India’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki has issued a recall for the sporty version of its popular hatchback – the Baleno RS. According to the company, a total of 7,213 units of the Baleno RS manufactured between October 27, 2016, and November 1, 2019, are affected.
Why?
The recall has been issued to repair a potential issue with the vacuum pump, which helps with the reduction of speed by aiding the vehicle’s braking system. The automaker has said that the affected vehicles equipped with potentially defective vacuum pumps might require more effort when applying the brake pedal.
To address the potential issue, Maruti Suzuki’s authorized dealer workshops will reach out to owners of the concerned vehicles to arrange a replacement of the defective part completely free of cost.
About The Baleno RS
The Baleno RS was first introduced as a sporty iteration of the automaker’s premium hatch in early 2017. It came with a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder, turbo-petrol unit from Suzuki’s Boosterjet family of engines and churned out a healthy 102hp of max power & 150Nm of peak torque.
Such power & torque figures enabled the Baleno RS to go from 0-100kph in just a little over 10sec. The hot hatch came with a sole 5-speed manual gearbox option as standard.
Although, due to its premium pricing and low fuel efficiency, the Baleno RS did not sell in large numbers and the automaker eventually stopped its production in 2020. However, Maruti has now revived the Baleno RS’s Boosterjet motor with its new Baleno-based coupe-SUV Fronx.
MSIL’s Previous Recalls
Maruti Suzuki India had recalled a total of 11,177 Grand Vitara SUVs manufactured between the 8th of August & 15th of November 2022, citing a potential fault in the rear seat-belt mounting brackets.
Also back in January 2023, Maruti had announced a recall which was caused by a defective airbag control unit that affected more than 17,000 vehicles. Models such as the Alto K10, S-Presso, Eeco, Brezza, Baleno, and Grand Vitara which were built between December 8, 2022, and January 12, 2023, were affected due to the recall.