Now, Honda City Recall in India to replace defective engine part

Japanese auto giant Honda Motor Co. Ltd. on Thursday announced the recall of 57,853 units of its popular mid-sized sedan Honda City from Indian roads to replace a faulty engine part. Globally, the company is recalling 693,497 vehicles due to a defective spring in the engine of its Freed, Fit and City models.

“ The defective lost motion springs, which are compressed by rocker arms in normal engine use, may bend or break over time, resulting in abnormal engine noise and potentially causing engine stalling and problems in re-starting,” a company statement said.

The company said that the recall In India will cover only the third-generation Honda City models that were manufactured between November, 2008, and December, 2009.

“ Honda Siel Cars India Ltd (HSCI) is proactively replacing the part in these vehicles with a new improved part,” the company said in a statement. “The company said the replacement would be carried out free of cost and the company will communicate directly with the owners of the cars which are covered under this part replacement,” it said.

The company, however, did not disclose the cost it would incur in replacing the part. Company officials said all dealerships have been updated about the part replacement and the company is already dispatching new parts to the dealerships in phases to avoid any inconvenience to customers.

Last year, Honda had recalled over 10 lakh vehicles across different markets in the world to replace faulty parts, such as defective power windows and safety airbags. In January, 2010, Honda recalled 8,532 units of its second- generation Honda City sedan in India, due to a defective power window switch.

The latest recall comes when the company is already facing stiff competition from other entry level sedans from Toyota, General Motors, Volkswagen, Ford and Nissan. In the April-January period this fiscal, the company sold a total of 51,044 units of Honda City, compared to 49,600 units in the year- ago period, a growth of just 2.91 per cent, as against the industry average of about 30 per cent.

The global recall does not impact the Honda Jazz sold in India, which is sold under the brand name, Fit, abroad. The recall announced by Honda applies to certain units of Fit and Jazz fitted with the 1.5L i- VTEC engine, which is sold in other countries and not in India, HSCI said.

In India, Honda Motors runs operation through a joint venture with the Siel Group. Honda currently produces Honda City, Jazz, Civic and Accord cars in India. It also imports and markets the CR-V sport utility vehicle.