Only 20% of Perdanas may need part replaced

A Proton engineer says that it is likely that about 20% of the 42,000 Proton Perdanas may require replacement of the lower lateral arm following the notification by Mitsubishi Motors that a defective seal in the balljoint area could allow water and dirt to enter and cause excessive wear.

“We don’t really know the exact numbers since it depends on usage and also conditions that the car has been in,” explained Rosli bin Ahmad, Head of Proton’s Quality Audit Department and Acting Head of the Quality & Process Re-Engineering Division. “However, we think it may amount to 20% of the cars although every unit that comes in will be inspected.”

Speaking at a press briefing at EON’s head office complex in Glenmarie, Selangor, this afternoon, Encik Rosli said that if excessive wear – which will be evident from too much freeplay (looseness) – is not evident, the cap on top of the balljoint housing will get a sealant to completely eliminate the possibility of water and dirt getting into the balljoint. The waterproof sealant is made by ThreeBond and specified by Mitsubishi Motors for the purpose.

“The balljoint, which is attached at one side of the lateral arm, is not designed to last forever. It needs to be replaced at some time during the car’s life but it has been found that the wear rate may be too fast due to water and dirt getting in through the cap area,” he said. Normally, the balljoint socket is a sealed area filled with grease.

Although Mitsubishi Motors has stated that in extreme cases, the balljoint could pop out, Encik Rosli said that he was not certain if any Perdanas had ever had such a serious problem although owners may have found noise emanating from the area if the freeplay was excessive.

When asked why Proton has only informed the public in April when Mitsubishi Motors published its recall notice on its website in February, Encik Rosli said that Proton had acted in accordance with information received by the Japanese company during March. He added that they could not announce the recall earlier because the parts were not received and it would have been pointless to have owners come to the service centres when nothing could be done.

“We now have 3,000 sets of lateral arms in Malaysia for the purpose of the recall, and another 3,000 are on the way. We also have about 500 litres of the sealant in stock so EON can do the necessary work without delay,” he said. All related costs, including labour charges, are being paid by Mitsubishi Motors and probably the supplier of the lateral arm.

All Perdanas produced since the car was launched in 1995 are affected by the recall but those produced from March onwards are okay because they already have the improved lateral arm. Specifically, all units with the chassis numbers before E55ARR1B043138 or before E54ARR1B043138 need to come in for the inspection.

According to an EON source, 388 Perdanas were attended to at their various service centres (including those of authorised dealers) throughout Malaysia on Saturday, the day the recall announcement appeared in the newspapers. Owners are advised that they can go to any EON service centre (35 locations) as well as authorised service dealers (157 locations) to get the inspection and work done.

EON urges all Perdana owners to bring their cars in for the inspection as soon as possible. There is no time limit but it is obvious that the defect is a serious one and should be rectified as quickly as possible. There is no charge for replacement of the lateral arm which costs RM761 per piece. Application of the sealant is also not charged and the inspection is free.

When AUTOWORLD.COM.MY visited the service centre at EON Glenmarie, it was obvious that priority is being given to processing Perdanas. Dedicated bays have also been allocated for the recall and there’s a special counter. However, it is better to make an appointment instead of just driving in. The appointment can be made by calling the EON toll-free line 1-800-88-3003 or 03-7002388 or writing to customerservice@eon.com.my.

The defect, which also affects over 230,000 Mitsubishi models, is among the defects for which Mitsubishi Motors has issued recalls. Well over a million Mitsubishi vehicles are being recalled for various defects since Japanese government investigators discovered that the company had hidden records of reported defects for decades.

The causes for such a high defect rate are unknown at this time. It could be due to the surges in demand in the past which forced Mitsubishi Motors’ workers to compromise on quality checks or it could also be attempts to cut costs over the years that resulted in poorer quality materials being used. Perhaps it is an important lesson for those manufacturers that pursue cost-cutting too aggressively that eventually, quality and durability can be too low. Many years later, the money-saving move comes back to ‘haunt’ the company as a costly recall has to be initiated. Apart from the tangible costs, there is also the immeasurable loss in customer confidence and damage to the make’s reputation.