Wen\Wei WuXian
Toyota, which has a reputation of "driving is not bad", is currently encountering some crises of trust. Recently, due to the safety hazards of VSC body stability control system problems, it has been recalled in North America and China, and the domestic market is involved in a number of heavy models including Willanda, Highlander, Xena, Wesa, Crown Land Release, RAV4 Rongfang, etc., and the cumulative number of vehicles that need to be recalled is above 100,000 vehicles.
Coincidentally, statistics from the "Car Quality Network" show that in April, GAC Toyota Highlander was frequently complained by car owners due to start problems, and its engine noise and body resonance problems caused many car owners to be dissatisfied, and the number of complaints has exceeded 100 cases, and there is still a trend of gradual fermentation.
A 2022 Highlander owner complained that after the domestic 2022 Highlander picked up the car for 9649 kilometers, there were the following problems: (1) Rear foot design defects: The engine vibration was large and the noise was large, because of the design defects of the rear feet of the car engine. The US market has issued a recall announcement in December 2021, replacing the owner with the same rear foot of the Senna car free of charge, and the problem has improved. Strongly require the State Administration of Market Regulation to order GAC Toyota to face the design defects, in a responsible manner for consumers to replace the rear foot free of charge; (2) the design defects of the mirror: after 1 month of lifting the car, it was found that the double-sided mirror was seriously abnormal (the entire underground parking lot can be heard), the temporary solution given by the manufacturer is to apply lubricating oil, but after 2 months of oiling, it still uses the temporary solution of oiling. After 1 month, it started to sound again. Practice has proved that oiling is not a permanent solution. GAC Toyota was asked to responsibly redesign and manufacture defect-free mirrors and replace them for free for consumers.
Feedback was given on the problems of the vehicle's engine resonance and reversing mirrors, among which the problem of design defects in the rear of the engine was general, and many car owners complained about it on the car quality network.
At the same time, some car owners said that the problem of loud noise and vibration of the fourth-generation Highlander engine has triggered a recall in the North American market, and toyota's disposal method is to replace the owner with free warranty, which is also an important reason for domestic consumers to pay attention to and complain.
After all, consumers are disgusted with "double standards", although the Highlander is a global model, but if the service standards are treated differently, it will obviously damage Toyota's reputation and brand image. The incident that just happened that many Toyota models were recalled due to VSC problems is also recalled in the US market now, and then the Chinese market has followed up.
In the author's view, with the enhancement of consumer awareness of rights protection, similar "double standard" problems will inevitably be alleviated, especially with the strong rise of independent brands, if the joint venture car companies are treated differently in product quality and materials, then once the problem occurs, it will inevitably lead to consumer criticism and directly endanger sales. Previously, Passat's serious bending of the A pillar in the collision of the China Insurance Research Institute caused a generation of god cars to fall is the most obvious example.
Write at the end:
Judging from the current feedback on product problems, the problem of Guangfeng Highlander is obviously still fermenting, if it cannot be properly solved, it may become another important event that affects the reputation of GAC Toyota after the throttle, and we will also pay attention to how Guangfeng handles it.
(This article is originally produced by the editorial department of [Auto Industry] New Media, the author of this article is Wei Wuxian, and the reprint should indicate the source)