Toyota flaw: 'No fix' for some parallel imports

SOME Singapore owners of parallel-imported Toyotas affected by a worldwide recall to fix a faulty oil hose may have to live with the flaw.

This is because Toyota has classified the exercise as a 'customer satisfaction campaign' - not a safety recall - so dealers are not legally obliged to report it. And it is possible some will do nothing about the flaw, which can lead to oil leakage and engine damage, observers say.

Click here to find out more!
The Land Transport Authority said only 106 parallel-imported Toyotas across four models made between 2005 and last year are affected. The affected models, understood to be 3.5-litre vehicles, are the Estima multi-seater, Harrier sport utility vehicle, Vanguard crossover and Mark X sedan.

Hong Kong-based parallel importer Richburg Motors, which sold almost three in five of these 106 cars, is already taking steps to fix the flaw.

Its director, Mr Jacky Wong, said Richburg has ordered replacement parts for its 61 affected cars and was contacting its customers.

In 2006, when nearly 6,000 Toyota Wish multi-purpose vehicles were recalled for a steering flaw, some parallel importers that sold the vehicles were already out of business. Eventually, authorised Toyota agent Borneo Motors stepped in to fix 160 such cars.

In the case of this oil hose flaw, Borneo Motors in November started fixing the 321 affected cars it sold.

Mr Klaus Redomske, its marketing director, said the car manufacturer usually does not announce 'customer satisfaction campaigns'. Flaws are fixed in these 'silent recalls' during a car's routine servicing, often without the owner's knowledge.

With the attention Toyota has been getting over its recalls, though, it decided to go public with this campaign and also let its customers send their cars in before the scheduled servicing.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.