Proton answers power window critics with Lifetime Warranty
We all know the story about Proton’s power windows. For many years, Proton cars have been plagued by unusually high occurrences of power window failures. As a result, it is not uncommon sight for to see Proton owners opening their doors at toll gates or at parking lots rather than winding down their windows.
One such owner was an airport limo taxi driver who operates a Proton Waja. The said driver, aware of Proton’s unfortunate power window track record, habitually uses his doors at the toll gates. One fateful day, however, the said driver had the MD of Proton, Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir (DSZ), as his passenger.
DSZ was naturally not pleased at the sight, and proceeded to give his name card to the taxi driver, asking the driver to start using the power windows from that day onwards. If the power windows ever fail, the driver can call DSZ personally to have it fixed. The above tale is one that DSZ is fond of repeating to us in the media, and he never fails to conclude by saying that the driver has yet to call him to date.
The incident must have moved DSZ greatly to the point where he felt drastic measures must be taken to banish this ghost of Proton’s past once and for all. According to DSZ, sometime in 2006/7, Proton has upgraded its power window design and even switched to a new supplier for improved reliability. Among Proton’s more recent models, only the Saga BLM had issues with its switches, but even that was quickly resolved.
Proton insists that their current generation of cars have reliable power windows, but they remain bogged down by stigma created from failures in older models. Justified or not, this stigma robs peace of mind from customers and Proton acknowledges the need to restore faith and confidence amongst its users. The answer to that, is Proton’s ‘Power Window Promise’, which provides a 10-year / 250,000km warranty specifically for power windows of Proton cars.
Wait, you say, didn’t the article title say ‘Lifetime Warranty’? Well, yes, but based on global automotive standards, ten years or 250,000km from date of vehicle registration is considered sufficient length to be taken as the lifetime of a vehicle. All Proton cars sold in the domestic market registered from 1 September 2011 onwards are already included in the ‘Power Window Promise’.
“At Proton, quality and customer satisfaction are our priority and we are continuously improving and enhancing our customers’ driving experience as part of our never ending commitment to be better. Our ‘Power Window Promise’ is one of the many initiatives that we are doing to fulfil this commitment. It is also one of our most significant initiatives yet, as it truly symbolises a departure from our past shortcoming and the confidence we have in our products today,” said DSZ.
Existing Proton cars that are still under warranty can also benefit from the promise provided that their cars have been serviced at authorized Proton service centres at the prescribed intervals. For these cars, owners will need to make an appointment with their regular service centres, who will provide them with a power window warranty certificate.
A further point to note will be for owners who bought their cars with the Extended Warranty Package that Proton once offered. That package had a three-year manufacturer warranty, and owners who opt for a higher financing rate were given a two-year extended warranty. For these owners, they are only eligible for the programme if their cars are still in the time frame of the three-year manufacturer warranty and not the two-year extension.
Coverage of the ‘Power Window Promise’ encompasses four main components of the power window mechanism, namely the regulator, motor, switches, and run channel. All eligible claims received under this warranty will be undertaken by Proton at no charge, for labour or parts.
Encouraging Proton owners to banish their fears of power window failure, DSZ said, “It saddens us that our customers purchase Proton cars whilst questioning the quality of our power window, to the point that they refuse to utilise it for fear of damaging it. Hence, today we would like to put to rest that fear and provide peace of mind to our valued customers. Our message is simple: Should you buy a Proton car today, please know that the power windows are working, they are working well and you have our Power Window Promise to back you up.”
