Maruti Suzuki finds 181,754 cars defective; to call buyers for repairs

Mumbai, Sept 3: Maruti Suzuki is recalling 181,754 cars to inspect and rectify possible safety defects in one of the biggest vehicle recalls in the country.

India’s largest carmaker will try to repair faults in the petrol variants of Ciaz, Ertiga, Vitara Brezza, S-Cross, and XL6 that were manufactured between May 4, 2018 and October 27, 2020.

The latest recall is the biggest ever for the company, which sells one in every two cars in the country. Customers of the Maruti Suzuki cars are feeling aghast about this and are questioning the quality control systems of the company.

“It is frustrating. The company needs to be held responsible for this by the regulators. This recall is going to have immense time implications me us, and even some costs, because, during the process, some of the dealers are known to offer other services to customers as add-on marketing-based services”, said Abhay Sinha, a car owner in Jammu.

What customers have to do now?

The recalled vehicles will be inspected and if any fault is found in their motor generator unit, that will be replaced free of cost. Owners of the affected vehicles will be contacted and notified by Maruti Suzuki’s authorised workshops. The repairs will be conducted from the first week of November 2021 in a phased manner, the company said.

To check if a vehicle has been affected, customers have been asked to visit the company’s website (for the Vitara Brezza and Ertiga) or the Nexa website (for the XL6, S-Cross and Ciaz). One needs to fill in their vehicle chassis number to check if it needs attention.

Will the recall any costs on the customers?

Although as of now the company says that the repairs will be free of cost, industry analysts say that the past experience suggests that the customers might be asked to pay for any added services being provided in the process.