[TusharK]

Maruti Suzuki and Toyota have recalled over 15,000 units of the Grand Vitara and Urban Cruiser Hyryder SUVs over a faulty rear seat belt mounting bracket.



Vehicles manufactured between August 8, 2022, and November 15, 2022, are said to be affected by this recall. These include 11,177 units of the Grand Vitara and 4,026 units of the Urban Cruiser Hyryder.

According to the carmakers, their respective dealerships will be reaching out to customers to get their vehicles inspected. If necessary, the component will be replaced free of cost.



This is the third recall announced by Maruti Suzuki and Toyota in the last 2 months. Earlier, both SUVs had been recalled over a faulty front seat belt height adjuster and airbag controller.

Link to Team-BHP News

[anjan_c2007]

The 11,177 units of Grand Vitara were manufactured between 8 August 2022 and 15 November 2022. Maruti suspects that its supply chain is not clean and that some internal, unscrupulous elements are inflating bills and defrauding the company. There could also be a role by such elements in the supply of spares and components.

The company is investigating financial impropriety in the company’s purchase and supply chain department after a whistle-blower pointed out anomalies and cases of inflated billing. The company, while alarmed at the situation, has so far not placed any official under suspension even though the parts-purchase deals are being looked into threadbare.

The allegation is that some of the component supplies to the company have been made at prices that are higher than the expected market quotations. They are seen as inflated with “elements of wrong-doing”, a source said.

The escalations came at a time when the company had been making concerted efforts to control the escalations in input costs that were leading to a spike in vehicle prices. The company has said that sales of its entry cars have been hit badly as vehicles have been expensive.

This is not the first time that the company has faced improprieties in dealings of its purchase department. A similar issue had erupted in the company about nine years back, which saw a high-profile departure.

The news :-

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/97258963.cms

This is a third recall by Maruti within two months. The first related to child parts of the shoulder height adjuster assembly of the front seatbelts, which could lead to seat belt disassembly. The second recall was for checking of a faulty part in the airbag assembly controller that could lead to the airbag not deploying during a crash.

[G V Krishna]

I would always appreciate OEM companies for proactive recalls. This shows the Capabilities and Maturity levels of these companies.

However, three recalls in two months for a single manufacturer is alarming. Maruti needs to retrospect their manufacturing and quality processes at once. Few more recalls or untoward incidents caused by manufacturing defects will erode the 'Quality' & 'Brand' which was built brick by brick over the last 30 years.