Marurti Suzuki, India’s largest car maker, has warned customers not to drive their Ciaz, Ertiga, Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and XL6 models made between 4 May 2018 and 27 October 2020 over water-logged areas.
The company said there is a fault in 1.82 lakh of these vehicles which can cause unexpected results if the customer drives these cars in water-logged areas or over water sprays.
“Affected vehicle owners would be receiving a communication from Maruti Suzuki authorized workshops,” the company said. “The replacement of the affected part shall start from the first week of November 2021. Till then, customers are requested to avoid driving in water logged areas and direct water spray on electrical/electronic parts in vehicle,” it said.
The company did not give further details about what exactly is the affected part or what the associated malfunction is.
It said a it is recalling “some petrol variants of Ciaz, Ertiga, Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and XL6…to inspect for a possible defect in 181,754 units”.
Instead of waiting for an email or call from Maruti Suzuki, customers can find out if their vehicle is affected by going to the ‘Imp Customer Info’ section of Maruti Suzuki’s websites — www.marutisuzuki.com for Ertiga and Vitara Brezza and www.nexaexperience.com for Ciaz, XL6 and S-Cross.
They can then fill-in their vehicle’s chassis number to check if their vehicle is affected by the problem. Customers can find the chassis number on the vehicle ID plate, usually under the bonnet next to the radiator cap. It is also mentioned in the vehicle invoice and registration documents.
This is one of the biggest vehicle recalls of all times in India.
For example, in the whole of 2019, only around 1.6 lakh vehicles were recalled by the Indian auto industry.
This increased to 3.8 lakh in 2020.
However, 2021 is turning out to be a big year for auto recalls in India as even before the latest move by Maruti Suzuki, a total of 3.77 lakh vehicles were recalled.