Warranty Complaints
April 30, 2007 by Alborz Fallah
Do you have a warranty complaint regarding your vehicle?
We are here to help. In most cases all we can do is provide you a medium to tell other Australians your story. This will give you the opportunity to express your concern regarding the issues with your vehicle.
It may even give you the opportunity to hear from others who have experienced similar problems with the same make/model car.
Furthermore, in some cases, once complaints are published online, manufacturers are quick to act to rectify the problem. Either way, you have nothing to lose!
Manufacturers are afraid that once common faults for a specific model become public, more and more owners will come back demanding repairs.
This is a nightmare for manufacturers, but a big boost for individual owners struggling to have repairs covered under warranty.
If you are unfairly refused warranty work, let us know!
Do you have a warranty complaint? Send us an email. We are here to help.
Your website is the duck’s guts mate…….
I agree with Baz.
Awsome website. It’s the duck’s nuts.
Caught a glimpse of your noggin’ on Today Tonight tonight alborz, I’m humbled to be in the presence of such an esteemed star on such a reputable show. ;P
Very impressed with the web site.
keep up the articles very interesting.
Alastair
awesome website…..nice work on Today Tonight. I just wasn’t sure if the story was initiated by yourself or the unfortunate youg couple?
We were simply just contacted and asked if we would be willing to say how many people complain about Jeeps, and funnily enough, nearly all our complaints are about Jeeps!
Nice to see you on C7 about the Jeep [Havent they gone down the loo]
I am about to go to war with KIA, and depending how they handle my complaints will depend if i need your assistance in this matter.
Will keep you up to speed about it, will give them every option to “do the right thing”
Cheers
O/A
I did in fact take KIA to VCAT and presented my case, i was honest and fair, we did all arrange with the judge that KIA would take back my vehicle repair EVERY complaint to my satisfaction, and if i was not still satisfied we would attend VCAT again and then the judge would decide the case.
Happy to say KIA did the right thing [finally] and now the vehicle is A1, so closed the case.
Had a crazy offer for the KIA [as in least financial tear up of ANY vehicle i have ever owned] so i sold it on the spot.
Miss the KIA and thank KIA AUST. for FINALLY fixing the bloody thing!
A warning to anyone wanting to buy a Toyota Corolla. Do not buy the Corolla if it was built in South Africa. We bought one new in 2003 and we’ve had a tyre burst, a radio with a static fault that hasn’t been fixed in 4 trips to Toyota Servicing and brake pads and rotors that were “dangerously worn” after 38,000 k’s. There was 6,000 k’s between the 32,000 and 38,000 services and Toyota servicing did not advise us of the rapid decline of the brake system. The Toyota Corolla we brought and Toyota Servicing have been very disappointing.
i have just purchased a $60K liberty 3.0r B spec and so far i have rust bubbles in the roof er sorry industrial fallout, rattles in drivers door cant be fixed, cost more to run dollar for dollar in engine oil than 98 octane and a service manager with a shocking attitude who also damaged the car. no loan or courtesy vehicle available for all its time off the road and hundreds of dollars in hire cars and taxis.
For mine THE most over rated and over priced brand on the planet.
Stand up subaru and take the gong!
Like the comment from Garry on 1 May 2007 I too have had problems with the brakes on my 2004 Toyota Corolla (South African manufactured). My brake pads and rotors were down to 1mm at 36,000kms. Despite having had all my regular servicing this problem had not been highlighted until my recent service. Toyota refuses to pay for the replacement brakes leaving me quite annoyed.
Like the two comments above about the Toyota Corolla, I too have had problems with the brakes on my 2005 Toyota Corolla which were manufactured in South Africa. Despite having my car serviced as advised by Toyota, Servicing never once informed me of the worn out brakes.
Toyota also refuses to pay for replacements, and the warranty does not cover it as it is considered ‘wear and tear’. So, if you are looking to buy a Corolla make sure you get confirmation that none of the parts were manufactured in South Africa as these are very unreliable and dangerous.
I have had a catalogue of issues with my VE Calais V. I saw the article about battery drain….that’s happened twice on my car, both times draining in 12hrs the evening after the vehicle was in the dealer workshop! They claim it was a faulty entertainment unit and replace that.
Other issues with the Calais have been random Engine management lights and a gearbox full of neutrals, faulty dvd player, loose trim, faulty parking sensors, squeaky and or knocking brakes and a partridge in a pear tree!!!
When it’s not at the dealer and I actually have it to drive and it’s working, it’s fantastic. Just wish it was working more of the time!
As the above posts, we purchased an 04′ Corolla from our local motor auctions about two years ago. On the first Toyota service just six months later (approx. 38,000 on the clock) we were informed the rear rotors were prematurely worn and needed replacing along with the rear pads. $900 later we thought we would have a sound vehicle. Another twelve months on and the car hasn’t even done 50,000 yet and my latest service set me back $1100, this time they replaced the front rotors, machined the rear and hit me up again for new pads all round. Think ill be looking for a new car… really cant afford a hit like that every twelve months.
hi to who it may concern i had a vx commodore 2000 & i had no proublom with battery drain how i have a 2004 vz & i have a big proublum with battery drain issue after 2 or 3 days the battery is as deader then dead i have spent over $130 getting it checked out & they could not find a thing wrong can u help me ?
have had problems with brand new toyota troop carrier ever since drove it out of dealer, the car just stops while you are driving, toyota have had my car nearly more than me trying to fix it, now they have decided to call it contaminated fuel so the customer has to pay for the car to be fixed. customer service dont care either would never buy another toyota ever again and would not recommend any one buy a toyota from 2008 onwards
Same problem with my 07 SV6. Car was not used for 16hrs came out in the morning and nothing. After getting a jump start and taking it to the service dept of the Holden dealership I bought it from, they gave it a charge and ran a program that Holden gave them, apparently it is supposed to stop the drain from the cluster. Left me a bit confused but car is going again (touch wood)
I own an ‘03 Toyota RAV4 which gave great service until the middle of ‘08 when something was making it run rough and stall. Checked with mechanic (not Toyota), after fitting a s/h cat. converter and a new sensor ($1200) all’s well until this year when it suddenly stopped, without warning; towed to mechanic who pulled it down, and announced that the bearing housing on one end of one camshaft had broken off, because one oil galley immediately below it was clogged and no oil was getting through. The oil light was on, but the sump was full. Can’t weld the bearing housing back. Ok, how about a replacement head? It would be cheaper to replace the motor because the buckets that are activated by the cams need a costly and labour-intensive shimming program, so it would be cheaper to replace the whole motor! $6,200 later and the car is running fine … for two days. Refuses to start, then when it does start it runs very roughly and will not idle. Manage to get it to the mechanic. A day later he tells me that the ECU has died and will cost $1600 to replace and fit. I’m on an age pension and frankly, I can’t afford it, that is, I can’t afford to keep it and repair it and nor can I afford to buy another.
Cheers
John
John, if you gearbox has not packed it in already then be prepared as this is the most common fault with your model. Another $6000 to repair.
Toyota reliability is a myth that is not common across all models. Get rid of it and buy an X-trail instead.
Joke right?
Get a X Trail so that the cat.conv can brake and get sucked inot the engine, or the butterflys come off the intake, get sucked in a grenade the donk, both are well know issue with the QD25 engine…..
Google it and you will see the X Trails are good at that, its a reason i got rid of mine, the warranty expired and i didnt want to be owning it if it went pear shapped nothing $6k wont fix….
Nissan have problems with X Trail, Patrol and Navara engines, VERY poor for a Japanese vehicle
I own 2008 anniversery omega , VE . Its around 16 months old & ihave just encounted the battery drain issue. The car had been left over night, the following morning dead as door nail . What i would like to know is if Holden are aware of this problem , why havnt new car owners been informed about the potential problem ?
I agree with the warnings to anyone wanting to buy a Toyota Corolla. Do not buy the Corolla if it was built in South Africa. I have to have my breaks replaced and Toyota said that it is just normal wear and tear. If this is the case why did my dealer tell me that this is a KNOWN problem with the South African built models!!!
Kaye, is it a 2009 with MMT? Cause worldwide they are having a problem with this car, yet Toyota has not issued a formal statement or a recall on the car.
Hello,
I thought I would like to see if anyone else has had issues with Nissan honouring their warranty obligations, particularly with regard to vehicles that have not been serviced at the dealer.
My company has a Nissan Navara diesel dual cab that suddenly lost power going up hill. It was driven direct to the local dealer as it still has 8,000 Kms to go on its warranty. After examining the vehicle it was diagnosed that there was a failure with the particulate filter. They then asked for detailed reports of every service that was done on the vehicle which I fortunately could obtain and they proceeded go through it line by line looking for an excuse not to repair it under warranty. The cost was quoted as about $4,500. After many phone calls the dealer said that Nissan told them that the wrong oil had been used, even though a letter from the service mechanic detailing the oil used was provided and agreed to be the correct type. I asked them to test the oil in the vehicle and they said it was not possible. We subsequently left the car with them as they said they were going to go back to Nissan again. After xmas we received a call asking us to float the vehicle out of the dealers yard. We did this and had it delivered to our regular mechanic who did some further investigation. He also engaged a specialist Diesel mechanic who also does contract work for the Nissan Dealer. Both mechanics report that the issue is not with the particulate filter and the work should be covered under warranty. We have now gone back to the Nissan Dealer and advised of this situation. As yet we have not heard back from Nissan. Our next step will most probably legal if the vehicle is not repaired under warranty. Can anyone advise of the best approach to resolve this.
With NISSAN’s esp. the Patrol, X Trail, and Navara, you MUST get factory service done, on time and as per the service manual.
There have plenty of engine issues for all 3 mentioned, and NISSAN will abandon you any way possible if you have not had genuine book service done.
Its very poor for a legend Japanese brand to have well known BIG issues with current models
Last week my VE Commodore went into battery saver mode. It gets driven about 2 hours every day, and occasionally not driven for 2 days at a time. (Maybe once every 2 or 3 months). I spoke to the stealership about it, and they recommended clutch starting my car if the battery dies.
Last night, after being parked for about 30 hours, the battery was totally dead. I couldn’t even wind the window back up. The NRMA started my car, and told me that I could push the car to my heart’s content, but if there was no power to the computer it wouldn’t start. Let’s see what the stealership has to say about that later today.
I also forgot to mention that in the year I’ve had my car, it’s had a whole bunch of steering and suspension components replaced. The clunk is back again though. The clutch just got replaced. The handbrake broke in October, and new ones have been on back order since September. The seat moulding has broken. The stealership told me that the clutch and seat moulding are very common. What I’d like to know is just WHAT Holden spent their billion dollars on when developing this model???? A lot of the problems in this car are the same as I had in my VY.
Who is to blame here?
That’s whay God invented Japanese cars….
I have a VE SV6. This morning is the second breakdown l have had after the vehicle was sitting at home after the weekend. I drove it on Saturday morning and then tried starting it this morning only to hear the silence of the engine again.
The reputable dealer l purchased the vehicle have looked into the problem and reportadly fixed along with the entertainment unit which also played up constantly.
I am concerned that Holden are not more helpful when this issue is reported as they tell me they need the vehicle for at least 2 days to correct the battery charge and l am sure that not everyone lives within walking distance of a dealer and their work place. I should have kept my VZ, no problems with it ever.
My VE SS Commodore Ute has had numerous battery drain problems since I purchased it back in October 2009, recently I drove 120 kms to Melbourne, left it for 2 hours come out and you guest it Flat as tack! RACV come out to jump start the vehicle & tell me the blue tooth causes the problem! well I turned the blue tooth off for the trip home and the next morning we get up to go to work! you guest it flat again, taken it to the dealer and can only find a loose wire on the alternator! I still get flat Battery problems after there miracle fix! I am absolutely tearing my hair out!
Has any one had any trouble with the 6.0 ltr AFM system as my AFM runs on 4 cylinder more than it runs on 8 cylinders and the fuel economy is terrible, my local Dealer can not fix the problem so now I have to take it to a Engine Tune Specialist to have the AFM program turned off a my expense (150.00)
I wish I had my 1997 XH Longreach Ford Ute Back!(This will teach me for jumping over to the Holden Camp)(I am sorry Mr Ford I should have known better, so please forgive me & I will be back if you will have me)
Oh and do not go winging to Holden for fixes for your problems as I do not think they give a damn.
I have had a sour win with VE SS Commodore Ute!
I Payed Walkinshaw Performance $150.00 to turn off the AFM, now the engine runs sweet & fuel economy has returned back to 11.3 litres per 100 kms.
I have also fitted a new high performance battery at my own expense ($259.00)& have not had any starting problems since so fingers crossed!
Why should a private buyer have to go through all that?
I bought an 07 VE lumina and have had nothing but problems since the word go!!..
Just now my battery has gone flat for about the 10th time.. if not more! i have sent it to my dealder about the problem and they gave me a charger to charge it myself!.. Most times when it happens the car has been off for about 10 mins max!.. this time it tried to kick over but couldnt. the other times it has been flat as a tack and only after such a short time!.. I wasn’t running any music or anything.
i also had frayed front driver seat and back left seat when i got the car. i went to see the dealer and he told me to kep an eye on it. Didnt’ even offer to fix it. 6 months later i went back because i wanted it fixed. A new service manager was there and the first one hadn’t recorded the problem so i only got my drivers seat fixed ‘out of generosity’!!. The used the excuse that an animal had caused the back seat problem, when at this time i hadn’t had one animal in the car!
I also have a pungent smell coming out of my air conditioner when it is on. Doesn’t do it all the time though. I took it to my dealer when it was putting out the smell and all they did was run a deoderiser through it and said thats all they can do. I STILL have the smell coming through the air conditioner.
The doors are very hard to open. I have told my dealer about this problem and nothing has been done to rectify it!
I have turned my car on and had ‘air-bag fault’ ‘ABS fault’ and ‘ESP off (automatically turns itself off) lights display at me- at different times!. I Recorded this on my phone each time it happens and showed my dealer, they told me that water had gotten in and shorted something?!.. now tell me when its raining and more dangerous to drive, am i expected to possibly not have my airbags, ABS, or ESP not work because of a short?!?! this car is not safe!
I have also had my digital speedo glitch on me, but the dealer can’t do anything because they didnt see it happen!.
My windows also continually squeak in hot weather!.. the dealer has put something in there which stops it for about a month at the most! and i am constantly seeing them about this problem.
There is more things happening and i am far from impressed with this car! Is there anything i can do in this situation??
Time to trade in for a Toyota, unfortunatly some tear up of $ will be involved.
Those Camry Hybrids look interesting, and quality/build/finish that Falcodore will NEVER reach
I feel Sorry for you!! I think you bought a Lemon! I would trade in for 2007 Honda Accord V6 Sedan 4dr Auto 5sp 3.0i. It is the same size car, Honda only got 3kW less power but a little bit better fuel economy. 2007 TOYOTA AURION GSV40R SPORTIVO SX6 is a nice choice. GOOD LUCK!
What about a Lemon Law. If they can not fix it 3 times you got a new car.
Unfortunatly not law in Australia yet, can you imagain how many Falcodores will be returned?
Hi.
We purchased a KIA Grand Carnival in mid 2008. We have driven this thing very conservatively as it chews up more petrol than anticipated. ( This despite the fact that the salesman reckoned we would eventually get 550-600kms from each tank …. never got more than 450kms!).
It has been a dream to drive. Its smooth, comfy & we haven’t been fazed by the big turning circle.
Admittedly, we haven’t had the car serviced as yet( we were on the verge of doing so as we were able to afford the service.) BUT .. this car is less than 18months old & has ONLY done 33,000 kms.
Last Sunday( Feb 22, 2010), the car was going fine. The next day(Mon Feb 23, 2010), the “check engine” light on the engine dash came up. Took it to the dealer, they didn’t look at it till late the next day, then proceeds to tell us that we’d be up for the new engine( something in the order of $15k!!!) Before Monday, there was NO warning to say that the car was in dire need of attention. The car was running well & we had put off getting service, as the salesman didn’t seem to make warranty service the “Life or death” issue that the service manager indicated. He gave us a sample of the oil left in the engine, saying that it only had half a litre of oil left. This despite the fact that a) We had put oil in the engine either just before the end of 2009 or the start of 2010. b) My son had checked the dipstick a week or so later( & I verified) that the oil level was fine c) There has NEVER been any burnt oil smell or smoke emitted d) The oil light has NEVER activated itself.
KIA will not warranty the repair on the “technicality” of not having the car serviced.
Our complaints are these…
* How can a car thats only 33000 kms & less than 18 months old have a completely blown motor when we drive the thing so conservatively ?
* Why wasn’t servicing the car made more of an issue at the time of purchase? ( We didn’t intend to ignore servicing, only that servicing was an issue of time & money( esp. given that their servicing charges are so overpriced)
* We have read complaints of people whose KIA Carnivals have packed it in even WITH warranty service, who’s to say that ours wouldn’t have done the same even WITH servicing?
* How can a car be running absolutely faultless one day, then pack up the next, only to have the dealer try & tell us that the problems with the engine have been a long time coming?
* Where were the previous warning lights to say that when the problems started , our car informed us of such problem?
* WE have already had the brakes attended to under warranty. The first time they rubbed the pads on the ground to make them more coarse or something like that, the 2nd time they actually replaced them, obviously $$ saved comes before trying to permanently fix a problem under warranty.
Any help that can come our way would be appreciated.
Regards
Joe & Adriana Pusztai.
to be honest i cant blame kia for not covering it under warranty, not having a car serviced for 33,000kms is just plain stupidity.
hi there,
I own a 1990 toyota corolla, and have been having problems with it, about 4 weeks ago i replaced the battery as the last one was old, however, the new battery seemed to be causing problems such as causing my car not to start quite reguarly and would have to charge it. So i took the battery back to the battery place and they said it was a faulty battery, and the alternater was fine. So they replaced the faulty new battery for another one. Mind you, this was just yesturday. This morning when I went to start my car the same thing is happening again, for when I put the key in the ignition nothing happens apart for the battery light showing. Now ive had the nrma out twice to look at it, and I am not sure what else could be the problem. But I have a feeling there is something either draining the battery within the 12hours, or the car is on its way out. If anyone can help me out here, this would save me heaps of time and money.
please help.