| |
 |
100 sue Mitsubishi
|
ALMOST 100 owners of Pajero jeeps in Shenzhen have filed a class-action lawsuit against Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi for safety flaws as initial inspections have found serious problems in the brake systems, according to China News Agency.
Mitsubishi's authorized service centres in the city have conducted checks on more than 1,000 Pajeros since February 12 after Mitsubishi promised to replace the brake fluid pipes for the two models with improved parts. More than 40 per cent of the jeeps examined have been found to have had abnormally worn pipes caused by faulty design.
The Chinese Government imposed a ban on the import of Pajero V31 and V33 models on February 9 after the defective brake system of the two models was blamed for causing many accidents in Ningxia Autonomous Region and Yunnan Province since last September.
Inspectors discovered the brake fluid pipe at the rear and a valve were installed too close together in the two models, causing them to rub against each other and resulting in brake failure as brake fluid leaked from the torn pipe.
Shenzhen's traffic police told China News Agency that up to 100 accidents in the city may have been caused by brake failures. An owner showed a near-broken pipe to reporters, saying it might have killed him had it not been replaced in time. He vowed to seek compensation from Mitsubishi.
On February 23, Zhou Jianhong, husband of Pajero victim Lu Hui in Changsha City, asked the carmaker to pay one million yuan (US$120,000) as legal expenses.
Lu was hit by a runaway Pajero V31 on a sidewalk in late December. Local traffic police found the rear brake fluid pipe had broken, and a large pool of brake fluid had leaked onto the road.
Thirty-year-old Lu is still unconscious in hospital. Her family is paying 2,000 yuan a day for her treatment, but doctors say she has only a 40 per cent chance of survival.
Wang Tianhu, director of the Legal Affairs and Complaint Department of the China Consumer Association, said consumer associations across the country have received dozens of complaints.
The association has expressed its dissatisfaction over Mitsubishi's reluctance to promptly offer adequate compensation to victims. The Japanese carmaker has received wide criticism from some 72,000 owners of the two models across the country.
Mitsubishi's Beijing office has said the company would offer compensation according to Chinese laws but refused to respond to claims of consequential damages such as the loss of working hours.(Lin Min)
|
|
|
|
