Motor cars

Honda in court for allegedly misleading consumers about dealership closures

The ACCC has instituted Federal Court proceedings against Honda Australia Pty Ltd for making false or misleading representations to consumers about two former authorised Honda dealerships, Brighton Automotive Holdings Pty Ltd (Astoria) in Victoria and Tynan Motors Pty Ltd (Tynan) in NSW.

The ACCC alleges that between January 2021 and June 2021, Honda Australia represented to customers of Astoria and Tynan that the dealerships would close or had closed and would no longer service Honda vehicles.

Mazda misled consumers about their rights over refund or replacement for faulty cars

The Federal Court has found that Mazda Australia Pty Ltd engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct and made false or misleading representations to nine consumers about their consumer guarantee rights.

The consumers had each requested a refund or a replacement vehicle from Mazda, after experiencing serious and recurring faults with their new Mazda vehicles within a year or two of purchase.

Mitsubishi's 10-year conditional warranty allowed to stand

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. 

Urgent safety warning about 6,000 Toyota Corollas just added to Takata recall

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.

Holden commits to negotiate in good faith with Holden dealers

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.