Maruti Suzuki recalls 1 lakh A-Stars with fuel tank problem

To replace fuel pump gasket, 0-ring at no cost to customers.

The country's leading carmaker Maruti Suzuki has recalled around one lakh units of the A-Star hatchback, following a problem in its fuel tank that may cause a leak when the filled to the brim.

The recall affects all units of the A-Star produced from its launch in November 2008 and up to August 22, 2009, including those exported during the period. The A-Star was the most exported model from the Maruti Suzuki stable in 2009, with the company also manufacturing the car for Nissan under the brand name ‘Pixo'. In South America, the A-Star is sold as Suzuki Celerio.

“In November 2009, we came across an anomaly reported in the fuel tank in some of the vehicles and, by December 2009, we started contacting customers through letters. In case fuel is filled up to the brim, beyond fuel auto cut-off position, a possible leakage from the fuel pump mounting area may take place. We are changing the fuel pump gasket and O-ring at no cost to the customer,” a company statement said.

Mr Shashank Srivastava, Chief General Manager, Marketing, Maruti Suzuki, told Business Line that 34,500 units of the A-Star sold in the domestic market and 65,000 units exported were affected. “We had told our dealers in December to call our customers for the change in the parts. It (replacement) is being done as the customers come in for regular servicing. Until now, the problem has been rectified in about 40 per cent of the A-Star units affected in the domestic market,” he said.

Mr Srivastava pointed out that in Europe, the main export market for the compact car, the company was conducting the recall according to its recall policies and that all affected models sold abroad would also be rectified. According to Delhi-based dealers of the company, the cost of the parts that need replacement is around Rs 200. This means an expense of about Rs 2 crore for Maruti Suzuki for the one lakh units being recalled. However, due to the fact that more than 60 per cent of the recalled units are from the company's exports, the total expense may be significantly higher.

It may recalled that, in recent weeks, two Japanese carmakers had recalled faulty units — Honda recalled 8,532 units of the 2007 City model in India, while Toyota recalled close to 10 million vehicles (including the Prius, the Lexus HS 250h, SUVs, pick-up trucks) in North America, Europe and China.