Proton to replace parts

SHAH ALAM: Proton Holdings Bhd will be recalling some 95,000 of its vehicles to replace faulty CFE oil cooler hoses, a problem that could potentially cause the engines to overheat.

Owners greeted the news with relief, with some crediting the national car manufacturer for what they saw as a shift towards greater transparency in handling customer issues.

In announcing the recall – its biggest to date – Proton chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Harith Abdullah said the initiative was part of Proton’s move to revive the brand, which has seen dwindling sales figures in recent years.

He said the recall would affect 94,577 units involving 59,663 Exora units, 28,642 Preve cars and 6,290 Suprima vehicles.

Speaking at a briefing yesterday, he said the oil cooler hoses of the three models would break down when the cars reached an average mileage of 40,000km, due to the degradation of the internal tube material.

“We will call the owners individually and priority will be given to cars with mileage of 40,000km and above. We hope to finish this within the next six months.”

Abdul Harith added that Proton would be spending over RM2mil to replace the faulty hoses.

Abdul Harith: ‘Although we have improved ourselves in many small ways, we know very well that we cannot be complacent.’

“The hoses are cheap, about RM17 each, but labour cost will be expensive. So, we expect the cost to be over RM2mil,” he said.

According to Proton, the root cause of the problem was due to the hoses not being able to withstand the high temperature of the engines.

Ruptures can also be caused by skipped or prolonged services. The type of lubricant used could also be a factor.

The national carmaker said consumers could take their cars to any of its service centres to rectify the problem.

“Affected customers are advised to bring their cars to service centres for free inspection and replacement of oil cooler hoses under warranty,” he added.

For cars outside the warranty period, the replacement process will apply provided the service interval is adhered to.

“We don’t want our customers to go to any workshop under some cherry tree to get their car fixed, only to be cheated and pay high prices. We want them to come back to us.

“We are aware of the severity of where Proton stands today and although we have improved ourselves in many small ways, we know very well that we cannot be complacent,” he said.

Abdul Harith also admitted that Proton was aware that it had not been meeting customers’ expectations, emphasising that the company was working hard to go to the ground to monitor the conduct of its employees.

“Implementation is one thing, but without a good monitoring process, it may seem that there are inconsis­tencies in many of our outlets,” he said.