Volkswagen shamed by China's state media on Consumer Rights Day (for a third time)

[ssun30]

http://www.scmp.com/business/china-...-and-shames-german-carmaker-volkswagen-annual

China Central Television (CCTV), the state-owned broadcaster, on Thursday singled out German carmaker Volkswagen for shaming – the third time in five years – on the annual “315 Gala”.

VW was blamed for issues related to faulty drain valves in its Touareg SUV during this year’s show.

On March 7, the company issued a recall of more than 33,000 Touareg models manufactured between December 2014 and November 2017 on the mainland to fix engines fitted with the faulty drain valves that prevents water from draining properly, according to China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, which over sees quality control in China.

China is the carmaker’s key market globally, with sales in the country hitting a record high of 3.18 million units in 2017, up 5.9 per cent year on year.

Within minutes of the show airing, VW issued a letter on its official Weibo account apologising to car owners affected and promising to set up a hotline for them for resolve the problem.

The two-hour long TV show, which is broadcast every year on March 15 – World Consumer Rights Day – usually features undercover journalists raiding illegal factories across the country that make counterfeit goods ranging from sanitary towels to lipsticks. It also exposes poor customer service at fast-food chains and retailers, often collaborating with police on the investigations.

Still, Volkswagen is by far the biggest automaker in China and actually has the single biggest domination in any market in the world. VW keeps bombarding the public with aggressive marketing claims on 'superior German engineering'. This strategy has succeeded soundly despite them making ridiculously outdated vehicles.

The Touareg draining issue is well-known even before the '315 Show'. The owners are advised by dealers 'to avoid driving the vehicle on rainy days' and 'seek maintenance after driving in a downpour'. It has become a running joke on car forums and among VW owners as well.

 

[ssun30]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-man-cars-cruise-control-got-stuck-75mph.html

According to local news site Dahe.cn, the incident occurred late at night on March 14 near Luoyang in Henan Province.

The report said Mr Xue was travelling alone and he was driving his Mercedes-Benz C200L westwards with the help of cruise control on the Lianhuo Highway at a speed of 75mph.

But when he wanted to switch back to manual control, he discovered he couldn't. In addition, when he tapped his foot on the brake pedal, nothing happened and the car carried on at 75mph.

It's said that Mr Xue called Mercedes-Benz's customer service hotline and received some advise, but all his attempts to turn off the cruise control failed.

The desperate driver called the police for help, and within five minutes the police worked with the highway control office to clear three lanes, reported People's Daily Online, quoting The Paper.

The authorities also worked together to ensure Mr Xue to pass the toll gates safely.

Mr Xue's car apparently went out of control for some 50 minutes and he travelled for some 100 kilometres (62 miles) between two provinces during the horrifying ride.

Dahe.cn said Mr Xue's car eventually stopped after the Mercedes-Benz customer service officers managed to connected to his car and turn off the cruise control remotely.

Mercedes-Benz is one of the most popular car brands in China.

The brand's manufacturer Daimler said in a statement that after being notified the matter, the brand sent their technical experts onsite to understand the situation and investigate the case.

However, Daimler denied the claims that the car was stopped after their workers gained control of it remotely.

The statement read: 'Mercedes-Benz does not and has never possessed the backend technology to interfere with driving, and Mercedes-Benz’s multi safety systems ensure that the driver could always stop the vehicle even under extreme situations.'

The company said it's working with Mr Xue to investigate the cause of the incident.

Unlike the recent X5 sudden unintended acceleration case in Florida (which is completely avoidable), this incident is not (pending investigation) the driver's fault and is a multi-system failure. The driver is reportedly an amateur race driver and is aware of the common practice in case of a SUA: shift to Neutral and step on the brakes to override throttle input. But in this case the cruise control computer, the electronic shift lever, and the brake-throttle override systems failed, ALL THREE OF THEM.

Still, he could stop the car if he stepped on the brakes hard enough so the hydraulic system takes over and overpowers the engine. But he may not be aware of the presence of the back-up hydraulic system, so he determined the brake system had failed once he found the override was not working.

At least the Lexus sticky throttles are completely recoverable if the driver has common sense. I personally experienced the 'floor mat of doom' three times before the recall (XV40 ES350) but recovered within seconds every time. But a multi-system failure that makes a SUA almost irrecoverable? That's downright incredible.

I do hope this is a freak incident and should not be expected on all Mercedes C-class vehicles. Otherwise it would be way too horrifying.

UPDATE: the incident is still under investigation, so there's still possibility the driver was intentionally providing false information for unknown purposes. Such a multi-system failure is too unlikely to happen; even if true it will almost definitely be a freak incident.

 

[mikeavelli]

I don't understand how people buy them with issue after issue year after year with some of the worst customer service around. Must be gluttons for punishment or something.

 

[spwolf]

I don't understand how people buy them with issue after issue year after year with some of the worst customer service around. Must be gluttons for punishment or something.

i know here in europe people think it is all the same, and that same failures happen everywhere and that japanese vehicles will all break down outside the warranty.

 

[Max323]

I don't understand how people buy them with issue after issue year after year with some of the worst customer service around. Must be gluttons for punishment or something.

Volkswagen is very good at propaganda in China. They paid a huge amount of money to internet marketer and media. Many Chinese consumers(especially in poorer area) believes that Japanese car was not safe and use cheap material for the vehicle, and VK has better quality. For example, many VK sales in China will show you that the door in VK vehicle is heavier than Japanese vehicle, therefor VK use better material and more safe on the road. They are doing it for more than a decade.