Recall campaigns, in which automakers fix defects at their own expense, are taking place around the world. February 20, German concern Mercedes-Benz announced About the recall of 250 thousand vehicles due to possible fire risk. The recall also covers expensive Mercedes-Benz models launched in 2023. Despite the departure of the concern from Russia, cars were supplied to the country as part of parallel imports officially permitted by the government and private dealers.
But buyers of these cars won’t be able to rely on troubleshooting as part of recall campaigns. As they told socialbites.ca
JSC MB RUS (former distributor and subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz in Russia, acquired by the Russian holding company Avtodom), reviews apply only to cars that were previously officially sold directly by the German distributor itself.
The Stuttgart automobile giant has stopped official sales and production in the Russian Federation since March 2022 and is therefore not conducting inspections.
Additionally, the company will operate as of the end of 2022. stopped Official service support for car dealers who cannot carry out qualified service repairs of problematic units without factory programs.
“JSC MB RUS supports the implementation of all recall measures of the manufacturer previously officially announced by Mercedes-Benz AG for cars on the Russian market. The list of these events and the vehicles covered by them can be found on the Rosstandart website or by visiting the service partner of MB RUS JSC, the press service of MB RUS told socialbites.ca.
10.6 thousand Mercedes-Benz passenger cars were sold in Russia in 2022 and 6.9 thousand in 2023.
Volkswagen, Skoda and Audi
The situation is much worse for Volkswagen cars and many of its brands: Skoda, SEAT, Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini and Bentley. This concern has the largest fleet of foreign vehicles in Russia, but neither old nor new recall campaigns exist for owners of these vehicles. This was reported to socialbites.ca by the company AGR LLC, which was the official importer and manufacturer of Volkswagen cars from 2003 to 2023 and is now owned by the Russian company Art-Finance.
“AGR LLC does not receive information about recall campaigns of the Volkswagen concern because the concern does not provide such information.
“However, when we receive information about a possible non-compliance of products with CU TR requirements, we, as the manufacturer or its authorized representative, fulfill all obligations stipulated by the technical regulatory legislation.”
Other automobile companies
socialbites.ca’s interlocutors in the dealer community note that the failure to repair potentially defective parts in previously sold foreign cars concerns many European, Japanese and American automobile companies. At the same time, recall campaigns are ongoing, affecting millions of vehicles worldwide. The most popular comments of 2023 announced Japanese Honda: Affects 6.5 million vehicles in the US alone; of these, 2.3 million will need repair due to a malformed fuel pump impeller that threatens to shut down the engine suddenly.
Coming in second place in reviews in the United States is Ford, which announced 54 service promotions for the year affecting approximately 5.7 million vehicles.
Kia follows with 3.3 million recalled vehicles. Most are subject to repair and inspection due to the same problem – brake fluid leakage in the ABS module, which can lead to a short circuit and fire.
The malfunction affected 13 Hyundai and Genesis models, as well as 10 Kia models. These include the Hyundai Tucson, Santa Fe, Veloster, Elantra and Sonata, as well as the Kia Optima, Soul, Sorento and Sportage. Before visiting the dealership, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommended that these vehicles be parked outdoors.
The competent authority is silent
In our country, Rosstandart has the right to initiate a recall campaign for vehicles sold. The same department announces such actions (both mandatory and voluntary) on its official website.
According to Rosstandart, 16 recall campaigns for cars, trucks and buses have been announced in Russia in 2023. There were 20 such events in 2022 and 2021-59 before the crisis.
Among the brands whose sales were discontinued in Russia in 2023, BMW recalled more than 42 thousand vehicles to replace airbag plugs, Toyota recalled 22.7 thousand vehicles for the same reason, and Subaru announced that air conditioning condensers should be checked for 2.8 thousand Foresters. .
More than 8 thousand Lexuses were recalled to replace the fuel tank vent pipe, and the service campaign of 5.5 thousand Kia Sorentos did not require spare parts at all – the transmission control units of the cars were reprogrammed. Cars in Russia were recalled from Peugeot, Jeep and Lexus in 2023 due to problems with settings and software.
142 Jeep Wranglers in Russia required a service call to cut an extra nail from the chassis that could puncture the fuel tank.
socialbites.ca forwarded questions to Rosstandart regarding whether the global recall campaigns of brands leaving our country will be expanded to include Russia under current conditions; There was no response from editors at the time of publication.
your problem
Russian car owners will have to follow the news about foreign service campaigns and independently eliminate the most threatening malfunctions, which will be “treated” in other countries at the expense of the automaker, said Jan Heitzeer, vice president of the National Automobile Association. In an interview with socialbites.ca.
He added that a serious malfunction must be eliminated so that the malfunction does not occur unexpectedly, but it should not be forgotten that automobile manufacturers often issue recalls for minor malfunctions that do not affect safety.
Owners of products of brands that have finally left Russia will have to rely only on themselves. However, Igor Morzharetto, partner of analytics agency Autostat, stated that many companies that have stopped sales continue their service support.
“Many brands have retained their warranty and service functions and continue to carry out inspections. Other companies have slammed the door and left Russia. For example,
Mercedes-Benz or Volvo have clearly stated that they will not operate in the Russian market in any way.
“And in this situation there is nothing to rely on,” Morzharetto told socialbites.ca.
He reminded that Korean Hyundai and Kia continue to provide services like some European brands.
What are you thinking?
Source: Gazeta
Anika Rood is an author at “Social Bites”. She is an automobile enthusiast who writes about the latest developments and news in the automobile industry. With a deep understanding of the latest technologies and a passion for writing, Anika provides insightful and engaging articles that keep her readers informed and up-to-date on the latest happenings in the world of automobiles.