SIAM’s Code on Vehicle Recall completes one year

July 2, 2013: In what could be called as a welcome move, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) launched a voluntary Code on Vehicle Recall exactly a year ago. Put into place after consensus with member automobile companies over a year and a half, the code places the onus on the manufacturer to recall a defective vehicle be it a two-wheeler, passenger car or a commercial vehicle. For CBU imports, the concerned importers are responsible for the enforcement.

SIAM’s guidelines for manufacturers address potential issues that exist in a motor vehicle that do not meet safety requirements due to a manufacturing defect as well as remedial actions taken to set it right. The vehicle will be covered under safety recall for a period of 7 years and will target the first buyer. The decision on recall will take into account the degree of seriousness or severity of occurrence of any possible hazard involved. According to the voluntary code, the manufacturer will have to display the recall information on its company’s website and communicate the same to the vehicle owners. During the past year, there have been eight recalls by seven manufacturers (7 four-wheeler OEMs and 1 two-wheeler OEM). In the first six months of 2013, there have been five instances of recall involving over 70,000 vehicles in the Indian market (Mahindra XUV500 numbers not available). Here is a lowdown of the vehicle recalls in India.

June 29, 2013: Honda Cars India recalls 42,672 units of the previous second-generation Honda City, manufactured in 2007 and 2008, to carry out preventive part replacement of the power window switch.

May 29, 2013: Renault India recalls Pulse hatchback and Scala saloon to replace faulty brake master cylinder. The exercise involves 2,836 Pulse and 4,180 Scala vehicles, respectively, produced between June 1, 2012 and March 15, 2013.

May 27, 2013: Toyota Kirloskar Motor recalls 1,100 Corolla Altis diesel saloons to check for a possible driveshaft problem on cars manufactured between August 3, 2012 and February 2013.

May 26 2013: As part of a global recall exercise, Nissan Motor India issues recall for 22,188 units of its Micra and Sunny models produced at its Oragadam, Chennai plant to replace the master brake cylinder in these vehicles, manufactured between June 2012 and March 2013.

March 9, 2013: Mahindra & Mahindra recalls a select batch of its flagship XUV500 SUV, manufactured between 2011 and 2012, to replace the fluid hose, front power window units as well as the left wiper blade cover.

November 19, 2012: Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) recalls 11,500 standard variant CBR250R bikes manufactured between March 2011 and September 2012 for a limited front brake malfunction.

October 10, 2012: Toyota Kirloskar Motor recalls 8,700 units of its Corolla Altis and Camry models to inspect the power window master switch (PWMS) in these vehicles. The move is part of a global exercise by Toyota.

August 14, 2012: Ford India recalls over 128,000 units of its Figo and Classic cars to rectify problems related to the steering and rear suspension. The recall impacts different batches of cars made between January 2008 and December 2010, and from September 2010 till February 2011.

December 2011: Toyota recalls 41,000 Etios and Liva cars to replace faulty fuel inlet pipe.

September 6, 2011: Honda replaces power window switch in 72,115 Citys in India. This is part of a worldwide recall covering 962,000 cars made between 2005-07 to fix faulty power windows and computer systems.

April 7, 2011: Maruti recalls 13,157 diesel-engined cars for a faulty connecting rod bolt in the 1.3 Multijet engine. This includes 4,505 Swift Dzires, 6,841 Swifts, and 1,811 Ritz cars manufactured between November 13 and December 4, 2010. The faulty part was traced to an Italian supplier.

February 17, 2011: Honda recalls 57,853 Citys to replace lost motion spring in the valvetrain. These cars were made in the November 2008-December 2009 period.

January 2011: Fiat India begins replacing AC kits in the petrol Punto and Linea, due to poor performance.

November 2010: Tata Motors offers to retrofit extra safety equipment for Nanos after three Nanos catch fire. The three technical upgrades, for Nanos made till January 2010, comprise a cover for the catalytic converter, an additional fuse in the electrical system, and replacement of the starter motor.

July 2010: Suzuki issues a recall for around 10,000 India-made automatic Altos sold in Europe. Made at the Manesar plant, the problem was an assembly fault in the wiring harness that could cause the tail-lamps to malfunction. It could potentially produce a high current in the brake light solenoid that could burn or melt the contacts.

April 2010: Following a number of customer complaints, Toyota upgrades the front brakes in the Fortuner SUV with thicker and larger front discs similar to those used in the Prado. Cars ‘recalled’ were those made before February 2010.

February 23, 2010: Maruti recalls 100,000 units of the A-star hatchback for a faulty fuel pump gasket and O-ring. The cars affected were manufactured till August 22, 2009.

January 31, 2010: Honda recalls 8,532 Citys for a faulty power window switch as part of a global recall.