Breaking News – Honda recalls Jazz; Indian models also part of recall

The storm over Toyota’s recalls are yet to settle down and now, another breaking news has come in the form of Honda recalling around 646,000 Honda Fit/Jazz worldwide to fix a problem associated with a faulty window switch. The recall includes all the vehicles produced and sold in North America, South America, Europe,South Africa and all of Asia and that includes India as well. The interesting bit is that the recall does not cover the Japanese market.

The recall comes after a toddler, Vanilla was burned to death in South Africa over this issue.  Vanilla was just 2 years old and passed away on her second birthday. Vanilla was sleeping in the car while her mom went out to get  her some birthday presents. When she was shopping, she heard people yelling ‘Fire! Fire!’ and to her horror, found her car on fire.

The problem exists with the car’s master window switch which can seriously overheat when exposed to liquid and result in fire. However, no mishaps have been reported in India but Honda will recall all the cars sold so far to rectify the problem as a precautionary measure.

“Under some severe operating conditions, water, rain, or other liquid may enter the driver’s window and reach the master power window switch, resulting in impaired function of the switch. If the master power window switch is damaged as a result of the liquid intrusion, it may result in failure of the switch and overheating.” “An overheating switch may cause smoke, melting or, potentially, fire.” as mentioned in Honda’s statement.

Honda says that only 10% of the cars will require an altogether new switch while the rest will be fitted with a waterproof skirt to prevent further entry of liquid. And all the work will be done free of charge.Honda will contact Jazz owners in March.

This is going against the reputation of both Honda and Toyota. Analysts predict that Japan could lose its name as a maker of high quality cars due to this and say sales of Japanese cars will be affected. We think this is more of an opportunity for the other manufacturers to see a sales increase as buyers temporarily move Toyota off their shopping list (in USA specially). Lets wait for Honda’s official statement for India.

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