The ACCC welcomes legislative changes which will increase competition and choice for consumers about where they have their cars serviced and repaired. These changes adopt recommendations from the ACCC’s new car retailing industry market study.
Car manufacturers have successfully recalled 99.9 per cent of the more than 3 million vehicles affected by deadly Takata airbags which are subject to a compulsory recall.
“We’re pleased to have such a high completion rate in what has been the biggest vehicle recall in Australian history,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.
The ACCC does not object to an exclusive dealing notification lodged by Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited (Mitsubishi) relating to its new 10-year or 200,000 km extended warranty. The warranty is conditional on the vehicle being serviced only by authorised Mitsubishi dealers and service centres.
Mitsubishi’s standard five-year warranty will still apply and does not limit consumers to any particular service provider.
The ACCC has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited to take a number of steps to review and improve its compliance processes in relation to the Australian Consumer Law consumer guarantees.
The ACCC is warning drivers of an urgent safety risk after about 6,000 Toyota Corollas were added to the existing compulsory recall for vehicles fitted with dangerous Takata PSAN airbags.
In late August in Sydney, two passengers suffered injuries including burns and cuts by flying metal shrapnel from a PSAN passenger airbag which misdeployed when a 2004 Toyota Corolla rear-ended another vehicle.
General Motors Holden Australia NSC Pty Ltd (Holden) has committed to negotiate with its dealers in good faith about compensation for Holden’s withdrawal from the Australian market, as required under the Franchising Code of Conduct and Australian Consumer Law.
The commitment follows pressure from the ACCC for Holden to agree to extend the deadline for acceptance of its compensation offer and to engage in good faith negotiations with dealers.
The ACCC said it was preparing for court action had Holden not changed its position.
The ACCC has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific Pty Ltd (Mercedes-Benz), after Mercedes-Benz acknowledged it had failed to initiate a recall of certain C class and E class vehicles with faulty Takata airbags, due to spare parts availability, in accordance with the timeframe required under the Takata compulsory recall.
Toyota, Mazda and Suzuki have today issued voluntary recalls of more than 18,000 vehicles manufactured between 1996 and 1999, including the popular Toyota Starlets, offering to buy back affected vehicles.
These vehicles are fitted with potentially deadly Takata NADI 5-AT airbags.
“These airbags could injure or kill people in the car by misdeploying in an accident and propelling parts or metal fragments into the cabin of the vehicle at high speed,” ACCC Acting Chair Stephen Ridgeway said.
The ACCC has instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Mazda Australia Pty Ltd (Mazda) alleging that Mazda engaged in unconscionable conduct and made false or misleading representations in its dealings with consumers who bought one of seven new Mazda vehicles between 2013 and 2017.
Around 120 Australians have died as a result of do it yourself (DIY) car maintenance accidents since 2000, while many hundreds have been hospitalised due to injuries, and the ACCC is warning consumers to take extra care when repairing their vehicles.
The ACCC has developed a safety campaign which includes a video explaining the correct procedure for common DIY car maintenance tasks to help raise awareness about the associated dangers.