Honda Tak Guna (Honda is Useless)

No I have nothing against Honda. Unfortunately this one damn pissed off Honda owner. Having exhausted all avenues of complain / rectification under warranty, the owner decided on going offensive. He had these stickers made and pasted on his car, drove it to PJ and parked it right in front Honda Malaysia's Sales and Marketing office in PJ.




This is not the most extreme case of a customer taking things into their own hands. Some years back in Thailand, a boutique shop owner Miss Duenpen Silakhet was very frustrated with the endless problems that plague her Honda CR-V, ranging from inexplicable loud noises to a faulty starter that left her stranded on several occasions.

Fed up with the unsatisfactory responce from Honda to rectify the problems with her car, she had a banner printed, saying "I would not have done this if this was a really good car. My condolences to Honda." Drove it to the TV channel iTV's office at Vibhavadi Rangsit Road and then proceeded to smash her CRV with a sledgehammer and a shovel. Honda would eventually buy back the problematic CRV from Miss Duenpen and issued her a cheque, which she then revealed that it was used as down payment for a Toyota Wish. But this not a case of victory for Toyota and loss for Honda. There was another similar case when a dissatisfied Thai Toyota Fortuner owner, Mr Preecha Santijirakul, who like Jess Ross (owner of the Accord above) had endless problem with the brakes on his SUV decided to drive it to the dealer who refused to rectify the problem, smashed it with a sledgehammer and set a set of brake pads on fire in at the Toyota dealership.  

In the defence of Miss Duenpen and Jess Ross (owner of the Accord), they aren't many diplomatic options left for them if the manufacturer / distributor refuse / is unable to rectify the problems. On this side of the world, the consumer tribunal court is a joke, you could be left waiting for months if not years for your case to be heard. What are they going to drive in the mean time? By then, most people would have backed down and settle for an out of court settlement. In the US, there is a so called "lemon car" laws to protect consumers against defective products even if the vehicle's warranty. Best of all, you don't need to engage the services of a lawyer to represent you. In some US states, manufacturers are even required to buy back the entire vehicle even if it is past the manufacturer's warranty period, within reasons of course.

In this side of the world, consumer protection laws are pretty lax. There isn't any regulation that compels car manufacturers to be transparent on safety related defects and to issue a public recall if necessary, and exactly how will consumer be compensated. Even China was quick to realise this. In the recent Toyota-gate scandal, Chinese owners were treated differently from their American counterparts. RAV4 owners in China affected by the recall had to choose from three free testing service options for Chinese RAV4 owners to choose and they will not be given any alternative transportation nor compensation, while their American counterparts received door-door pick-up and delivery service and even to send them to work.. The Chinese government received numerous complaints from angry Toyota owners, complaining that they are being treated as lower class third world consumers by the Japanese car maker. No doubt some lingering post-war sentiments between China and Japan prompted the rising Middle Kingdom to flex its muscle. This is not the first time both AQSIQ and Toyota sparred, previously there was some highly public exchanges regarding a recall for the Camry.

Soon after that, China's consumer safety and product quality watchdog AQSIQ announced that it will be revising product recall regulations, specifically on automotive related matters by the end of this year. The revised ruling will specify how consumers must be compensated for product defects.