Suzuki brake failure recall raises cost-cutting questions

Questions are being raised about cost-cutting in the motor industry following a high-profile recall by Suzuki for possible brake failure on its Celerio models. While we have become wearily used to massive vehicle recalls in the past decade, and while the actual number of cars affected is relatively small, the Celerio recall is raising eyebrows for two key reasons. One, the model is brand new, only just launched in right-hand-drive and is barely out of nappies in automotive terms. Two, the problem isn't a minor tweak that can be made by dealers at servicing time (as is the case with most recalls) but a serious and full brake failure at high speeds that has caused Suzuki to ask owners not to drive their cars at all. Replacement cars are being given to any owner affected.

The problems arose when Autocar magazine conducted a brake test from high speed (130kmh) as part of its standard vehicle testing regime. According to Lewis Kingston, Autocar’s Deputy Digital Editor, “During the first full-force braking test, however, all stopping power was immediately lost upon application of the brakes. The brake pedal became stuck in the fully depressed position and had no effect on the Suzuki’s speed. No braking effort could be exerted by forcing the pedal up and reapplying it. Suzuki immediately arranged for collection of the car in order to inspect it and identify the nature of the failure. The company also delivered a second Celerio, in order for pre-arranged testing to continue. The same test resulted in the failure repeating itself, culminating in a complete inability to slow the car in a conventional fashion. Suzuki UK subsequently escalated its investigations in to the failures.”

The Celerio is manufactured in both India and Thailand, in factories operated by Suzuki's Indian subsidiary, Maruti Suzuki. It's the Thai factory that is the focus of these issues, as that's where right-hand-drive Celerios are made. The brake failure doesn't seem to affect left-hand-drive cars, at least not so far.

Questions are now being raised as to whether safety can be kept up to a sufficiently high standard in such a low-cost environment. The business of making cars has been steadily moving eastward over the past decade, as car makers seek lower cost bases and savings but when recalls such as this one are so immediately public and potentially damaging, there must surely now be doubts as to whether the knock-on effects are worth the initial savings.

There is also the worry that the issue could lie with an outside supplier (Suzuki won't yet confirm whether the fault lies within its own design or that of a supplier firm) which could lead to issues for other car makers. The recent scandal over lethally malfunctioning airbags made for a host of car makers by Japanese company Takata has the industry spooked, in that regard.

For now though, Suzuki in Ireland hopes that the problem can be both quickly fixed and won't affect its long term reputation. Declan Maguire of Suzuki Ireland told The Irish Times that "At the moment, we would hope to have cars back on sale and out on the road within two weeks from today, Thursday. Do we think it will affect us long term? Suzuki reacted within hours, of an uncontrolled third party test, to ground all vehicles and halt sales until a full investigation could be carried out. We have an excellent safety and reliability record that has been demonstrated by the way we reacted to the test last weekend. So I don't think it will affect us long term, if anything it speaks volumes as to how serious we are about safety and our customers."

As this article was going to press Suzuki announced that it had identified the problem (albeit it isn’t say specifically what the problem is) and is expecting a delivery of revised brake components “in the coming weeks.”

As that news came in, so too di a reminder that recalls are now as common in the industry as new model launches. Jaguar Land Rovr has issed a recall in the US market for 70,000 Range Rovers built from 2006 to 2012 to correct a faulty brake hose. The problem has been intitally investigated in 2010 but no recal was issued as there were no reports of any issues with owners. Now though, one accident is being blamed on the faulty hose and dealers are reporting that cars coming in for service are showing symptoms. It's not yet known whether European-market cars are affected. 24,000 Jaguars built from 2012 to 2014 are also affected by the recall as are XK coupe models built from 2012 to 2015 for faulty side-lights.