Recalls

I'm an unfortunate owner of a scandal-affected diesel-engined Volkswagen and I've just had my first direct communication from VW Australia. Their carefully-phrased admission is that "The Type EA 189 engine built into your Polo ... is affected by software that causes discrepancies in the values for oxides of nitrogen (NOx) during laboratory testing". Weasel words which do nothing to improve my faith in this arguably fraudulent company. My next car will not be a VW, and it will not be a diesel, given the availability of efficient small-displacement turbocharged petrol engines. I'm taken by the Kia Rio because of the work Kia has done on handling setup for Australian conditions, and also their seven-year guarantee. But the current engines are old generation non-turbocharged. I presume this will be rectified in the next model Rio. Do you have any idea when it is due?

I recently received a letter from Ford notifying me of a potential issue with the diff in my 2015 Falcon XGX cab-chassis. Apparently someone had put the wrong oil in some of them. I contacted my dealer and was asked to take it in for a simple check of the serial number that would reveal if it needed to be replaced or not. I was informed prior to taking it in that Ford had directed that if a diff was identified as needing to be replaced the car was not to leave the dealer's until it was repaired, and that could take up to five working days. No mention of that in the recall notice, only "The repair should take less than half a day". They supplied me with another ute, a styleside, which enabled me to get around, but impossible to carry on working due to the ladders, toolboxes, and stock that I couldn't possibly transfer from my cab-chassis. It has now been eight working days since I dropped off my ute, and the diff still hasn't arrived at the dealership. The latest news is that the department that organizes the replacement diff has told the dealership, "If it hasn't arrived by Friday, let us know", Friday being a public holiday! Ford Customer Care can't help or shed any light on where it is.

What I don't understand is, how can Ford not be able to track a diff that's been ordered and advise me where it is and when will it arrive, and also, because this is a recall you would think that they would be readily available. I have lost two weeks work and counting.