Car market leader Maruti Suzuki has announced a recall of over 1 lakh units of the Ertiga MPV, Swift hatchback and Dzire compact sedan to replace a faulty fuel filler neck that could leak if the tank is filled to the brim. The recall, which will start from April 11, was first reported by FE in its edition dated April 8, 2014.
?Maruti will proactively replace fuel filler neck of 103,311 vehicles (42,481 units of DZire, 47,237 units of Swift and 13,593 units of Ertiga) manufactured between November 12, 2013 and February 4, 2014. There is a possibility of fuel smell and in extreme condition there may be some fuel leakage, if fuel is filled up to the fuel cap, beyond the auto cut-off level,? a company statement said.
Launched in February 2012, the new Dzire (priced at R4.85 lakh ? R7.32 lakh) is the second-largest selling car in the country. Maruti Suzuki dealers will contact owners of the affected vehicles, and replace the part free of cost. The said component was supplied by JBM, a vendor in which Maruti has around 29% stake.
?Maruti noticed this problem as part of its regular quality tests in the manufacturing process. Considering the number of vehicles impacted, the company is building up stock of the required component at its dealer workshops, before inviting customers,? the statement added. Users of the three models, who bought their cars after November 12, 2013, can check the company website to ascertain if their car is among the above-mentioned vehicles, or they can visit a dealer workshop.
About 1,492 units of the Dzire, Swift, Ertiga and A-Star were recalled in November last year to rectify a possible problem with the steering column. The largest-ever recall announcement in the country was made by Ford in September last year, when it added 1.66 lakh units of the Figo and Classic models by extending an existing recall of 1.28 lakh units for the same cars in 2012 to fix issues in the rear suspension and power steering. In July last year, GM had recalled 1.14 lakh units of the Tavera MPV after an internal enquiry found that the engines did not meet emissions norms.
Maruti Suzuki’s FY14 domestic volumes posted flat growth (up 0.3%) at 10.53 lakh units. The scrip closed 1.46% down, at R1,930.50, on the BSE.
