[UPDATE ON JUNE 8: This story has been refreshed to include responses from TVS to carandbike's queries]
TVS has issued what it claims is a proactive recall for its popular electric scooter, the TVS iQube, manufactured between July 10, 2023 and September 9, 2023. This incidentally comes weeks after a social media post of a customer who claimed to have suffered a ruptured chassis on his iQube during normal usage and having spotted more such cases when he went to get it repaired at a local service outlet. In a statement, TVS in an official statement said the recall is voluntary for the said units to inspect the bridge tube and to 'ensure the vehicle's ride [and] handling is good over extended usage’. The manufacturer or its dealer partners will individually contact customers who are affected by this recall, and necessary replacement or repairs will be carried out at no cost to the owners. On its part, TVS has not clarified what prompted this recall, or what the potential issue associated with the bridge tube on affected models could be.
Also Read: TVS iQube ST 5.1 kWh Launched At Rs 1.85 Lakh Alongside More Affordable Variants
While TVS says the exact number of scooters for this recall is still ‘being determined’, carandbike understands anywhere between 30,000 to 40,000 iQube scooters could be affected.
In response to a query by carandbike, a TVS spokesperson said, “We will organise appointments in a phased manner for conducting the inspection. We will work with the customer to schedule the appointments, service the vehicle quickly and return [it] the next day. Our regional service centres are fully equipped to inspect and carry out necessary rectification.”
To certify the road-worthiness of repaired scooters before handover to customers, the spokesperson added that vehicles that are rectified will undergo a post-service check.
“As a part of the post service test, the vehicle will also be test ridden by trained mechanic to confirm the vehicle is fit to be delivered to the customer”, the spokesperson added. The fact that TVS has been proactive in issuing a recall is certainly a step in the right direction.
Visuals of the iQube with a ruptured frame surfaced online when a customer posted a video detailing his woes with his electric scooter. In the video, which has garnered over 31 million views since it was posted on Instagram on May 20, the customer shared that his iQube’s frame cracked while he was riding the scooter, and that his local service centre had at least five such iQubes that had faced similar frame ruptures, awaiting repairs. TVS has not clarified if this issue is what the recall aims to address. carandbike could not independently verify the customer's claims.
The iQube is one of India’s best-selling electric two-wheelers, having single-handedly propelled TVS to the second spot on the country’s electric two-wheeler sales charts. The company recently revealed the iQube has already crossed the 3 lakh unit sales milestone, and TVS also expanded the iQube lineup last month. It now has variants with batteries ranging from as low as 2.2 kWh all the way up to 5.1 kWh.
