The new Audi car has just been on the road for seven months and has been burned by itself, and the 4S shop: it can only be compensated according to three packs

The Paper

2024-05-29 07:14Published on the official account of Shanghai The Paper

Recently, Ms. Chen from Hubei reported to the surging quality concept complaint platform (https://tousu.thepaper.cn) that in August 2023, she bought an Audi A6L car in full from Wuhan Hengxin Handi Automobile Sales and Service Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Wuhan Hengxin Handi 4S store). On March 3 this year, just seven months after picking up the car, Ms. Chen's new car spontaneously burned while parked on the side of the road.

Photos of the scene of the burning of the vehicle

Entrusted by the Wuhan Branch of Taiping Property Insurance Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the insurance company), the relevant technical center investigated the condition of the vehicle and determined that it was spontaneous combustion caused by the failure of the internal electrical appliances of the car and the quality defects of the accessories themselves, so the insurance company refused to pay compensation and believed that the manufacturer should be responsible for the quality problems. After the accident, Ms. Chen went to the 4S store involved several times to negotiate with the after-sales manager, demanding compensation for the top model of the car she originally purchased, as well as compensation for related mental damages, but the other party refused.

After receiving Ms. Chen's complaint, from May 24 to May 27, The Paper contacted Wuhan Hengxin Handi 4S store. According to Mr. Jin, the after-sales manager, the spontaneous combustion of the relevant vehicle is a case, and it is the first accident in his 4S store in the past five or six years, so it is handled as a single case, and the car is returned or replaced in accordance with the three-guarantee policy. At present, Ms. Chen has not agreed to the above two solutions from the Audi manufacturer, and the two parties have not yet reached an agreement.

Seven months later, the car spontaneously combusted on the side of the road, and there were several engine failure warnings before the fire

Ms. Chen said she spent a total of 410,000 yuan on the Audi A6L, including purchase tax and insurance. The car was registered on August 10, 2023, and picked up on August 14, 2023, with a mileage of about 12,740km, during which a total of 2 routine maintenance and 1 repair were carried out in the 4S shop.

On March 3 this year, Ms. Chen's car was parked on Shanhou 3rd Road in Hanchuan City, and at 13:22, smoke erupted from the crack in the hood of the car and spontaneously combusted. Ms. Chen immediately called the police and contacted Taiping Property & Casualty Insurance Co., Ltd. for follow-up treatment.

Ms. Chen recalled that at that time, almost the entire hood and engine compartment of the vehicle were obviously burned, the right front part was completely burned, and the front windshield glass, right front wheel, and co-pilot position all had traces of deformation and melting, and the insurance company estimated that the loss of the whole case was about 350,000 yuan.

Screenshot of part of the technical cause analysis report of the fire

According to the investigation report provided by Ms. Chen, the technical center confirmed that the cause of the accident was: in the wire drawn out of the distributor connected to the positive electrode of the lithium battery in the engine compartment, one of the wires failed to ignite the wire insulation layer and other combustibles caused by high temperature.

The insurance company informed Ms. Chen that the cause was caused by the failure of the electrical appliances inside the car and the quality defects of the accessories themselves, so it was not covered by the motor vehicle loss insurance liability, and refused to compensate Ms. Chen for her losses.

In addition, Ms. Chen told The Paper that she had repeatedly prompted engine failures since she bought her new car. During the Spring Festival in 2024 (around February 10), the vehicle began to have a fault code, prompting "Engine failure, please contact the service provider". At that time, she immediately called Wuhan Hengxin Handi 4S store, but the other party responded that "it doesn't matter, the system will be upgraded, and the car can be used normally."

During the car maintenance on February 27, the receptionist once again emphasized that this was a system problem and there was no need to worry too much. But after the maintenance, Ms. Chen drove on the road for only 300 meters, and the same fault code appeared to indicate engine failure. She gave feedback to the after-sales staff again, but the other party only reassured Ms. Chen.

The last time the fault code appeared was on March 2, and the car prompted "Engine failure, please contact the service provider" and "The passenger airbag has been opened". The next day, the vehicle burned on the side of the road and spontaneously combusted.

A quote for the purchase of a car

Ms. Chen told The Paper that after the results of the car combustion appraisal came out, the after-sales director of Wuhan Hengxin Handi 4S store inquired about the compensation claim. Ms. Chen said that she did not trust the quality of the previous model due to the spontaneous combustion of the original car, and asked Wuhan Hengxin Handi 4S store to compensate for the new model A6L 55 four-wheel drive flagship in 2024 with a higher configuration than her previous car, and to ensure that there were no quality problems. At the same time, the purchase tax, procedures, new car insurance, new car gift package (floor mat, sun film, dash cam, etc.), and maintenance package should also be handled and borne in full by Wuhan Hengxin Handi 4S store. For the spontaneous combustion incident, Ms. Chen demanded compensation from her, including compensation for the cost of follow-up time and transportation expenses.

In response to Ms. Chen's claim, Wuhan Hengxin Handi 4S Store proposed two solutions, one is to compensate for the same model of car, and the other is to compensate for cash, but depreciation expenses need to be deducted.

In this regard, Ms. Chen said, "They did not follow my demands, and I did not agree with these two plans, I have a psychological shadow of this car, and I am not at ease with the same model; And spontaneous combustion is not my reason, why do I need to bear the depreciation expense? ”

Ms. Chen told The Paper that after the accident, she went to Wuhan Hengxin Handi 4S store to communicate and send certification materials no less than 20 times, but the progress was very slow, and the two sides have not reached a consensus at present.

4S store: It is difficult to meet the price difference of more than 100,000 yuan of customer demands, and compensation will be made according to laws and regulations

After receiving Ms. Chen's complaint, on May 24, The Paper contacted Mr. Jin, the after-sales manager of Wuhan Hengxin Handi 4S store, to inquire about the current progress of Ms. Chen's vehicle compensation and the detailed compensation plan of the Audi manufacturer. Mr. Jin said that after the appraisal report came out on April 22, the 4S store immediately contacted the manufacturer by email, and within two days, he got two solutions to return or replace the car in accordance with the regulations of the three guarantees. At the same time, due to the current market price of the Audi A6L owned by Ms. Chen, the manufacturer can accept the replacement of the higher-spec four-wheel drive model.

Mr. Jin said that it is difficult for manufacturers to meet the customer's requirements for compensation items such as sub-top A6L cars and mental damage expenses, and they need to comply with the three-guarantee policy for return and replacement with the same configuration, including depreciation expenses, which also has clear provisions. "It is impossible to say that your customers need to change what car they need to change, and we really can't do it to be honest."

Regarding the frequent fault codes, Mr. Jin responded that the fault codes claimed by Ms. Chen are actually just alarm prompts, and if there is a problem, the 4S store will actively deal with it. "Spontaneous combustion of a new car is the first case in our store in the last five or six years, and I have not heard of any other spontaneous combustion." As for the reason for the spontaneous combustion of the car, Mr. Jin said that based on the user's judicial appraisal report, the wiring harness in the cabin was overheated, which had nothing to do with the alarm prompt, so it was dealt with after sales according to quality problems.

Mr. Jin told The Paper that the 4S store and the Audi manufacturer are following the normal procedures of the regulations. "During this period, we gave the user an A6 scooter, and the customer is still using it today."

Regarding Ms. Chen's slow follow-up feedback and inability to contact the 4S store, Mr. Jin said that he has always kept in touch with Ms. Chen and his wife, "We have been adhering to the customer-centric principle in handling this matter, trying to serve customers well and reduce losses." But at present, Ms. Chen has not reached a consensus with Audi car manufacturers.

On May 27, The Paper called Audi's official customer service, who provided the email address of the Audi Care Center, and said that the relevant departments would deal with it as soon as possible and reply to The Paper. As of press time, The Paper has not received a reply.

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