Suzuki Recalls 20,000+ Vehicles Due to Fire Risk

After Garmin’s announcement made last week that it is recalling the nuvi portable GPS due to the fact that the battery can overheat and cause a fire, it’s now Suzuki’s turn to issue a recall involving vehicles fitted with that kid of equipment. We are, in fact, talking about the Suzuki Equator, Grand Vitara and SX4 models that are equipped with a Garmin nuvi system.

“Suzuki is recalling certain model year 2008 through 2010 SX4, 2010 Grand Vitara, and 2009 through 2010 Equator vehicles that are equipped with a Garmin nuvi model 750, 760 and 765 navigation system. The batteries contained in the affected GPS units can overheat,” the safety notice posted on the NHTSA website states.

The total number of units affected by this recall amounts to 20,692 in North America only. This measure has been imposed by the fact that overheated batteries could result in a fire, which can of course lead to an accident.

The Japanese manufacturer will notify owners and repairs will be performed by Garmin technicians by replacing the battery and inserting a spacer on top of the battery. This will be conducted free of charge for the consumer. The recall is expected to begin during this month.

Garmin’s recall is involving more than 1.25 million nuvi portable GPS units (with 796,000 in the U.S. only). The company has stated the problem involves batteries provided by a third-party supplier that fall within a specific date-code range and that have a specific printed circuit board (PCB) design.

Owners can contact Garmin directly at 1-866-957-1981 or Suzuki at 1-887-697-8985. They can also access the following link.