Mahindra officially recalls XUV500 to fix wiper cover, power windows and power steering hose

Mahindra is sending out an official recall for certain batches of the Mahindra XUV500 manufactured in 2011 and 2012. This recall is to change three components in the car – the left windshield wiper cover, the power window motors for the front doors and the power steering hose.

Mahindra will be sending out SMS and email notifications to owners of XUV500s that are affected by this recall. Owners can take their XUV500s into any Mahindra dealership and get these three components replaced free of cost in under an hour’s time. Also read: All you wanted to know about the Mahindra XUV500

Why only these three components? Mahindra has apparently been long-term testing the XUV and finds there are faults and weaknesses in the long term with these. For instance, the left windshield wiper cover is a rather inconspicuous part, but it has been causing serious concerns, as it apparently used to touch the windshield on the wiper’s upswing and cause scratches to the windshield. In certain cases the scratches over time were so bad that windshields had to be replaced (and that’s an expensive part compared to the wiper cover). The new wiper cover is slightly shorter and rounded at the tip so that it doesn’t touch the glass.

The second part to be replaced is the power-steering hose. This apparently is only in a limited batch of SUVs, where the hose was weak and prone to leakage. Most new XUVs bought since September 2012 already have the newer, stronger power steering hose.

The third part to be replaced is the power window motors for the front doors. These motors are more heavy-duty motors compared to the earlier ones, and can handle higher stresses of repeated usage. Also, there was apparently a problem with water seepage into the power window motor mechanism, which was causing early failures of these motors in the XUV500, which has now been sorted out with the new motor design. Also read:  XUV500 with upgraded brakes and other components expected in Feb. 2013.

CarToq Expert KaiserKetkar received a call from Mahindra and got two of the three components replaced on his XUV500 a day ago (as he already had the new power steering pump hose on his vehicle). Others who own older XUV500s will soon receive an SMS or an email from Mahindra about this. A few weeks ago Mahindra upgraded the brakes on the XUV500 with a new brake pad design and a new brake pedal design, which seem to have sorted out the problems of spongy braking and noisy brakes. Also read: Mahindra XUV500 gets new brake pedal and brake pad design

No visible changes have been carried out to the infotainment system, although in December 2012, Mahindra upgraded the software on the W8 variant’s infotainment system to make it compatible with its Blue Sense app for android phones. The Blue Sense app allows a user to interact with the infotainment system using the mobile phone. It sends warnings to the phone such as door open, tyre temperature and pressure, distant to empty, lights status, wiper status, brake pads status, service reminders and insurance reminders. It also allows a user to operate the climate control and music system using the phone. Read: Mahindra XUV500 known issues and solutions.

If you own a 2011 or 2012 model XUV500 and still haven’t heard from Mahindra contact your nearest Mahindra service station at the earliest to see if your vehicle is part of the recall.

See below for official note on Facebook from Pawan Goenka, President Automotive and Farm Equipment Sectors, Mahindra, to XUV500 owners: