Ford India has issued a voluntary recall for 16,444 units of the EcoSport due to a faulty rear twist beam. The company will rectify the cars free of cost.
The Ford EcoSport was launched in India in 2013 and the vehicle has been selling in very good numbers ever since. The EcoSport continues to remain a great option in the compact SUV segment and buyers seem to be loving the overall package that the vehicle is. Ford has now issued a recall for the EcoSport and the company will be recalling as many as 16,444 units of the said vehicle for diagnosing a faulty rear twist beam bolt. Vehicles manufactured from November 2013 to April 2014 have been affected.
The rear twist beam bolt will be checked for issues and the company will rectify the same free of cost. Ford has written to owners of all the affected vehicles and asked them to visit their nearest service stations. The rear twist beam is an integral part of the suspension and Ford suspects that the bolt may not have been fixed tightly and hence it may cause the pivot bolt to break. This condition can affect the handling of the vehicle and even cause an accident.
Ford is conducting this recall as a voluntary measure and no accidents have reportedly taken place due to this issue. In 2013, Ford had recalled the previous generation Figo for the same issue while the Fiesta Classic was also recalled sometime later. Taking this recall into consideration, a total of 13.25 lakh cars have been recalled in India by various manufacturers. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) issued a new voluntary recall policy in 2012.
The Ford EcoSport is offered with three engines – 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines and a 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine. The vehicle is offered with a 5-speed manual transmission as well as a 6-speed DCT gearbox on the 1.5-litre petrol variant. The compact SUV competes with the likes of the Mahindra TUV300, Renault Duster, Nissan Terrano and Maruti S-Cross.
