Warranty

I'm 12 months from retirement and to ensure future trouble free motoring I decided to purchase a new 2011 Mitsubishi Triton GLR dual-cab. Factoring in dealer service and running costs, I felt this was the best option with retirement just around the corner and a limited income imminent. After clocking up 96,000km the vehicle is still within the 130,000-service warranty parameter, but outside the three-year time warranty limit. Recently, the airbag warning light illuminated whilst driving, I promptly returned the vehicle to the dealership for investigation. I was informed that the fault was due to a defective wiring loom with a replacement cost of $800. I've contacted Mitsubishi Australia with my concerns, the forthcoming response being: unable to assist as vehicle is out of warranty. Apart from an unwanted $800 bill in retirement I feel this charge is unjustified owing to a wiring loom being a non-wearing part unlike belts bearings etc. I feel either the loom manufacture or installation must be the cause of this failure, not the time or distance travelled.

I was just reading about the recall of the Ford Kugas due to coolant issues and the risk of engine fire/overheating. I bought a 2013 Kuga from a second hand dealer in January 2018. It has 76,000 km on it. I was not notified of the recall at the time of purchase and got the recall notice a few weeks later. I took the car in this week. Prior to the recall service I told the customer service rep that I had also been noticing unusual gear shifting and over-revving as the car took off. The Ford mechanics found that the transmission fluid was black and contaminated. They did not take the transmission apart to fully diagnose, but recommended that the transmission needed to be replaced. The cost: $8,000-plus!! I am still in the statutory warranty period and have done less than 1000 km since I bought it. Ford won't fix it as they say it's the dealer’s issue and the dealer says it's Ford's issue. Have others had the same problem? Also, who should be responsible for this? Ford? The dealer? Can I just return the car for a refund? A new transmission seems like a "major problem" and I would have thought under Australian Consumer Law I could do so. Or does the dealer have the right to simply "repair" it on their own? How can I be sure that they have fixed the issue? Any help you can provide would be hugely appreciated.

 I have a 2009 VW Golf that has been regularly serviced and has travelled 70,000 km. The turbo needs a full replacement. VW Australia has declined to repair it under warranty or contribute to the repair. Any advice?

I bought a brand new Skoda Fabia in June 2017. I have experienced a few issues with it. Mid-November, the car wouldn't start and gave me a DSG gearbox error. The car was towed to the dealership and couple of days later they fixed it stating it was a software error. In February, the service light came up. It said 'oil check needed'. This car is only eight months old and 10,000 km driven. Hence, it’s not yet in the service window. I called workshop and got it serviced. Also, cost me $280. In March, I was driving on a road and the car suddenly stalled. Luckily, I was on service road so I could pull up and restart it. I was really scared because if something like this happens on freeway, I would be hit at very high speed. After restarting the car, I got multiple errors. I called the workshop and they have my car. The workshop says it was an electrical error and waiting for the part. During my March issue, I called Skoda twice and left messages. I did not get any callbacks. I also emailed them twice with no response, and left a couple of Facebook messages, again no response. I would like to know what are my rights and options for this car? I cannot afford to sell it.

The turbocharger has developed an oil leak to the V6 diesel in my 2014 Nissan Navara. The car is out of warranty, has done 100,000 km in one year, and serviced every 10,000 km. Nissan has offered to pay for half of the cost of replacement, which is $4000. Repair shouldn't happen for car of this age? I'm not happy with Nissan.

My 2013 Hyundai iMax has lost power. It's been at Hyundai's dealership for a week now and they tell me it’s an EGR valve and cooler. I've heard a lot about injector seals leaking, blowing turbos and engines. My diesel mechanic recommends you change seals every 80,000 km and mine is at 100,000 km. A turbo parts company has also told me I should replace a hose (can't remember were in engine it is) that the oil runs through and put a filter on it to catch any crap that may flow through. I'm still not confident that there won't be a problem with the turbo blowing. Warranty runs out in another five months. Do I keep it, or do I sell it? I'd like to know what you've heard about these issues.

We've had some electrical problems with my daughter’s 2014 Volkswagen Polo 81TSI Comfortline 1.2L DSG auto, but l feel something might go wrong with the transmission. Volkswagen told her on a few occasions that there was no problem with the car, but it gradually continued to get worse. She drove it, one day, on a slight hill road, when she felt no power as she accelerated. The car slowed down until the motor completely cut out and stopped. She put her foot quickly on the brake, but the car rolled back and the only thing that saved her from an accident was the handbrake. The dealer told her after six weeks of repair that the problem was fixed. She continued to drive it for a few months until she past the car over to her sister to look after while she went overseas. The car was fine for about 16 months when the same problem with the transmission started occurring again. The warranty ran out in October 2017. What do we do? We thought that they had honestly repaired the car, but we now realise that it may be a recurring problem. It is a car that l will never sell knowing that Volkswagen will not properly fix it.

I have had multiple issues with my 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe, which is fortunately still under warranty. On the first service I mentioned to the dealership that the screen had gone blank all of a sudden and came back live once I switched the car off and back on. They said nothing wrong was found. In the subsequent services I mentioned again that the screen starts flickering between sat nav and phone screen, whenever there is a phone call made or received. Again I was told that nothing wrong was found, even though the screen still flickers. I had also mentioned that the air con is not working properly, after running it for a while, you can hear the fan, but there is no airflow. This was also checked by the dealership, but they found nothing. Even though it still happens. After the third service I started noticing that there was a bit of surge between shifting of gears. As the car moved you could feel a surge and snatch between shifting of gears. In December 2017, I received a letter from Hyundai, about the vehicle safety recall for the secondary bonnet catch cable. I booked it in and also mentioned this gear problem. The date given to me was 24.01.2018 to look into this issue and also replace the recall latch. I also took the Service Manager for a test drive and he confirmed that there was a problem in the transmission. They replaced the latch on the same day and booked me in again for 13.02.2018 to replace the solenoid in the transmission. I was asked to collect my vehicle on the same day at 4.00 pm. I went in to collect my car, but was told that the solenoid did not fix the issue and they needed more time, so they will call me the next day and give me an update. I had to keep chasing them to get an update, and was told on Thursday 15.02.2018, that they have not been able to detect the faulty part in the transmission, and now they would be sending my car to a transmission specialist, in Ringwood, who would be looking into it on Tuesday 20.02.2018 and come back to us. I called the Service Manager on 20.02.2018 to get an update and all he said was, he is waiting for an update from the transmission specialist and he’ll let me know once he gets some information. I called again on 22nd and was told by the manager, that the specialist thinks it could be the clutch in the transmission and he’ll open up the gearbox hopefully on 23rd and let us know. And if that is the faulty part then it would be ordered, and I might get my car back sometime next week. I followed it up with Hyundai customer care and all they said was I need to take it up with the dealer, where the car is. I asked them to escalate this further, and the lady on the phone said she was the only point of contact and she won’t take it any further and then hung up on me. I followed up with the dealership last week and now they have told me that the ETA for one of the part is 8.03.2018. Now, initially they gave me a Hyundai Accent as a loan car and after much persistence gave me a Hyundai Kona. My point is I bought a brand new top of the range 7-seater SUV for my personal and family use only just one and a half years ago. I’ve always held Hyundai in high esteem with their quality and workmanship. I used to own a Hyundai Getz and a Hyundai Santro in the past and recently bought a Kreta overseas. I have been facing so many issues with this new car within the first year of buying it and I’ve almost reached the point that I’m losing faith in the Hyundai brand. Luckily the car is still under warranty. The loan car given to me is nowhere close to what I bought. I can understand that for 1-2 days, but now my car has been with the service for almost 21 days. Can you please help and advise on this?

I have had real trouble with my Holden Cruze, which I bought new in February 2015. The clutch went a year later at 34,983 km, it went again a week after I picked it up, it was repaired under warranty each time. After the 60,000 km service in May 2017, at 61,125 km I reported that the clutch was playing up again; the service manager took it for a drive and said there was nothing wrong. I kept on driving the car and the clutch finally gave out in October 2017 at 67,932 km. They would not repair it under warranty and after a lot of arguments I finally agreed to have the car repaired and paid $3851.85 in January this year. I am pursuing this through VCAT, but since then the car was making strange noises so I took it back in March, and now they tell me the transmission has a problem and the feeling I get is that they won't fix it under warranty. I would appreciate if there is any advice you could give me. I am really struggling with this and I think I have been treated very badly.