Garmin’s planned recall of as many as 1,25m Nuvi personal navigation devices is set to affect SA users, though the extent of the problem locally is not yet entirely clear.

The company’s SA distributor, Garmin Distribution Africa, says it is setting up processes to manage the recall here.

Garmin announced on Wednesday that it was voluntarily recalling the devices due to a potential fire hazard.

The devices in question — the Nuvi 200w, 250W, 260W and 7xx models — are prone to overheating, the Kansas, US-based company said.

The flaw doesn’t affect all the models listed, only those that have an “unnamed third-party supplier and specific printed circuit board design”.

Garmin says that “in rare circumstances”, the design could “increase the possibility of overheating”.

Though there have been no reports of any of the units actually catching fire, Garmin has advised its customers to return the products to be serviced or, if necessary, replaced.

Fraser McHenry, spokesman for Garmin Distribution Africa, says SA consumers who have bought the affected products should check the Garmin website to find out if their devices need to be returned. If they are affected, Garmin’s website has been set up automatically to alert the SA distributor.

Though McHenry says he doesn’t expect the recall will be a “big issue” in SA, the company has established a number, 0861 427 646, where concerned Garmin customers can call in to find out how they are affected. — Duncan McLeod, TechCentral