Honda recalls 57,853 City sedans in India

New Delhi, Feb 17 (PTI) Japanese auto major Honda todaysaid it is recalling 57,853 units of its mid-sized sedan Cityin India to replace a faulty engine part, as part of a globalexercise.

The company, which runs operations in India through ajoint venture with the Siel Group -- Honda Siel Cars India(HSCI) -- said the recall will cover only the third-generationCity models that were manufactured between November, 2008, andDecember, 2009.

In a statement, HSCI said it would carry out preventivepart replacement of the lost motion spring in the valve trainof the City sedans being recalled.

"HSCI is proactively replacing the part in these vehicleswith a new improved part," it said.

The defective lost motion springs, which are compressedby rocker arms in normal engine use, may bend or break overtime, resulting in abnormal engine noise and potentiallycausing engine stalling and problems in re-starting, thestatement added.

"The replacement would be carried out free of cost andthe company will communicate directly with the owners of thecars which are covered under this part replacement," it said.

Dealerships have been updated about the part replacementand the new part is being dispatched to the dealerships inphases for smooth execution and to avoid any inconvenience tocustomers, HSCI said.

"HSCI is carrying out the part replacement as part of aglobal exercise by Honda Motor Company to ensure stringentquality standards for its products," the company said.

Honda Motor Co today announced that it is recalling6,93,497 units of its Freed, Fit and City models globally tofix a faulty spring in the engine.

"The global recall does not impact the Honda Jazz sold inIndia. The recall announced by Honda applies to certain unitsof Fit/Jazz fitted with 1.5L i-VTEC engine, which is sold inother countries and not sold in India," HSCI said.

The latest recall comes at a time when HSCI has beenstruggling to keep its sales counter ticking in India. In theApril-January period this fiscal, the company sold a total of51,044 units, compared to 49,600 units in the year-ago period,a growth of just 2.91 per cent, as against the industryaverage of about 30 per cent.

In January, 2010, Honda recalled 8,532 units of itssecond-generation City sedan, manufactured in 2007, in Indiadue to a defective power window switch, as part of a globalrecall initiative.

Last year, Honda recalled over 10 lakh vehicles acrossdifferent markets in the world to replace faulty parts,ranging from power window switch to safety airbags.