Recall for Proton Gen2/Satria Neo jacks

Proton has announced a recall of wheel jacks supplied with the Gen2 and Satria Neo after routine tests conducted on a batch of jacks for the models revealed some inconsistencies in the quality of the item which is used to raise the car to replace a puncture tyre (some people actually don’t know that!).

“Proton has time and again stated our commitment towards our customers in terms of product and service quality. Their safety and satisfaction is of paramount importance to us. As such, despite the fact that only selected jacks are affected, Proton is not treating this matter lightly as it involves the safety of our customers. Even though there have been no incidents reported in relation to this, Proton has taken the initiative to recall the jacks and replace them with new ones,” said the company’s Managing Director Dato' Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.

Only models with jacks in bronze and gold-like colours are being recalled and were supplied with the Gen2s since January 2004 and the Satria Neos sold since April 2006. The models with jacks which are blue in colour are said to have no quality issues and therefore do not require replacement.

Owners of the models with the jacks described are requested to bring their jacks and their vehicle registration card to any authorized Proton service branches and selected Proton service dealers for a free replacement. Hopefully Proton will be flexible enough to provide the replacement in the event the registration card cannot be furnished as some banks retain the document using the tenure of the hire-purchase loan.

Owners who are unsure of the status of their jacks or require further clarification can contact Proton i.Care at 1300-880-888.

The recall announcement certainly marks a change at Proton as it has usually avoided making public announcements of this nature, perhaps due to the belief that such recalls would serve to reinforce public belief that Proton quality levels are poor. However, consumers would generally feel more assured that a manufacturer is pro-active in recalling a product because it shows that the manufacturer cares about the safety of its customers.

While critics may choose to use this recall as further evidence of Proton’s poor quality, the company would probably find that it ‘wins points’ with most owners for showing that it too can have some defects in its products and is willing to admit it, unlike in the past when quality issues were dismissed as 'irrelevant' and the management refused to make public recalls (quietly changing defective parts only when owners came in for servicing). After all, if even Toyota’s Lexus division – which boasts the highest quality in the world – acknowledges defects and announces recalls, why should Proton not be willing to do so?