Kmart car seat covers recalled because they could stop airbags from working

THE humble car seat cover could be a hidden danger inside modern cars with side airbags, which has forced Kmart to issue a national recall.

Photo of a Ford Falcon undergoing a pole crash test. The side airbag, which deploys from the seat, protects the driver's head and torso.

MORE than 22,000 car seat covers sold by Kmart are being recalled across Australia because they can prevent side airbags from being deployed.

The shopping chain says it has sold 11,089 pairs of the Performer brand car seat covers since August 2013, but withdrew them from sale as soon as it was aware of the problem.

Despite the label claiming the Performer seat covers are “airbag compatible”, Kmart says independent testing found them to interfere with airbag deployment.

“To our knowledge there have been no reports of injuries,” said Kmart spokeswoman Anita Agosta.

“As soon as we were alerted, we did further testing and pulled the car seat covers from sale and took recall action.”

Safety ... the Federal Government has issued a warning on its website about the covers, urging people to return them. Picture: News Corp Australia

The Federal Government issued the safety bulletin on its recall website overnight.

The recalls website said: “The side panel of the seat cover does not come apart to allow the airbag to deploy correctly.”

Customers were also advised to “cease using this product immediately (and) return the product to any Kmart store in Australia for a full refund”.

The Performer car seat covers sold for $25, Kmart said.

Australia’s peak crash-safety body ANCAP warned motorists that seat covers can interfere with the side airbags mounted in the seats of most modern cars.

“Many cars now have side airbags in the front seats and increasingly in the rear,” said ANCAP spokeswoman Rhianne Robson.

“In side impact crashes these airbags are designed to burst through the fabric of the seat and inflate to protect the occupant. Car owners should be very careful that a seat cover and any modification does not compromise the safety features of the vehicle,” she said.

This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling