Posted by
kimmy
17 yrs ago
We bought a brand new car from a reputable dealer representing a famous European brand 13 months ago. We have been using the car only over the weekends which means it should still have been in very good condition (no accidents recorded) when the car suddenly stopped without any prior warnings in the middle of a busy road one Sunday. Fortunately nobody was hurt but it was a huge scare to us not to mention traffic chaos. The company has since fixed the car (we are currently using a substitute car which they sent us to use in the meantime) but cannot explain WHY the car stopped suddenly like that. They only repeatedly mention that the engine was faulty but not saying what triggered that.
As we cannot trust this car anymore (there could have been a serious accident leading to multiple deaths), we do not want to take the car back (even though the problem was fixed - WHY did it happen in the first place!?! they still haven't explained. How can we feel safe in that car again?) and are demanding compensation from the company which they are refusing.
We are wondering whether we have a legal case here. Can anyone please suggest any lawyers who we can speak to for a free consult? Thanks to you all.
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I think that once they've fixed your car, they've done their "duty" to you. It's not their responsibility to help you have that trust in your car back.
An option for you is to take a loss, sell the car, and get a new one.
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kimmy
17 yrs ago
but what if they sold us a faulty car to begin with? is this too difficult to prove?
cars just CANNOT break down in the middle of the road right? the company saying it was an engine problem surely cannot be enough??
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kimmy
17 yrs ago
and if they cannot explain what triggered the engine to become faulty, doesn't this mean there is a serious problem with this particular model? i.e. they should all be recalled? Not to mention, it surely questions the standards of their quality control/safety test systems.
we are really mad at the company for not taking any responsibility for what could have been a major accident. our family of 3 was in the car at the time (with a small baby!!) and i still have nightmares about it!
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What was the problem?
Did the engine just stop? Could you then not get it started or heard strange noises?
Things like this can often happen on new cars. Cars are now loaded with electronics and sensors and you just need one to fail for the car to stop..It doesnt mean it will happen again..
I had a similar problem where my gearbox shifted back to neutral (sequential gearbox) in the middle of the road. I had to just let the car roll to the side of the road. Left it rest a few minutes. restarted and was ok. I was told it was a problem with the sensor under the hood, which prevents the gearbox from shifting when the hood is open.. I ve never had the problem again though was a bit nervous the first few days.
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If you really feel so strongly about this, you should get legal counsel for advise on what you can or should do.
I'm no car expert but you have possession of the car for 13 months already without so much of a problem. Maybe you have introduced some "problems" yourself? Do you have all documents pertaining to its checkup/maintenance? Regular checkups, change oil, and other stuff? Even if you use your car only on weekends, it doesn't guarantee that it stays at the best condition (sometimes it even causes problems when engines, mechanical, and electrical parts are not used/maintained regularly). Don't expect all arguments to favor your side just because your family was put in severe danger.
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The simple thing is they may not actually know why. It's more than likely they have connected the car to a diagnostics machine which has identified a faulty electronic component which they have replaced. This is pretty standard. Having a vehicle for 13 months will mean that your rights to reject the vehicle are pretty much nil. And yes cars can just break down in the middle of the road!
Remember that wear and tear on a vehicle isn't just "road miles done" it can be environment, climate, etc that is always deteriorating components. HK is harsh on cars even when they are idle.
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Oski
17 yrs ago
Most cars since the late 80's don't have carburetors anymore. In any case carburetor or any mechanical problems will not make the engine just quit. The car would sputter for at least a little bit. Since the engine quit completely with no warning, most likely the problems was electrical, (in modern cars, electronic)
I agree with evildeeds, there is a very good chance the mechanic does not know why a particular electrical/electronic part failed. The nice thing is: if they replaced it, the problem should go away completely. You should pay close attention to your car in the next few weeks, but there really is no great reason to doubt the basic safety of the car.
I know you are upset, but based on what you wrote, it really does not sound like you have a good cause for legal action. If it really bugs you, sell the car and get another one. It would be a lot cheaper than hiring a lawyer.
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kimmy
17 yrs ago
thanks for all your replies. I have since gotten in touch with a lawyer who advised we don't have a case at the moment. But if something happens going forward, we most definitely will. (if we're still alive!!!!)
and to answer Marathon's question above - the car just stopped suddenly without any sounds. It just went dead as if the battery had died (it hadn't). Fortunately, we were at a bend going uphill so was driving a bit slow. Imagine what would have happened if we were on a highway!!
I really want to publicise this story cos I honestly think this brand cannot be trusted again. Not only does the company still refuse to explain the causes of the engine problem, the whole process dealing with this matter has been awful. I wonder how I can go about doing this......
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kimmy, could u not start the car again? did u have to get the car towed?
for all those who have replied and said there is no case, IF somebody got hurt from that incident, would there have been a case?
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kimmy
17 yrs ago
no, we couldn't start the car again - it was completely dead. We had to call the cops to divert traffic and get the car towed away. It was a real mess, especially as the emergency phone number the car company had given didn't even work!
good question - if there had been an injury or a death, would there still not have been a case against the car company?
we have gotten or original car back now and the engine doesn't sound normal. We are now going to have to take it to an independent garage to get it examined.
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kimmy
17 yrs ago
sorry, so you're saying it's normal for cars to break down in the middle of the road every day, without any particular reason or warning?
and does that mean we should all be prepared for our cars to stop any second while driving? I don't get it. It doesn't sound like how cars are supposed to work.
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kimmy
17 yrs ago
maybe that's true for *most cases* but in our case, it did not slow down or anything. It just stopped immediately without any warning. This is exactly why we are so shocked.
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Eddie means that everyday there are cars breaking down which is true.. How many cars do you see parked everyday on the side of a highway with hazard lights on?
It has happened to me a few times over the years with many different cars and brands.. It is nothing new. You get less mechanical problems these days, but electronic problems witll always be present. As evildeeds said, the HK climate is very hard on cars.
As Eddie says as well, your car will not just stop in the middle of the road. The engine might, but on a fast highway, your car should still carry enough speed to enable you to switch on warning light and carefully let the car continue rolling to the emergency lane. The car will never stop dead.
Only problem that can happen in HK, is that you do have some steep hills on a few highways and this might slow you down very quickly.. but then again, most cars around you won't be driving over 70..
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kimmy
17 yrs ago
I see what you are both saying eddie88 and MarathonHK. If the car had slowed down before finally stopping, I honestly don't think I would be kicking up such a fuss at the moment. I do not have the time or the energy to do so, I swear.
But the thing is that our car DID NOT SHOW ANY signs at all (including slowing down) before stopping ALL OF A SUDDEN in the middle of the road!! I don't know how many more times I have to say this, I guess you guys just don't believe it because it is so unusual - and this is *exactly* why we are so mad at this whole situation.
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If your car stopped suddenly without slowing, you must have sustained serious injury from the brutal decelration, as it would be the same as hitting a wall head on.. Unless you were driving at very low speed in traffic in which case I dont see how anyone could be harmed or killed.
There is no doubt that the engine can cut out suddenly without any prior signs, but your car will still be rolling..
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kimmy
17 yrs ago
It was my husband who was driving, fyi, and no, he did not 'jump on the wrong pedal'.
As mentioned before, we were driving uphill on a bend so were going quite slow. Thus, when the car suddenly stopped with a jolt, no one was injured. It was impossible to restart the car as it appeared to be completely dead. My husband got out of the car immediately to divert traffic while I made calls. (as cars behind us couldn't see ahead - important as we were on a bend uphill)
In any case, thanks for all your replies and have a nice day.
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kimmy
17 yrs ago
dadda, you clearly have not read my messages carefully - which is the least you could have done before posting such a reply ('assume the engine stoped & you could cruise to a stop')
I'd like to close this thread now, thanks everyone.
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Even Kimmy's lawyer confirmed there is no case.
If there's really a problem with the car, if it is a lemon, you will have an entirely different experience: like going back to the dealer for frequent fixes that results in another kind of problem and it never ends. In this case, you can have your car replaced. That's after so much hassle. However, I'm not sure if there is lemon law here in HK.
If there were injuries when the car stalled, yes there would have been cases (physical injuries) but the entire fault will still not be given to the stalled car. Drivers shouldn't be tailgating and should be able to stop his car without hitting the car in front of him (ideally)...
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Just thinking of something now that I read dada's post.. When you say the car stopped suddenly. Do you mean it breaked brutally and stopped?
Couldn't it be a problem with the breaking assistance that most cars have now (when detects the break pedal being suddenly pushed, the car will automoatically apply maximum breaking while you have the foot on the break). Could this have failed and just decided to break automatically when the engine failed?
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Kimmy - I completely understand how you feel!
I've been driving my Toyota Picnic for 4.5 years (when I first passed my test) and I got a real surprise when the car stalled recently. It's happened 4-5 times so far, fortunately I was going really slowly through busy traffic when it happened, but I also had no warning and my vehicle just stopped right in the middle of the road! I was able to restart the engine no trouble, but like you I do worry what will happen if the engine stalls when I'm doing 110 on the motorway to take my kids ot Disneyland ... I understand that my car won't just stop if I've been doing that speed, but it would still be pretty scary and of course dangerous.
eddie88 - your comments about how experienced drivers would handle things don't help! Everyone has the right to be new/inexperienced at something! I'm a good driver (careful and safe and law-abiding) and I have 4 years' experience driving, but this kind of situation still makes me nervous. As a mother of 2, I can't help thinking "what if ..." I think that's only normal.
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Snow Rose, what did your mechanic say the cause of the stall was? In Kimmy's case, no reason was given.
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I haven't been to the mechanic yet. It happened 3 times in one week about 2 months ago, then twice in April, and hasn't stalled at all this month. I looked it up in the instruction book that came with the car, but it only says what to do and not why it happens. I will take my car to my mechanic in the first week of July and he can have a look while I'm on holiday. So far I haven't noticed the engine sounding different or anything serious like that.
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You're playing russian roullete there Snow Rose! I would say your case is worse than Kimmy's. You better go and have your car checked.
As mentioned above, today's cars are so different with so many electrical parts and stuff. The engine itself might not be the problem.
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Do you really think I should consult my mechanic immediately? Can't I wait until the summer? It's only another 6 weeks to go ...
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