Honda recalls 57,853 City sedans for faulty engine parts, sets a positive trend in India

We Indians are a heck of a patient lot. Even after being taken for a ride by most companies when compared to our foreign peers, we don’t make a huge fuss out of it and continue buying and embracing their products. The automotive industry is no exception - we are used to paying more and getting less than almost every other country out there and we don’t make a hue and cry over it.

Take this for instance. While almost every single company that sells cars in India allows people to configure cars according to their individual preferences in other markets, we Indians are still forced to choose from the factory-fitted options only. Or, more importantly, while countries like USA, the European Union and Australia have extensive crash test norms and strict regulations enforcing the safety of the vehicles that are sold in their respective markets, the big and booming Indian market still doesn’t have a safety protocol or worse, even a recall policy.

This is why when Honda decided to issue an open statement recalling 57,853 numbers of its popular City sedan in India to replace the potentially faulty motion control springs in the engine, I felt like running out and congratulating them for starting a new trend in our country. Remember, there are no regulatory authorities in India to force them to do this recall and, if I remember correctly, this is the second time that the Honda City is being recalled in India within a year. Nonetheless, the company went ahead, accepted the fact that there was a mistake and included India and its 57,000 odd cars in a global recall covering around 700,000 compact cars from Honda across Asia, USA and Japan.

Sure, the customers who paid a premium to get the City over an equivalent Verna or Fiesta are going to feel shortchanged and cheated. Also, the image of Honda is sure to take a hit as Hondas have always known to be reliable and trouble-free and two recalls in one year doesn’t augur well for the premium-priced Japanese brand. But still, Honda went ahead, risked its reputation and gained confidence and trust by issuing this voluntary recall.

Now that the precedent is set, henceforth, I hope that all manufacturers would follow suit and treat the high-paying Indian customers with a bit more respect and transparency that they really deserve.