across a factory recall issued this month for Montero's with cargo mats. I just got back from the dealer purchasing new bulbs for my compass/temp gauge, and I asked them about it.

Apparently, the latch for the third row seat and the rear seat can get covered by parts of the rear cargo mat and this (obviously) prevents the seats from latching properly (which can cause quite a disaster in the event of a rollover or collision). From what the service guy told me, they just cut the mat in a certain way to create a bigger hole in the cargo mat for the latch points - that's it!

As a few of you know, my wife and I are lawyers who deal allot with the infamous California Song Beverly "Lemon Law" Act and various other California consumer protection laws, and we have seen some nasty accidents where the manufacturers are involved in the litigation due to design flaw issues (i.e. Ford Explorer roll over type cases). The fact that this is the only recall issued for a Montero, and it is such a common sense item, is a real statement about the quality build of these vehicles, and (rant on) a real bummer from the standpoint of our finger pointing, no fault legal system and the damn lawyers who are running nit picky scams and forcing manufactures to issues these silly recalls (rant off).

Bottom line, if you didn't already know better (which I know all of you do), if you have a cargo mat or not, make sure the darn seat locks into place before seating your loved ones (or in-laws <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" />).

Take care,

Jim