Suzuki Celerio Recalled Over Serious Brake Failure Issue

Another day, another auto maker announcing a recall. Such has become a theme over the past several weeks, with 2014's rocky automotive landscape rolling over into the new year. The NHTSA has warned that 2015 could bring with it an uptick in automotive recalls, and thus far that warning has proven true. The recalls aren't being seen only in the US, of course, as evidenced by Suzuki — which announced plans to pull from the US market in 2012 — following in line with its own recall.

Suzuki's Celerio is a tiny car designed for city use with a modest £8,000/$12,100 price tag. It only recently went up for sale in the United Kingdom, but a new problem has been discovered serious enough to bring those sales to a halt. No only have sales been stopped in four regions, but current owners have been told to stop driving the car.

The reason revolves around an issue experienced by What Car? during testing — according to the magazine, two of the Celerio cars experienced "total brake failure" in the 80MPH deceleration tests. "All stopping power was immediately lost upon application of the brakes," the magazine reports. The pedal reportedly ended up stuck downward and failed to slow the car.

In order to get the affected cars to stop, drivers would need to down shift and use the handbrake — something that will both wreck havoc on the transmission and put drivers at risk if they can't get the car stopped soon enough. As a result, sales in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the UK have been stopped and a recall has been announced.

The auto maker has said it'll be giving affected owners temporary replacement cars while the issue is resolved. Further details, such as exact recall numbers, haven't yet been determined, however.

SOURCE: BBC