Maruti Suzuki recalls 11,177 Grand Vitaras to check rear seatbelt mounting brackets

Maruti Suzuki India has announced a recall of 11,177 Grand Vitara SUVs manufactured between August 8 and November 15, 2022.

In a statement, the carmaker said “it is suspected that there is a possible defect in the rear seatbelt mounting brackets (‘parts’) which, in a rare case, may loosen in the long run and impact its functionality. Vehicle owners will be receiving communication from Maruti Suzuki authorised dealer workshops for inspection and replacement of the affected parts, free of cost.”

The recall is to check for a possible defect in the Grand Vitara’s rear seatbelt mounting brackets, which may loosen in the long run and impact its functionality.

The Grand Vitara SUV, which was launched on September 26, 2022 at Rs 10.45 lakh, is seeing strong demand in the market and has, till end-December 2022, sold a total of 23,425 units, averaging 5,856 units a month.

On January 6, Maruti Suzuki expanded the Grand Vitara range with a CNG variant, priced at Rs 12.85 lakh and a claimed fuel-efficiency of 26.6 km/kg.

Thirteen days later, the company exported its first batch of made-in-India Grand Vitaras to Latin America from the Kamarajar Port, near Chennai. 

This is the second voluntary recall from the passenger vehicle market leader this month. On January 18, the company announced a recall for a total of 17,362 vehicles comprising six models – Alto K10, S-Presso, Eeco, Brezza, Baleno and Grand Vitara – manufactured between December 8, 2022 and January 12, 2023. The recall is being undertaken to inspect and replace the airbag controller in the affected vehicles due to “a possible defect in the affected part which, in a rare case, might result in non-deployment of the airbags and seatbelt pretensioners, in the event of a vehicle crash.”