Prolific Faults: Watchdog Claims These Popular Cars Need To Be Recalled
A consumer watchdog is calling on the manufacturers of some of Britain’s favourite cars to recall their models, citing ‘prolific’ faults…
Watchdog Wants Extensive Car Recalls
The consumer watchdog Which? is calling on car manufacturers to issue recalls for their cars; many of which, it claims, have ‘prolific’ faults. A survey of 47,013 car owners discovered that certain models often have a major problem frequently cited by owners. These ranged from broken fuel systems to flawed batteries. Which? claims the results represent “a weakness in the manufacturing process that should be addressed immediately”.
Seven Models With ‘Prolific’ Faults Were Identified…
1) Nissan Pulsar
2) Nissan Qashqai
3) Nissan Juke
4) Range Rover Velar
5) Range Rover Sport
6) Tesla Model S
7) BMW 5 Series Touring
Three of these, the Qashqai, Model S and 5 Series were found to have the same problems that the survey exposed last year. The Qashqai has the highest breakdown rate for cars aged less than three years old; with 21% of drivers saying they needed to replace their batteries in the first year. Around 28% of Pulsar owners reported battery issues when their cars were aged between three and eight years old. Meanwhile, 20% of Juke owners reported problems with their cars’ fuel systems. Nissan said that it had recently changed its battery supplier and had offered 35,000 Qashqai owners a free update.
Owners of the Tesla Model S, which costs around £50,000, reported issues with their pop-up door handles in cars aged three to eight years. For JLR owners, problems seemed to concern software; with 21% of Range Rover Velar and 17% of Range Rover Sport owners reporting faults in cars up to three years old. For owners of the BMW 5 series, most faults concerned suspension systems.
Car-Owners Foot The Bill
For Harry Rose, editor of Which? Magazine, it’s unacceptable that car-owners are footing the bill for manufacturer faults. He said, “It is completely unacceptable that these trusted car brands continue to take customer cash without fixing these widespread faults, many of which are already well-known thanks to our comprehensive survey of UK motorists”. He added, “currently, car owners will have to foot the bill for faults once their car goes out of warranty, but it is not right for anyone to have to pay for production mistakes that these manufacturers are aware of”.
In response to the survey, Tesla claimed that all of its vehicles are quality checked before leaving the factory. It also stressed that its warranty would cover faults, including those that affected door handles, for up to four years. A spokesperson for Jaguar Land Rover said the company took software faults “seriously”. They did stress, however, that they felt the survey wasn’t representative of most customer experiences. Finally, BMW released a statement advising affected drivers to get in touch. It said, “we encourage any dissatisfied Which? reader, whether they participated in this survey or not, to contact BMW UK on 0370 505 0160, making reference to Which?, so that we can investigate their concerns”.
Used Cars: The Definitive Checklist For Buying A Second-Hand Motor – https://autoserveclub.co.uk/blog/used-cars-the-definitive-checklist-for-buying-a-second-hand-motor/
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