Text/Leju Finance Jin Wenyu
Since Toyota entered China, its products have accumulated a good reputation in China with high reliability, and the reputation of "Toyota that cannot be broken" has also spread. As Toyota's proudest product, corolla's importance and contribution are self-evident.
But in recent times, Corolla has gradually "fallen out of favor" in the minds of consumers, the most obvious manifestation of which is the decline in its sales. According to the latest data, the Corolla sold 12,564 vehicles in January 2022, a year-on-year decline of 65%. In December last year, Corolla's monthly sales were still 30,000 units, and this sales figure can no longer be described as a waist cut.
While sales have plummeted, Corolla's complaints have soared on major car complaint platforms. Since the beginning of this year, Corolla has been repeatedly complained about the transmission setback, abnormal sound and other issues, and the owners have reported that these problems have not been solved. This has undoubtedly had a great impact on the reputation of FAW Toyota.
Frustration, strange sound problems "entangled"
According to user feedback, FAW Toyota Corolla's gearbox setbacks, abnormal noises and engine oil leakage problems are particularly prominent, and are mainly concentrated on its 1.2T fuel model.
The first is the problem of abnormal noise and bumps in the transmission. Since 2022, on the automotive third-party auto complaint platform car quality network, there have been 31 complaints about this issue, and the frequency of complaints is also very high, every three to five can see user complaints, and sometimes the number of complaints a day is more than one case.
Many car owners said that the Corolla car they purchased had a significant setback in the gearbox at low speeds, accompanied by serious abnormal noises. Some car owners said that when braking at high speed or starting to refuel, the gearbox also had obvious setbacks. After feedback the problem to the 4S store, the 4S store said that it was the manufacturer's problem, and there was nothing they could do.
In addition, Corolla also has problems such as engine oil leakage, automatic shutdown, and abnormal noise. On March 9, a car owner complained on the car quality network that under the normal use of the vehicle, the oil leakage at the bottom of the engine can be clearly seen, and his vehicle has not collided, and there is no artificial damage to the bottom parts of the engine.
On March 7, another owner reported that he had just bought a new car for a year, and the engine suddenly stopped during the operation of the accident, and after finding the manufacturer and the 4S store, he had a bad attitude and still ignored it.
The problem of stalling will undoubtedly pose a great threat to the driving safety of car owners. Some car owners reported that their cars suddenly stopped and lost power when driving on the main road, and the location was densely trafficked, and after repeatedly unable to hit, they had no choice but to contact their families to rush to the side of the road together. "If it happens in remote areas and on highways in the future, the consequences will be unimaginable."
The problem of the abnormal sound of the engine also makes the owners helpless. According to a car owner, in October 2021, he suddenly heard the creaking sound of the engine compartment, and then went to the Internet to search and found that many car owners encountered this problem. The owner of the car went to the 4s shop to check, the master said that the vacuum tube is abnormal, the original is too fine, to change a little thicker, and the opening of the mouth to 500 yuan replacement fee. In addition, when this 4s store buys a car, it will increase the price in various ways, and the so-called service fee of 15% will be charged when maintaining.
The vacuum tube is too thin, which is the design problem of the vehicle itself, but the owner has suffered a disguised charge, he said that he is very disappointed and hopes to replace the vacuum tube for free.
No one will be a "constant victory general", this frequent product quality problem, while affecting the reputation of the Corolla market, but also let consumers feel that Corolla is not as good as they think.
Three recalls in six months
In addition to product complaints, several recalls have also put question marks on the quality of Corolla and FAW Toyota products.
At the end of January, Tianjin FAW Toyota and GAC Toyota filed a recall plan with the State Administration for Market Regulations in accordance with the Regulations on the Administration of the Recall of Defective Automobile Products and the Measures for the Implementation of the Regulations on the Administration of the Recall of Defective Automobile Products, respectively. The recall of some vehicles began on March 25, 2022, involving a total of up to 300,000 vehicles.
Specifically, FAW Toyota recalled some Corolla vehicles produced between March 23, 2020 and July 2, 2021, for a total of 162301 vehicles. The reason for the vehicle quality problem in this recall is that there is a manufacturing problem in the ignition coil of the vehicle engine, which has led to a deviation in the size of the Stage 1 coil bracket inside some of the ignition coils.
It is understood that the problematic 1-stage coil may come into contact with the central iron core, and then lead to a decrease in insulation between the copper wire of the coil and the central iron core, and even in individual extreme cases, the engine operation may cause a short circuit between the 1-stage coil and the central iron core, fuse the fuse, cut off the supply power supply of the spark plug, and eventually lead to the vehicle stalling. There is a risk of accidents.
For Corolla, this is not the first time a recall of this magnitude has occurred. In June 2021, FAW Toyota announced a recall of more than 191,900 Corolla models. Because some components of the vehicle's high-pressure fuel pump are not fully pressed, abnormal wear may occur inside the high-pressure fuel pump during use, and fatigue cracks may occur at the weld of the high-pressure fuel pump, and there is a possibility of fuel leakage.
Then in July, FAW Toyota recalled another 116,500 Corolla dual engine models, due to the imperfect brake control computer program of the adaptive cruise system equipped with the vehicle, and the brake lights did not light up when the system performed minor braking in some speed ranges, which may cause rear-end rear-end collisions in extreme cases.
Although the car recall can reflect the car company's responsible attitude towards product defects, the overly frequent recalls undoubtedly expose Corolla's shortcomings in quality control. This frequent and large number of recalls has also become one of the important reasons affecting Corolla's sales.
Nowadays, Toyota is launching more and more new products in the domestic market. According to the plan, in 2022, FAW Toyota's sales target is set at one million units; in terms of products, it will launch models such as the Corolla Sharp Release and the Lingfang Harrier.
However, the decline in corolla sales should also sound the alarm bell for FAW Toyota, and it cannot be sold in China for several years, and the quality can be ignored, otherwise the reputation of "three generations is not bad" will no longer exist.