A seatbelt failure has prompted Australia’s top vehicle crash testing agency to warn motorists against riding in the back seats of the Suzuki Fronx small SUV, which was introduced locally earlier this year, to which the carmaker quickly responded.
The 2026 Suzuki Fronx has received a one-star crash rating Australasian New Car Valuation Program (ANCAP), one of the lowest values for a small vehicle – and one of the lowest of any model currently sold in Australia.
ANCAP said recent testing of the Fronx revealed the failure of one of the rear passenger seat belts, resulting in the crash test dummy being completely unsecured during the test.
The vehicle had already scored zero points in the full-width frontal impact test before the seat belt failed, including zero points for the dummies for six- and ten-year-old children.
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ANCAP said the zero score was due to “high head acceleration” and “excessive neck tension” found in the child-sized pacifiers, contributing to Fronx’s overall one-star rating.
“Failure of a seat belt component is rare and serious. ANCAP exists to give consumers confidence and when our testing produces results of this nature, we will act in their best interests by communicating our findings promptly and transparently,” ANCAP executive director Carla Hoorweg said in a media statement.
“What concerns us is that this particular vehicle could have been purchased by an ordinary consumer and this fault could have had serious consequences for the person in the back seat in a road accident.
“ANCAP believes that adult and child passengers should not travel in the rear seats of the Suzuki Fronx until the cause of the failure has been identified and appropriate remedial action taken.”
The Fronx achieved 65 percent in protecting vulnerable road users, 55 percent in safety assistant, 48 percent in protecting adult occupants and 40 percent in protecting child occupants.
The automaker issued a response statement after ANCAP released its findings, saying it was taking a proactive approach to safety.
“Suzuki Australia has made the review of this assessment a matter of immediate priority and is working directly with Suzuki Motor Corporation in Hamamatsu, Japan, and Suzuki New Zealand to fully understand the ANCAP test results. This review is being pursued with urgency and at the highest levels of the organization.”
“A thorough and disciplined investigation is underway and Suzuki will take all necessary measures to maintain our safety standards and our customers’ trust in our brand.”
It is the second Suzuki model in the last 12 months to receive a one-star ANCAP rating, following the Swift Small Hatch which received the same star rating in December 2024.
While the Swift was upgraded with additional safety equipment in September 2025 and its rating was raised to three stars, Suzuki Australia does not currently offer vehicles with a five-star ANCAP rating. Popular models, including the Jimny and the current Vitara SUVs, are not officially rated.
Suzuki Australia has dropped several models from its local range in early 2025 following the introduction of new regulations requiring autonomous emergency braking (AEB).
This resulted in the Ignis, S-Cross, Vitara and Swift Sport leaving local showrooms, although Suzuki Australia managing director Michael Pachota said their departure was due to the natural end of their model life cycles.
The regulatory changes also resulted in imports of the three-door Suzuki Jimny being paused, with Australian deliveries expected to resume in 2026 with an updated version.
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