Car failed catastrophically on the motorway

[CakeMake]

Hey

Just wondering what others think of this.

My parents have a car that is 11 months old. Three days ago when my father was driving the electrics completely cut out without warning. Nothing worked and the car had absolutely no power. Luckily my father was just about able to glide the car to the hard shoulder where it came to a stop (not even the hazard lights were working).

It was purchased directly from the manufacturer. When it was towed to the manufacturer they ran some diagnostic tests for a couple of days. He received a call from them this morning saying it was fixed. The guy said that is was a “well known issue” with this model and has something to do with the software and the hybrid mechanism.

My issue is this: it’s a nearly brand new car. This shouldn’t happen. He could have been seriously injured or killed had the motorway been more busy or there was no hard shoulder. If it’s a well known fault shouldn’t it be publicised or maybe recalled so other owners can have their cars looked at?

I’m just worried someone is going to get hurt. It’s a very common car and in the top ten most popular.

What do you think?

It’s not VW is it? I know of this happening to 2 people I know who own different models of electric Volkswagens…

@reigatecastle They contacted Mumsnet who in turn contacted me. What I wrote was true. It was just they were much bigger than me and had a lot more money if they did decide to go to court.

You can't be sued for telling the truth.

I had this several times with a new Astra and with young children in the car. I would never buy a Vauxhall again.

That’s bollocks. If you are leaving an honest review or telling the truth you can’t be sued. However many threats are made.

Are Mumsnet obliged to hand over all your details if someone asks for them? That's concerning.

is it a car manufacturer that's famous for electric cars?
if yes - they are known for failures and shit customer service and how they are still in business is a mystery...

If it's an acknowledged well known fault there will be a service / recall bulletin for the fault. Manufacturers / Dealers keep an eye on these and will contact customers accordingly if they are reputable.

www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-recall

But there is a difference between a known fault and a "known" fault i.e., a fault that that particular garage / dealer has seen a few times.

While in an ideal world every vehicle would work perfectly from the factory line there are always going a number that develop faults sooner than they'd hope. Ford make something like 4-6 million vehicles a year, so even if 0.1% of them develop issues within the first year that's still 4-6000 cars.

Also be aware that many dealers are franchise and it is them you (or your parents) have a contract with not the manufacturers themselves. You can of course approach the manufacturer but in my experience they don't really care about the end user because they sell to the dealers, not the customer.

There’s a generic government website to check for full recalls, some are done as advisories though and not through the full recall.

I’ll be honest lots of cars have “known faults” some of them are pot luck if they put you in a dangerous situation.
your parents may be able to back the car and get a replacement, but it will take some pushing and a sympathetic dealer to fight their corner.

So MN handed over your email address to them? 🤔

Unfortunately they don’t know there’s something to recall until they’re told about it , I assume the manufacturer is being made aware now!
hope your parents are okay, Op. must’ve given them such a fright!

@Thebestwaytoscareatory Thank you! Very helpful. I’ll find out more info when I’m back in the UK.

Is it a ford auto?

Are Mumsnet obliged to hand over all your details if someone asks for them? That's concerning.

The post you quoted literally says the contact Mumsnet who contacted the OP.

The only time Mumsnet will give out your details is if they're reporting you need urgent help or have committed a severe offence.

This is true, but the onus is on you to prove it is true, the claimant does not have to prove you are lying.

We had this with a Citroen. Time and time again it was in the garage. My husband was so worried it was a death trap he gave it to a local youth group to take apart and sell the parts.

@Longtalljosie IMO you shouldn't be making any claim about another party you can't back up with evidence

I had a Renault that had so many dodgy electrics it was unreal. Unreal and unbelievably expensive, until I asked my local garage to tow it off my drive and sell it for whatever they could as spare parts.
There you go, true and verifiable account of owning a Renault.

How did Mumsnet get your details - do they have your name and address. This quite an issue imv - I don’t think mn know much about me oylther than email. Advixing your DPs to sell the vehicle you are possilibly passing on a dangerous vehicle.

People posting should say when the problems happened and whether it was a new car. Some of these could be decades old and not really relevant now.

What a horrible thing to happen. I'd be fucking fuming

I have a sock email for MN, since their data breach. I never check it in real life. No one would ever be able to track me down by just that email. Seems strange you could be OP

A relative has a top end Audi that this has happened to. Everything on it is controlled by fancy touch screens and nothing works if they electrics stop either.

@justasking111 and details can be found from IP addresses / registration. Yes mumsnet can be forced to hand over details.