Tata recalls Nano cars for starter motor replacement

Tata Motors is undergoing a free upgrade exercise wherein all Nano cars will be upgraded with the new starter motor featured in the 2012 Nano. Nearly 1.45 lakh Nano owners can expect a call from their respective Tata service centre officials regarding this starter motor upgrade.

According to The Economic Times report, a Tata Motors official has stated that the starter motor upgrade has nothing to do with safety issues of the car. He refused to mention the cost that the company will bear on this free upgrade, saying that it was ‘immaterial’.

This isn’t first time that Nanos are being recalled. In November 2010, Tata Motors silently recalled many Nano cars, terming the practice as ‘pre-emptive checks’.  Through these pre-emptive checks, Tata Motors fitted a cover for the catalytic converter, added a fuse in the electrical system to prevent short circuits and replaced the starter motor, all free of cost, as they were covered under the manufacturer warranty. Earlier, during July – September in the same year, the company replaced fuel pipes with better quality materials as some of the fire incidents reported before were due to heat issues and fuel leakage in fuel pipes.

Nano fires in the past

Over the past two years, seven incidents of Nano’s catching fire have been reported in various states of India. To be precise, the first incident happened in September 2009 in Ahmadabad and a month later, a similar incident occurred in Uttar Pradesh. During 2010, three Nanos caught fire in March (Mumbai), April (Vadodara) and in August (Delhi) while in 2011, two fire cases were reported in March (Ahmadabad) and in June (Vadodara). Read more: Nano fires: A Time Line

2012 Nano – upgrades without price hike

The 2012 Nano was launched in November 2011 with improved fuel efficiency, improved engine performance, improved ride quality, a few cosmetic upgrades and new exterior shades.

The 2012 Nano is powered by the same 624 cc engine that the outgoing Nano had but produces slightly more power (37.4 bhp against the earlier 34.5 bhp). It also makes more torque (51 Nm) against the earlier 48 Nm. The ARAI-certified fuel economy of the 2012 Nano is 25 kmpl up from the earlier 23.6 kmpl.

Despite the upgrades, Tata did not hike the prices of 2012 Nano and offered it at same price as the older version. The base variant Standard is priced at the same Rs. 1.40 lakh; the mid-trim CX is available at Rs. 1.75 lakh while the top-end variant LX comes at Rs. 1.96 lakh.

*All prices are ex-showroom, Delhi.