The biggest recalled car owners in the history of domestic cars can not fail to know five major issues

On September 14, Volkswagen announced that from March 12, 2018, it had recalled 4.68 million vehicles in batches. Following the public, it was SAIC-GM. On September 15, SAIC General Motors announced the recall of 2.529 million vehicles. In two days, Volkswagen added GM, recalling more than 7.209 million vehicles, which is almost half of China's passenger vehicle sales in the first eight months of this year. Such a large number of recalls is the first time in Chinese automobile history. Let's focus on five important issues for car recalls.

Question one: Why did the recall begin in 2018?

Found that their own vehicles "listed", worried people will call the 4S shop the first time, was told that the recall has not yet started, need to wait patiently for some time. Taking VW's recall as an example, the recall announcement was released on September 14th this year, and the full recall start time is March 12th, 2018.

Due to the large number of recalled cars, 4S stores have limited reception capacity and maintenance needs to be carried out in batches. The length of the recall wait has a direct relationship with the nature of the defect and the scale of the recall. Globally, car OEMs have been fully prepared before starting the recall of Takata Airbags. While waiting for the recall, the user can claim rights and interests from the automobile main engine manufacturer due to the defects causing vehicle damage and casualties. However, when car owners and 4S stores inform users of their waiting time, they will also inform the user what the defect problem is; what kind of consequences will occur in the daily use process; if it is found during use, the defect problem has affected daily use. , You can notify the 4S shop for the first time, seeking a quick solution.

Question two: Does the owner have to perform a recall?

Does a car user need to respond to a recall? In this regard, the "Regulations on the Revocation of Defective Automobile Products" promulgated and implemented in 2004 does not contain provisions and explanations for the corresponding provisions. Therefore, when notified of a recall or understanding that a owned vehicle requires a recall, the vehicle user may choose to respond to the recall or may choose not to respond. The relevant department car OEM cannot impose any penalties for auto users not responding to the recall, at least for now.

According to statistics of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the United States, the United States Takada airbag recall rate is about 40%. Japan Takada airbag recall rate is not high, only 30%. In order to “force” the owner to take the vehicle back and open it up for repairs, the Japanese government has issued regulations that vehicles that fail to respond to Takata’s airbag recall will not pass the annual review.

Question 3: Will the vehicle not be able to pay compensation if it is not recalled?

Faced with the biggest recall in the history of the mass and GM teaming up to “manufacture”, the topic of the “slacker” owners is that if they do not respond to the recall, there will be deaths and injuries. Can the owner get compensation? The reporter learned that as of the end of August 2017, there have been no cases of casualties caused by vehicles not recalled and causing traffic accidents.

In China, there is no precedent for international reference. In January 2015, a traffic accident occurred in Texas, United States. The driver’s airbag exploded and exploded, causing the driver to die. Prior to the incident, the car main engine plant repeatedly notified the main recall of the car, but the user did not respond. Can the automaker survive the compensation? the answer is negative. The settlement money paid by the automaker will include the compensation for traffic accidents.

International cases cannot be fully applied in China, but Chen Zhicheng, a lawyer at Guangzhou Chuangjie Law Firm, told reporters that when consumers purchase a car, they sign an agreement with the automaker. According to the principle of equivalence in the "Contract Law," automotive OEMs are responsible for vehicle quality. “Automobile defects are generated during the automobile production process. Consumers have problems during the use process. Auto OEMs cannot be exempted because they have initiated recalls.”

Take Takata Airbag as an example, Chen Zhicheng told reporters that if users use the process and cause casualties, users can claim rights and interests from related departments. “The evidence is not in the user's side, but in the car engine plant. He needs to provide detailed evidence to show that the accident Vehicle defects have nothing to do with."

In other words, if a user does not respond to a recall and a traffic accident occurs, the user can also claim compensation from the car owner unless the car owner can prove that the accident has nothing to do with the vehicle defect.

Chen Zhicheng emphasized that although some car recalls are only simple maintenance, it is recommended that users should not think that the defect is not a big problem or that they have not malfunctioned temporarily and do not repair it. If the place of residence is really far away from the repair station, or if you can't smoke yourself, it is advisable to negotiate a solution with the 4S shop and the car OEM.

Question 4: Replace the airbag and hurt the car?

Nowadays, car recalls can be said to be very common. However, the degree of recall of a car is related to the content of the recall. It may be a simple repair or a complex repair.

Mr. Yuan, a senior maintenance trainer for a luxury brand, told Guangzhou Daily that the airbags are generally replaced directly. “Although it is a replacement, the complexity is related to the number and position of airbags that need to be replaced. Now the vehicles are multi-balloons. There are air curtains, so the overall maintenance work is more complicated."

In July of this year, Ms. Yan, the owner of Xiamen Automobile, received a notice from the car engine factory and the 4S shop that the vehicle she purchased needed to be recalled. The reason for the recall was that the soundproof cotton needed to be replaced. Ms. Yan opened the car back to the 4S shop, found in the repair area, recalled repairs, need to open the center console dashboard, hurt the bones, not so much the scene of the repair, it is better to say that the accident scene.

Not only that, but because of the large number of recalled vehicles, maintenance personnel are busy. After the center console was dismantled, it was ignored and Ms. Yan expected that the "one person, one car" would be a far cry from them. Ms. Yan is worried that the quality of repairs cannot be guaranteed. After the defects are repaired, other problems will appear one after another. In the event of a vehicle recall, the 4S shop will bear all costs for repairing the recalled vehicle, including the automobile parts and working hours involved. However, it is up to the owner to bear the responsibility for the travel of the vehicle owner, the vehicle, and the maintenance period. Whether or not there will be vehicle damage during the repair process and after-sales warranty issues, domestic automobile OEMs and 4S stores are turning a blind eye to this.

Question 5: Did not notice that it does not mean that your car has no problem?

Volkswagen's recall of the oldest model can be traced back to the Audi A6 in 2005. The Audi A6 is a luxury car, which is still in the hands of the original owners. Then, the POLO produced in 2007 may have already flowed into the used car market and it is not known to transfer a few hands.

The Volkswagen recalled models are mainly produced from 2008 to 2013. The period of change in China is 3 to 5 years. In other words, most of the recalled vehicles have already been resold by the first car owner.

Car OEMs usually register and record the information of the first owner, leaving the phone. However, when the vehicle changed hands, the contact was interrupted, even if the first owner did not know what agency was found at that time, what was the new owner's telephone number.

It is not unique to China that this way of finding the owner’s contact information is impossible. Among the major car recalls in the United States, the “information owner” was placed first, which is the biggest challenge for car OEMs.

Reporter observation

Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the National Passenger Vehicles Association, said that recalling is normal and users should not be overwhelmed. The greater the number of recalls and the greater the number of recalls, it turns out that domestic authorities and car OEMs have responded more quickly to potential car problems and have paid more attention to car safety.

Although the recalls mean a huge cost to the company, the market economy is also an honest economy. From the actual situation in Europe, the United States, and other countries where the recall system has been implemented for many years, the recall of defective products by auto companies, especially the voluntary recall of defective automotive products by enterprises, will not only affect the image of the company in the public, but will also increase the image of the company. Corporate reputation.

The safety of vehicles is not limited to the formulation of laws, but it must be emphasized. Regarding the recall, whether it is the specific implementer of the recall—the enterprise or the supervisor of the recall—the management department or the actual participant of the recall—the user, after experiencing the biggest car recall in the history of the Chinese automobile industry, It will have a more comprehensive understanding of car safety.