Who pays for a recall repair in India, and for how long

A recall repair in India costs the owner nothing. Not a discount, not a share of the parts bill. The Central Motor Vehicles Rules put it plainly in the recall annexure: affected vehicles "are to be inspected and rectified by the manufacturer or importer (distributor), free of cost." A later clause in the same annexure repeats it: "Such recall activity shall be carried out free of charge to the owner."

That clause says nothing about warranty. It is written around the vehicle and the defect, not around a service contract. So an eight-year-old car with an open recall is in the same position as a six-month-old one, as long as the campaign covers its chassis number.

What the law behind it says

The teeth came from the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, which inserted Section 110A on recall of motor vehicles. It lets the Central Government direct a manufacturer to recall a vehicle type when a defect may harm the environment, the driver, the occupants or other road users. A manufacturer under such an order must, as applicable, reimburse the buyer for the full cost subject to financing arrangements, replace the defective vehicle with one of similar or better specifications, or repair it, and meet applicable fines and dues.

The procedure sits in rules 127A to 127D of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. An owner, a testing agency or another notified party can apply to a Designated Officer, a Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, to have a model declared a defective motor vehicle. MoRTH notified the policy on 23 March 2021 with effect from 1 April 2021, and Autocar Professional reported fines of up to ₹1 crore and application to vehicles less than seven years old. A separate notification of 11 March 2021, S.O. 1232(E), fixed the share of owners reporting an identical defect at which the recall portal must alert the Designated Officer.

Most Indian recalls never reach that stage. They are announced voluntarily, and the rules require the maker to tell the Designated Officer in writing within seven working days of starting one.

Where a recall can be refused

The rules carve out one big exception. A vehicle "would be ineligible for recall if it has been used for a purpose other than the purpose for which it was designed." A road car run in competition, or a scooter hacked about, can be argued out of a campaign.

The industry's own code is narrower than the law. SIAM's voluntary code, in force from 1 July 2012, covers safety-related defects for seven years after purchase and targets the first buyer. The legal route under Section 110A is the stronger one.

What to do as an owner

Check your chassis number, not your model name. Campaigns are tied to build windows. Maruti's November 2025 Grand Vitara recall covered 39,506 units built between 9 December 2024 and 29 April 2025 for a fuel level indicator and warning light fault. Yamaha's recall of 3,06,635 RayZR 125 Fi Hybrid and Fascino 125 Fi Hybrid scooters covered units built between 2 May 2024 and 3 September 2025 for a front brake calliper that may have limited function.

Book at an authorised workshop, which for most owners in Bengaluru means the same dealer that does your service. Do not expect your old part back. The rules require defective parts to be destroyed or rendered incapable of reuse unless reworked and made safe.

If you do not respond, the maker must send a follow-up notice. The rules give owners 90 days, after which a second notice goes out within the next 30 days. Ignoring both leaves a known defect on your vehicle, and no one else is going to fix it for free.

Sources

• Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, recall annexure, free of cost rectification
• Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, recall eligibility and owner notice
• Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, manufacturer obligations and 90 day response
• Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, free of charge recall and destruction of defective parts
• Section 110A, Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019
• MoRTH's new vehicle recall policy to attract fine up to Rs 1 crore, Autocar Professional
• Total recall: SIAM's Voluntary Code on Vehicle Recall, Autocar Professional
• MoRTH notification specifying the percentage of owners, S.O. 1232(E)
• Yamaha recalls over 3 lakh 125cc hybrid scooters in India, Autocar Professional
• Maruti Suzuki recalls 39,506 Grand Vitara SUVs over fuel gauge fault, Autocar Professional