Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s leading carmaker, is recalling 1,00,000 A-Star hatchbacks to fix a fuel leakage problem with the model. Maruti is recalling the cars from Europe, as the A-Star had been exported to different parts of the world.(Find out more here) The total cost of the same is about Rs. 30 crores of which 40 percent will be borne by the auto component manufacturer. The recall includes Maruti A-Star models manufactured during November 2008 and August 2009, and sold in domestic as well as overseas markets. About 1 lakh cars are to be checked for the faulty rubber gasket in the fuel tank, and Maruti Suzuki India claim that already 50% of the cars have goen through the exercise. The problem identified is when fuel if filled upto the brim, beyond the cut-off position, a fuel leak may take place from the pump mounting area. In order to have the replacement done, all that a customer needs to do is to drive into a Maruti service centre. The faulty component would be replaced in a matter of 15 minutes.

Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda are reeling under the after effects of mammoth recalls, stemming from sticky accelerator pedals and faulty brakes. Counting Suzuki as one, all three Japanese auto manufacturers are going through tough times. The incident is definitely a hit to Maruti Suzuki’s reputation, but at the same time, the company deserves appreciation for having owned up to it’s mistake, and taking necessary corrective action. Maruti’s share value went down by over 3% when the recall news broke out, but had the issue surfaced at some other point of time, the damage might have been bigger.

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