[kskthere]

Hello All,

I'm Sathish Kumar. Happy to be part of this elite club.
This is the pic taken by my friend, who also recently got his Baleno's steering column replaced under warranty. This includes all the cut-off chassis numbers of Baleno, Vitara Brezza and S-Cross.

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by kskthere

This includes all the cut-off chassis numbers of Baleno, Vitara Brezza and S-Cross.

Thanks for sharing this. My S-Cross falls under the suspected range. I do not hear any clicking sound from the steering column, I will speak to my MASS and get the car inspected.

[DieselAddikt]

I have to say that extending additional warranty for the replaced part is a nice move. In my opinion, Maruti did a good thing by replacing the affected part and by extending the part warranty, and then messed it up with poor choice words in the press release.

Originally Posted by deehunk

How come they say that replacing such a critical part in an out of warranty car as a goodwill gesture? If they have used a faulty part in their cars, question of having warranty or not should not arise. Death does not discriminate between such cars.

This is the exact thought that came to my mind when I read the first post. Showing Goodwill gesture towards a customer for not manufacturing/assembling something properly? If anything, it is the customer who has to show a goodwill gesture by not thrashing them on their face. The manufacturer should be sorry and apologize for not getting it right the first time! What do these people think? May be the marketing team wanted to use this to their advantage (as an opportunity to instill some more brand loyalty into it's customers).

[Dr.Naren]

Guys,

This is not an official recall / press release by Maruti. Maruti had sent this circular to dealers few months back. The parts would be replaced free of cost for the cars in the given chassis number range if the customer has complaints.

I had noticed the weird steering behaviour in my Baleno couple of months back.

Posted here :
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...petrol-14.html

Dealer had agreed to change under warranty saying they have got the circular from Maruti. Later, when we checked the chassis number of my Baleno was not on the list. Dealer has assured that they will escalate and replace it under warranty during next service .

[Dr.Naren]

For S-Cross Owners!

The circular mentions the model code only for 1.3. But, I did some research and strongly feel that Maruti missed to mention about 1.6 model code .

3 part numbers are mentioned

48200M65M10 : Sigma 1.3
48200M65M20 : Delta. Both 1.3 and 1.6
48200M65M40 : Zeta & Alpha : Both 1.3 and 1.6

Steering column is same in respective models of both 1.3 and 1.6. Chassis number range for potentially affected cars are from 126180 to 140079. These are the cars manufactured in 2016. My 1.6 also falls under this cut off. During the last service, dealer did notice abnormal sound from the column. I have posted the same in my ownership review. I don't understand how S-Cross 1.6 manufactured during the same period, sharing the same part as 1.3 is not affected. It's very very likely that Maruti missed out to mention model code of 1.6 in the circular.

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by sudeepg

It's not that Maruti is replacing it as a "goodwill gesture". It is warranty replacement for OOW cars but under the route of goodwill claim for the systems to accept it.

This could have been done with more transparency, Maruti had nothing to lose being the No.1 manufacturer in India.

[ajay_satpute]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

3 part numbers are mentioned

48200M65M10 : Sigma 1.3
48200M65M20 : Delta. Both 1.3 and 1.6
48200M65M40 : Zeta & Alpha : Both 1.3 and 1.6

Noob question: Is there a easy way to find out the part number in my 1.3 SCross? Mine is 2015 manufactured, so I am not sure if it falls in this category.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

Noob question: Is there a easy way to find out the part number in my 1.3 SCross? Mine is 2015 manufactured, so I am not sure if it falls in this category.

Part numbers are same for all batches, 2015-2017. They differ with respect to variants. Your car is not affected as it's made in 2015. Just see if the chassis number is within the range.

Also I repeat again there is no need to worry. This is not a recall / defect in all the cars. If there is an issue, Maruti will replace under warranty.

[Prodigy07]

I had posted in the Baleno Official Review thread that the steering in my 2016 Baleno Zeta CVT shivers at standstill. Also, I've been noticing that the steering starts vibrating once I cross 80km/hr.

So, is this issue related to this recall?

[GTO]

Thanks to Ram for sending this information in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page!

Hello Team,

FYI: This silent recall is running for the Ciaz as well. 2017 Nov onward cars as per our knowledge. The car was sent for a its 5000 km service this week. The SA informed my friend that the fuel pump is being replaced FOC as part of a recall. The next day, he received a call and said that the steering column, rack etc are being replaced as part of the recall. The total bill of this was around Rs 46000, but done free of cost.

Thanks,
Ram

[SJM1214]

Originally Posted by KiloAlpha

Being a "silent" recall, it will be done only if a customer complains about the issue.

Originally Posted by deehunk

This could have been done with more transparency,

+1

Why a "silent" recall? MSIL have the list of faulty/ affected cars (chassis numbers). Shouldn't MSIL or respective MASS inform customers proactively? Why wait for the customers to report this issue? MS Brezza and MS Baleno are leaders of their respective segments. It's highly possible that lots of customers will turn up to MASS. Is it the only reason for a silent recall?

What is a Silent Recall?
Ever heard of a silent recall? You probably have not—and that’s because these are repairs that manufacturers do to products only if a customer complains about the problem. Even though the manufacturer is aware of the defect, they won’t repair it unless the consumer complains.

Silent recalls are not an accepted industry practice, but they happen far too often. Manufacturers of various types of products are guilty of the practice, including automakers. This leaves thousands of motorists unaware of the defect in their cars.

[Chetan_Rao]

The Baleno suspension issue was a silent recall too, and there were quite a few reports on the forum about people having to push for a replacement when MASS tried to brush them off.

Silent recalls put the onus on the customer, and not everyone may have the know-how to notice or understand the severity of the issue. For a critical part like the steering rack assembly, Maruti should put out an advisory for all affected customers and notify them via MASS for corrective action.

[chandra1]

The steering of my baleno feel tilted a little to right (by 2-3 degree). When steering was perfectly straight the car went slightly to the left. I also feel steering behaving a little strangely on windy roads. I can't clearly describe exactly how but feels like I have less control. I reported this to Kalyani Motors Nexa HYD and they categorically rejected that there is any problem. I took a test drive with three of their mechanics and SAs and showed them the issue but all of them refused to recognise the issue, simply saying this is negligible and not a problem at all.
Now that I see this thread I feel if my car has this issue. I checked the chassis no. and it is not in the range. Can I still ask them for replacement. What if they simply don't accept there is any problem like they did before? Should I write to Maruti, first?

[crazyro]

My colleague faced the same steering issue last month in her Baleno.
The steering was not returning back post release.
Nexa service acknowledged the issue and replaced the steering assembly in warranty
but they are not ready to extend the warranty by 3 years

They are denying any such circular issued by Maruti
Is there anything she can do further

[kskthere]

Originally Posted by chandra1

The steering of my baleno feel tilted a little to right (by 2-3 degree). When steering was perfectly straight the car went slightly to the left. I also feel steering behaving a little strangely on windy roads. I can't clearly describe exactly how but feels like I have less control. I reported this to Kalyani Motors Nexa HYD and they categorically rejected that there is any problem. I took a test drive with three of their mechanics and SAs and showed them the issue but all of them refused to recognise the issue, simply saying this is negligible and not a problem at all.
Now that I see this thread I feel if my car has this issue. I checked the chassis no. and it is not in the range. Can I still ask them for replacement. What if they simply don't accept there is any problem like they did before? Should I write to Maruti, first?

I think you have caster alignment problem. Yes, you should shoot an email to Nexa (don't think about cut-off nos), and then I'm sure you know the process after that. They ask you to take the car to your preferred service centre (suggest you to visit RKS Motors Uppal). Explain clearly about your problem and don't discuss about any circular. They are aware of the latest developments of the internal circular being made public and also some are visiting service centres just because their VIN is in the cut-off list.

Originally Posted by crazyro

My colleague faced the same steering issue last month in her Baleno.
The steering was not returning back post release.
Nexa service acknowledged the issue and replaced the steering assembly in warranty
but they are not ready to extend the warranty by 3 years

They are denying any such circular issued by Maruti
Is there anything she can do further

Good that the steering column is replaced under warranty. Again, there was no need to discuss about the circular. They won't mention about extended warranty explicitly anywhere, it is just implied. No need to worry about it.