Braking news

THE saga over the Ford brake-hose failures reminds me of the time a noted European car importer undertook to replace noisy final drives on their vehicles during routine servicing. An engineer from the manufacturer tested the vehicle and authorised the repair if it was felt to be outside the acceptable noise range. In some instances this was done without the owners' knowledge. Consumer Affairs stepped in after an irate owner, who had paid big dollars to have his differential repaired, discovered he was disadvantaged because he chose not to have his car serviced by an authorised dealer. The importer was forced to notify all owners of that particular model that this road test and repair was available regardless of servicing arrangements.