Tata Motors has asked over a lakh Nano owners to bring back their cars for a change of the starter motors. Toyota Kirloskar also launched a similar exercise for 41,000 units of the Etios and the Liva to replace a faulty inlet pipe to the fuel tank. This year there had been several recalls by automobile majors, including Honda Siel, and Maruti Suzuki.
Mumbai, Dec. 26: Tata Motors has asked over a lakh Nano owners to bring back their cars for a change of the starter motors.The replacement exercise, which company officials call an "upgrade", is big considering that all the Nanos rolled out before the revamped version was launched in November this year will be impacted.

The upgrade is expected to result in a Rs 100-crore bill for the automobile major.A Tata Motors spokesperson said, "This process started in October this year and while the upgrades have already been implemented in 50,000 cars, we expect another 55,000 Nanos or so will be fitted in with the new starter motor."

By November, Tata Motors had sold 1.39 lakh Nanos, including the latest version of the small car. The company clarified that this exercise was not a recall and this effort was a continuation of its plan to enhance the car.

This time too the starter motors will be replaced free of cost just like the safety devices.

Toyota recalled all Etios sedans and Liva hatchbacks manufactured before October 8 to check their filler hose. The company said it would take around 45 minutes to check and replace the defective part, if any. It is providing the service free of cost.

Toyota, through advertisements in leading national dailies, has informed its customers that "in line with Toyota's global policy to be honest and sincere with our customers, we have as a precautionary measure organised a special service campaign".The Etios sedan and the Liva hatchback are the cash cows for Toyota. The car maker reported an over two-fold increase in sales at 13,956 units in November, driven by robust demand for its latest Etios and the Liva. The company sold 3,943 units of the Etios and 4,328 units of the Liva last month.

The company had planned to sell 60,000 units of both the Etios and Liva this year.The Liva competes with Maruti Swift, Hyundai i20 and an i10 variant, Chevrolet Beat, Ford Figo and Honda Jazz; the Etios competes with Maruti DZire, Tata Indigo Manza and Mahindra Logan.

In April, Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest car maker, recalled 13,157 diesel engine cars across its three top selling models - Swift Dzire, Swift and Ritz, to replace suspected faulty parts.The company inspected the 'connecting rod bolt' for 13,157 units of Swift Dzire (4,505 cars), Swift (6,841 cars) and Ritz (1,811 cars) diesel cars with engines manufactured between Nov 13, 2010, and Dec 4, 2010. According to the reports, Maruti Suzuki stated that it will inspect the 'Connecting Rod Bolt' and if the Connecting Rod Bolt is found defective, the company will replace the component free of cost.

Japanese auto major Honda recalled 72,115 units of its mid-sized sedan City in India to replace defective power window switches as part of a global exercise. The recall covered the second generation city that was manufactured from 2005 to 2007.

The third and fourth generation of the City is not affected by the recall exercise, HSCI said. Honda Motor is recalling 9.36 lakh cars, including hatchback Jazz, City and sports utility vehicle CR-V, globally due to defective power window switches and the global recall does not impact the Jazz and CR-V sold in India

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