Over the past few weeks we’ve had several readers ask us for an update on the XD-S pistol recall. Late August, Springfield issued a voluntary safety recall of a series XD-S handguns, and the turnaround time is running long.

Springfield issued the recall which only affects select XD-S single-stack concealed-carry pistols, not any of the other XD-series guns, but it does affect both 9mm and .45 ACP XD-S models.

If you own one of these new XD-S handguns, check to see if it is one of the guns included in the recall. The recall spans 9mm pistols with serial numbers between XS900000 and XS938700 and .45ACP pistols with serial numbers between XS500000 and XS686300.

We contacted Springfield to find out more about what issues are holding up the recall process and they directed us to their frequently-asked questions page for more information. However, a recent update to the Web page dedicated to the recall implies that the fix is not a straight-forward repair.

Springfield is telling customers that the turnaround time for the repair is 10 to 12 weeks from the point when they receive the guns.

The new XD-S pistols have an added roll-pin and a new grip safety design. It will be interesting to see if future XD pistols sport the same modification, or if it addresses a flaw that is limited to these guns specifically.

It is likely that the hold-up was due to having to re-design a significant component or components of the affected handguns, and that Springfield’s engineers couldn’t fix the guns with a simple parts swap; if the parts have to be custom-fitted on top of everything else that would add a lot of shop time overhead.

We don’t know what the new safety design does in particular but we do know that XD-S pistols that have the fault in question can slam-fire and double-fire, a dangerous and potentially life-altering problem. So please, check your XD-S pistols to see if they are included in the recall numbers. This is a problem you want fixed.

And while we don’t know the specifics surrounding the issue or issues these pistols are incurring, Springfield has updated their frequently-asked question page with a great deal of information surrounding this recall.

If your XD-S pistol (or pistols) have had to go back to the factory and you’re experiencing a delay, know that you’re not alone, and check out the FAQ.

There have been several other significant recalls recently, including manufacturers Smith & Wesson and Caracal.