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Thursday, October 11, 2012

Toyota India recalls 8700 Corolla, Camry cars

NEW DELHI: Toyota on Wednesday recalled at least 8,700 units of Camry and Corolla Altis sedans in India as part of a massive global recall to inspect faulty power window master switches (PWMS) which could be a potential fire hazard.

The exercise, as part of a voluntary move, is an extension of a recall of more than 74 lakh vehicles the Japanese company is undertaking worldwide to fix the problem.

The exercise is the biggest single recall globally since Ford pulled 80 lakh vehicles off the road in 1996 to replace defective ignition switches that could have caused engine fires. Toyota has itself battled its way back from multiple difficulties since 2008, including a series of recalls involving more than 10 million vehicles in 2009-11.

For India, the company said that the recall will cover Altis models manufactured between July 30 and December 31, 2008. For the Camry, models made between September 1, 2006 and July 31, 2008 will be covered.

"On certain Corolla Altis and Camry models of the specified years, the PWMS may begin to feel notchy or become inoperative. This can be due to wear and tear over-time, of specific contact points in the PWMS," the company's Indian subsidiary, Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM), said.

Owners of the vehicles covered under the recall campaign will notified by Toyota. "The recall campaign will be conducted from November onwards, across all authorised Toyota dealers in India," TKM said, adding that dealers will inspect and replace any faulty part at no charge. "The repair is expected to take approximately one hour, depending on the dealer's work schedule."

Earlier in August, Ford India had called back over 1.2 lakh units of the Figo hatchback and Classic sedan (earlier known as Fiesta) to fix a potential problem related to the rear suspension and the steering unit that could cause breakdown and even fire.

Against a strict regulatory regime in many countries of the West for vehicle defects, India does not have a mandatory recall regime. While industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) has come out with a voluntary recall code, it is seen as weak and ineffective in case a manufacturer decides to ignore a defect.

And unlike the western markets, recalls are not that prevalent in India and companies are usually shy to admit to a generic problem as they fear a negative impact on their branding.

Apart from Ford, the major recalls in India include Tata Nano's call back of 1.39 lakh Nanos in December last year to replace starter motor and Maruti Suzuki's recall of over 1 lakh A-Star model in February 2010. Other companies that have called back vehicles to fix faulty parts include Bajaj Auto, Toyota, Honda and Skoda.


Source:- The Times Of India

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