Top warranty claims?
May 21st, 2009 by Richard Aucock
ELECTRICAL faults are the root cause of almost every car receiving warranty work at car dealers.
Mondial Assistance has revealed that, of the top 10 warranty claims, 8 of them are electrics-related.
This, it says, is simply due to the complexity of modern cars.
The flipside is that mechanical problems are much more of a rarity. And this is thanks to improving standards from car makers and component suppliers.
Take air con, for instance. In 2000, broken a/c units featured heavily in Mondial’s claims list. Today? They barely register.
‘Air conditioning was considered a luxury item back in 2000, fitted only to prestige cars,’ said Mondial Assistance’s Liz Grindell. Now it’s considered a standard-fit item, it’s ‘become an item that’s tried, tested and developed to ensure it doesn’t fail.’
Things aren’t perfect, though.
‘Although the impressive engineering developments within the motor industry have resulted in more robust, reliable vehicles protecting car owners from unexpected repair costs, things can still go wrong.
So, what’s likely to top the problem list of tomorrow? iPod connectors, rear seat entertainment systems and parking assist technology are among the potential problem children she identified…
‘…which is why warranties need to evolve, too.’
Top 10 warranty claims
1 Coolant temperature sender
2 Brake light switch
3 Leaking radiator
4 Ignition coil
5 Exhaust emissions monitor
6 Electric fan
7 Lambda probe
8 Front wishbones
9 Throttle valve housing
10 Glow plug
Tags: aftersales, mechanic, warranty
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