For the second time in four months, Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) has recalled its vehicles. On Tuesday, it recalled 69,555 diesel vehicles.
The company said that it will proactively inspect and repair the wiring harness fitment of these vehicles – 55,938 units of old Dzire, 12,486 units of old Swift and 1,131 units of Ritz, manufactured between March 2010 and August 2013.
In April, the company had recalled 1,03,311 vehicles to replace ‘fuel filler neck’.
The vehicles included 42,481 units of Dzire, 47,237 units of Swift, and 13,593 units of Ertiga manufactured between November 2013 and February 2014.
Combined with the earlier recall this year, the total goes up to 1,72,866 vehicles, which is a major chunk by an automobile manufacturer.
The major recall by a single company has been General Motors’ India (1.14 lakh units of multi-purpose vehicle – Tavera - in July 2013).
New draft provisions If the provisions in the new draft Bill (Road Transport and Safety Bill 2014) of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways are accepted, companies recalling vehicles could attract fines.
The Bill stipulates that in case 100 or more people report a defect that may ‘cause harm to the driver or passengers of that model of motor vehicle or to other road users’ then a fine will be imposed.
“The Authority shall have the power to order a recall of all the motor vehicles of a particular model where a defect in that particular model of motor vehicle that may cause harm to the driver or occupants of that motor vehicle or to other road users,” it says.
Maruti Suzuki India, in its statement, said the “exercise is limited to vehicles within the above specified range and does not pertain to any other vehicle of the company or its exports.
“This exercise does not pertain to any other model of the company or its exports”.
Internal checks “Maruti Suzuki dealers will contact owners of all the affected vehicles.
“The dealer workshop technicians will inspect the wiring harness fitment condition and carry out the necessary repairs, free-of-cost,” it said.
It said the problem was noticed based on feedback monitoring and internal checks by the company.
Proactive action “Accordingly, proactive action has been initiated in the interest of customers,” it said.
The users of these cars can also check the company’s website to see whether their vehicle is among those recalled.