1,200 Jeep Compass units recalled for airbag defect in India

Jeep Compass, the first locally made product from the Fiat Chrysler stable and a hugely popular SUV in India, has hit its first speedbreaker. Yesterday, the Italian-American carmaker announced that it will recall 1,200 units of the SUV for "replacement of the front passenger air bag". According to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) India, the decision is a part of a bigger recall by the parent company in the US, where 7,000 units of Jeep Compass were recalled.

"A supplier has advised FCA that during its airbag module assembly process, loose fasteners may have inadvertently found their way undetected into a small number of modules. Should such a vehicle be subject to an impact that causes the front passenger airbag to deploy, the loose fasteners may pose a hazard," the company explained in a statement. It is a concern because it basically means that the airbag may not work on time.

In the coming weeks, the company and its authorised dealers will directly contact the Compass customers to check whether they require a front passenger airbag replacement and FCA will reportedly ensure that customers don't have to pay anything for the replacement. The number of affected Compass is expected to be less than 1 per cent of the total recall units, according to the company statement.

The popularity of this SUV can be gauged by the fact that over 10,000 units were sold within two months of its launch this July. In October, the volumes reportedly stood at 2455 units. The company has also started exports to Australia and Japan, shipping out 600 right-hand drive units from the Mumbai Port last month. Does that mean there will be more units recalled in the near future?

In fact, it's not been a good year for FCA at all - just last month it recalled some 700,000 sport utility vehicles (SUVs) at risk for a brake defect in the US and earlier in July, it had to recall 1.33 million vehicles worldwide (in two separate campaigns) for potential fire risks and inadvertent airbag deployments.