Ford India has initiated a voluntary recall of its EcoSport compact SUV to inspect and rectify an issue related to the rear suspension, the company said in a statement.

The carmaker is inspecting the Rear Twist Beam (RTB) bolt on 16,444 units of the Ford EcoSport manufactured between November 2013 and April 2014 at the compan Chennai plant.

According to the carmaker, there is a possibility that the bolt may not have been tightened to specification in some of the affected vehicles, which might cause the pivot bolt to break and hamper the vehicle's driveability, thereby increasing the risk of an accident.

Ford India has already started contacting the concerned customers to get their vehicles inspected at a local Ford dealer. All the necessary rework will be carried out for free by the company.

The statement also mentioned that no accidents relating to the issue were reported.

Earlier, the carmaker had recalled over 1.66 lakh units of its Figo and Fiesta Classic models in September 2013 to rectify issues related to a faulty rear suspension and the power steering hose. Moreover, in December 2014, Ford India conducted a voluntary recall of 20,752 units of the EcoSport to address an issue related to a fuel and vapour line.

NISHANT PAREKH