PETALING JAYA: Car owners left without their vehicles for months by warranty repairs have little recourse for the loss of use, while consumer groups say proposed reforms may not fully close the gap.
Owners have reported waiting up to a year for major parts such as engines and transmissions, with the problem cutting across vehicle segments.
Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations chief executive officer Saravanan Thambirajah said the group and the National Consumer Complaints Centre regularly received such complaints.
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The bigger issue, he said, was the financial burden of keeping a car off the road while owners continued paying hire-purchase instalments, insurance and road tax, as well as alternative transport costs.
Some owners who used their vehicles for work could also lose income, he added.
Saravanan said consumer rights should be triggered automatically once a reasonable repair period was exceeded.
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“Waiting for parts cannot become an open-ended excuse when the consumer continues carrying all the financial burden,” he said.
He called for reforms to set a clear repair timeframe, after which carmakers would be required to provide a courtesy vehicle or transport compensation.
A limit should also be imposed on how long a vehicle could remain off the road for repeated defects before stronger remedies applied, he said.
For now, owners should document the repair process, keep receipts for alternative transport and lodge complaints in writing with the dealer and manufacturer before taking their case to the Consumer Claims Tribunal, Saravanan said.
Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) president Mohideen Abdul Kader urged the government to expedite the proposed Lemon Law and extend it to new cars as the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry moves to amend the Consumer Protection Act.
He said a seriously defective vehicle should be repaired within a month, with three attempts a fair limit before the law’s remedies applied.
“There are cases of vehicles lying in workshops for months, up to six months or more, and yet unable to provide a diagnosis, let alone repair the vehicle,” he said.
Mohideen said owners of vehicles costing more than RM50,000 were also unable to bring claims to the tribunal and could be forced to pursue legal action in court.
