ACCC acts against car firms for non-compliant vehicle jacks

Non-compliant vehicle jacks have been the subject of an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission product safety crackdown over the past few months.

"Proton Cars Australia Pty Limited, Audi Australia Pty Ltd and Daewoo Automotive Australia Pty Ltd, have all provided a court-enforceable undertakings to the ACCC setting out the steps the companies are taking to remedy their failure to meet fully with the mandatory product safety standard for vehicle jacks", ACCC Chairman, Professor Allan Fels, said today.

"The safety standard fixes mandatory performance criteria and requires specified warnings and safe usage instructions to be provided with vehicle jacks.

"A product safety survey conducted by the ACCC disclosed that the vehicle jacks supplied with a range of models of new Proton and Audi motor vehicles failed to comply with the jack warning labelling and safe usage instructions contrary to section 65C of the Trade Practices Act. The same survey also disclosed that a range of new Daewoo vehicles failed to comply with the jack warning labelling requirements of the same mandatory standard.

"Consumer safety is a matter of paramount importance. The ACCC regularly reviews goods subject to mandatory product safety standards".

The three companies will recall non-compliant jacks. All affected Proton and Audi vehicle owners are being contacted, provided with replacement warning labels and safety instructions and, in Audi's case, the company will rectify jack performance problems. All affected Daewoo vehicle owners are being contacted and provided with replacement warning labels.

Additionally Proton, Daewoo and Audi have published notices in major national daily newspapers and are issuing a service bulletin to all authorised dealers. The undertaking also provides for each company to implement a trade practices corporate compliance program. Further, Proton and Audi agreed to post a safety warning notice on their websites for 30 days.

"It is good that Proton, Audi and Daewoo cooperated to resolve this important matter", Professor Fels said. "But it is disappointing that such a high level of non-compliance with a mandatory standard was detected".

NB: In October 2002 the ACCC instituted legal proceedings in the Federal Court in Melbourne against BMW (Australia) Limited alleging that BMW had supplied vehicles equipped with a vehicle jack and a vehicle owner manual, which did not comply with the mandatory safety standard for vehicle jacks. The proceedings are being contested and continue.