See the glass half full: Why you should trust carmakers who do voluntary recalls

There is no such creature as a perfect car, and there is no such creator as a perfect car manufacturer. Sooner or later, along the way, one thing or another will get wrong along the design and production processes and the assembly line. Heck, even the most eagle-eyed quality control inspection teams can overlook one inherent defect.

Underneath all the screaming marketing and gloss of car promotions and advertisements, this is what car manufacturers seem to whisper in all potential buyers’ ears: “We make mistakes, too.” And in the same hushed tone, they advise, “Trust those who admit they do.”

In a country like the Philippines that doesn’t require carmakers to publicly admit their mistakes, would a carmaker publicly announcing voluntary recalls be considered shooting itself in the foot, or committing an honorable act that, in the long run, build more trust for the carmaker? The wily PR guys would recommend a “silent recall” any day (that is, not to publicly announce the mass defect and just let the problem resolve itself when owners of the problem model bring their cars to the casa, and discreetly replace or fix the defective part without necessarily informing the owner), especially if the product recall doesn’t directly affect the car’s safety and performance. More often, a recall is announced abroad, and car manufacturers in the Philippines have no choice but to do the same here.

Whether the recall emanates from outside or from inside the Philippines, many car experts advise the motoring public to “keep an open mind” as far as recalls are concerned.

“If you ask me, I trust more a manufacturer that has made some recalls than a brand with no recalls,” opined auto engineer Francisco “Pacho” Blanco of Blanco Race Engineering.

“The manufacturer will spend to make the new parts and make it reach the distributors and dealers. These representatives will have no expenses on that, but if they don’t recall locally, the buyer will end up spending to replace a part that they got for free most of the time.”

Leslie Sy, an auto enthusiast affiliated with kotse.com, agreed that “recalls should be made more public for everyone’s knowledge and safety. Cars have become complex machines and more computerized, some things cannot be foreseen. Even with lots of rigid testing done, some defects can be overlooked because they are not really defects but actually a case of how people end up using or abusing their vehicles,” he said.

Negative perception

Sy added that it was unfortunate that recalls have resulted in negative public perception. “Filipinos are generally conservative, so spending P700,000 to P2 million on a typical car with a history of recalls might be placed lower on the list of preferred brands. Hence, I don’t really blame car companies who have a policy of doing silent recalls. Unfortunately, that also means there are many cars out there with still defective parts simply because they never went to the casa for servicing.”

Ferman Lao, Car Awards Group Inc. president, Top Gear technical editor and proprietor of auto performance and tuning shop Speedlab, stressed that product recalls should be viewed positively.

“It’s a good thing as the manufacturers are replacing parts that may possibly be defective before the problem happens. The key word is ‘possibly.’ The component being replaced may or may not be defective but because there is a potential that it may be defective and life threatening, they are replacing at no monetary cost to car owners.”

Honda Cars Philippines Inc. is no stranger to voluntary public recalls. “They say it’s marketing suicide but I don’t think that’s the case,” said Voltaire Gonzales, HCPI vehicle sales and corporate communications head.

“To recall products is to reinforce a manufacturers’ quality assurance to its customers; that the manufacturer is being transparent and accountable for its products and its actions. With this, Honda has chosen the unbeaten path of recalling products in a country where it is not even required to do so. Because more than the legal requirement, it is a moral imperative for a manufacturer to be responsible for their customers’ welfare,” he explained.

Arnel Doria, founder of Safe T Ryders Training Center and senior road safety consultant of Sunshine Television, related to Inquirer Motoring: “During my stint (in car manufacturing), we did a product recall involving some 12,000 units of our popular model. With the cooperation of our dealers and the mass media, we were able to explain the problem to our buyers, and conducted parts replacement for the affected units without much trouble. Our buyers were very understanding and cooperative.”

Lawyer Alberto B. Arcilla, managing director and chief operating officer of Chevrolet Philippines, said: “For us Filipinos, buying a car is an emotional purchase. Whether it is our first car or an additional car, it is a realization of an aspiration, and thus an extension of ourselves. That is why there is an inherent expectation that it is in perfect condition and this is the reason why there is still a strong negative reaction to the term ‘product recall.’

“But more and more, I see that there is a growing understanding with the public that not all recalls are product defects affecting the integrity of the whole unit, may be exceptional occurrences, and may mean ‘correction’ or ‘adjustments’ and is part of the whole design and manufacturing processes.”

Gregorio T. Yu, chairman of CATS Motors Inc, said: “A car maker has to depend on external suppliers for thousands of parts and supplies. No matter how careful the manufacturing and quality control processes are, problems can crop up. Because of product liability laws, manufacturers usually take a conservative stance and announce product recalls even if some of these problems might be simple to fix.”

Daniel M. Isla, president of Lexus Manila Inc., said that “while manufacturers strive to produce the highest quality vehicles, there are instances when some defects manifest only after a certain period of time of use. Product recalls are responsible acts of the manufacturers to provide utmost protection for the drivers and passengers. While there are times when defects are discovered as isolated cases, responsible manufacturers institute product recalls on whole batches to ensure that all units are declared safe and within the acceptable standards. This is the positive side of product recalls.”

Elizabeth Lee, former Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (Campi) president, vice president of the Management Association of the Philippines and president of Lee Consulting firm, said that “when (the public is) well-informed and the reason for the product recall is properly explained, problems are minimized and buyers usually follow the process detailed in the specific product recall issued.”

Fe Perez Agudo, president and CEO of Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. and president of Alliance of Vehicle Importers and Distributors, observed that Filipino car buyers generally put weight to product quality and value for money considerations.

“As such, they are very sensitive to news about product recalls and would likely develop a wary attitude towards or even aversion to products or brands which are made subject of any recall. Car manufacturers continuously undertake consumer-centric research and development in engineering, safety and high performance standards to prevent consumer complaints, avoid product recalls and protect their brands.”

She added that where issues arise, particularly if it will affect public safety, standard protocols are normally in place, or the more costly option of recall is done (when the manufacturing defect uncovered has been deemed “prevalent”) to avoid setbacks in the long run.