Ford has issued a voluntary recall of its best selling compact SUV EcoSport in India to resolve an issue related to the rear twist beam bolt. The Rear Twist Beam is an integral part of the vehicle which may not have been tightened to the specification, hence it may cause the pivot bolt to break that can potentially affect vehicle’s handling and thereby increase the risk of an accident. However, no accidents have reportedly taken place due to this issue yet.
The recall accounts for units produced between November 2013 and April 2014 at the Ford’s Chennai plant. This is the third time Ford has recalled EcoSport in India since its debut in 2013, first recall was called within the first week of its launch to cure faulty glow plug. And, in December 2014, 20,752 units were recalled to fix a possible corrosion in the fuel and vapor line.
Ford is writing to all the customers of the affected models and asking them to take their vehicles at a local Ford dealer. And, if necessary, all the rework will be carried out free of cost by the company.
In September 2013, the American carmaker had recalled around 1.66 lakh units of Fiesta Classic and Figo models over the issues like faulty rear suspension and power steering pipe. According to PTI, with Ford’s most recent recall, over 13 lakh vehicles have been recalled by various manufacturers in India until now ever since SIAM (Society of Indian automobile manufactures) initiated a voluntary policy in 2012.
Ford India in an official statement said, “Ford India is proactively contacting select customers to voluntarily inspect their EcoSport vehicles. In some of the affected vehicles, there is a possibility that the Rear Twist Beam (RTB) bolt may not be tightened to specification, which may cause the pivot bolt to break. This condition can potentially compromise vehicle handling and thereby increase the risk of an accident,”
