Some would have heard of the faulty fuel pump issue that involves the current Perodua Myvi. Some Myvi owners would have received a letter from the carmaker acknowledging the problem, in the form of an invitation to take part in a “quality inspection exercise”. Others might be worried because they’ve received no such letter, and there have been no public statement to be found. Till now, so read on.
We’ve heard your questions, and as a third-gen Myvi owner myself, I’ve had some of mine too. But instead of speculating on the whys behind P2’s “silent approach” to this issue – in contrast to the way some companies do recalls (go public with a loudhailer, plead customers to come in) – paultan.org reached out to Perodua to understand both the issue at hand, and its communication strategy.
But first, some background. The problematic part in question here is the fuel pump. The item, made by Japanese supplier Denso, is the subject of a global recall by various carmakers. Almost everyone is interlinked in today’s world of car manufacturing, illustrated perfectly by the Takata airbag inflator debacle that claimed lives.
Honda and Toyota are part of this Denso fuel pump problem as well. The former has 1.4 million units affected worldwide, and it was reported that Toyota (which part-owns Denso) rolled out around 3.2 million vehicles with this potentially faulty fuel pump from 2013 to 2019.
Locally, UMW Toyota Motor announced a recall in March this year involving around 13,500 units ranging from the Toyota Innova to the Lexus LC 500. In June, Honda Malaysia recalled 55,354 units from 2018-2019 over the same issue.
Typically, overseas recalls describe a bit more, and according to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Denso fuel pumps were “exposed to production solvent drying for longer periods of time” during manufacturing, which could cause surface cracking and excessive fuel absorption. This in turn could eventually cause the impeller to become deformed and fail. If the fuel pump gives up the ghost, a car may suffer from loss of engine power and/or a failure to start.
So, the Myvi has the same weak component, and Perodua recently started sending out letters to owners of affected units. We understand that it’s not across the board – not all third-gen Myvis are involved, and cars manufactured from October 2019 onwards are not affected. For the 2018-2019 units that are involved, the issue with the fuel pump only surfaces after a certain mileage, and below that threshold, the possibility of failure is fairly low, Perodua says.
“We therefore elected to only contact owners whose vehicles have passed that particular mileage, as the likelihood of the issue occurring is then higher,” Perodua president and CEO Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad told paultan.org.
Now, the Myvi is Malaysia’s best selling car, and the number of units involved would have been substantial (Perodua elected to not disclose the figure). One can imagine that by going the public announcement route, a customer run on service centres could ensue, and that’s not very desirable in the days of Covid-19, where social distancing rules mean that SCs do not accept walk-ins and limit the number of appointments per day.
“Communicating directly with our customers allows us to personalise our response, and at the same time avoid panic, which would cause unnecessary distress both to our valued customers and our service centres,” Zainal Abidin explained.
Asked to elaborate on the panic and distress a public announcement might have caused, the Perodua boss said: “The decision was made to reach out to customers on a targeted basis and in stages after taking the entire situation and our nationwide operations into consideration. We believe it to be the most thorough and efficient way to avoid service centre overcrowding, to minimise waiting time and to ensure maximum success of the special service campaign.”
The move to only issue letters to owners is also in line with the company’s own standard operating procedures, which classifies this fuel pump issue as a special service campaign rather than a safety recall – the latter would have an immediate impact on safety. “In this instance, the issue with the fuel pump only happens when the vehicle is stationary, not when it is moving. Our SOP here is to directly contact our customers,” the P2 chief clarified.
Besides issuing letters to owners, Perodua has also been informing owners of affected units when they bring in their cars for regular servicing. In these cases, the fuel pump was replaced along with the scheduled oil change job. In total, 40% of affected Myvis have had their fuel pumps replaced to date.
While Zainal Abidin did not mention this, stock availability could have been a factor as well, given that this is part of a global recall involving many millions of cars, and Perodua would not have had all the stock it needed from the start.
So, those who have received the Invitation to a Quality Inspection letter from Perodua should proceed to make an appointment with a service centre. The job is estimated to take an hour (excluding registration and any explanation) and is of course free of charge. If your Myvi was produced before October 2019, but like this writer, you have yet to receive a notice, perhaps your car has not reached the “higher risk mileage” zone yet – let’s allow those who are more in need to proceed with the fix.
Know any third-generation Perodua Myvi owners? Share this with them.
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Now to wait for Proton to recall to repair or replace their failing gearbox and absorbers in the X70
Oh another Perodua salesman trying to deflect blame by pushing onto to their competitor. Lame but nice try Perodua salesman.
I’ve known Seancorr as an active member and F30 owner since decade ago and he is not a Perodua salesman.
Nice try mate. A failed absorber won’t kill the car and cause a potential accident, but a failed fuel pump will seize the engine thereby cutting all power including steering as Myvi runs on electric unit. Try having failed on you while traveling 110kmph on a busy highway. Good luck mate oh and don’t forget to tell St Michael @Pearly Gates that Proton got it worse with absorber issue they haven’t recall.
Ah, the smell of an ignorant fanboy in the air. Nice attempt to confuse and deflect – bad luck brother, won’t work so easily.
Oh yeah fully agree with you becuz “muh problem are less serious than those Proton”…. oh but didn’t P2 sold 1 million Myvis or so someone was bragging about that? So which problem is more serious?
To the fanbois: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
It is called RESPONSIBILITY, my friend. You don’t absolve yourself by deflecting the issue to someone else. Yes, we know what you’re trying to do inspite of the BMW gravatar pic, you finally shown your true colours. What a sad realisation for an ardent Perodua fanboy.
Why dragged in proton here?
Wow..God car actually fails!
This is Perodua, not related to Proton. Why throw your shits here? Again this reinforces my opinion you are no better than Kunta troll, only that you have real name to go with.
X70 owners should trade in buy bas sekolah Alza that can carry 10 kids bestest no fuel pump problem
Wow. Just wow. Perodua problem, go blaming Proton. Nice try fanboy
Using old and outdated tech also still can face massive fuel pump failure recall? Then what about 1st and 2nd gen Myvi? Alza? Axia? Viva? This recall could potentially be massive like Takata airbags but Perodua is trying to keep it quiet, they even send in their trolls to downplay the seriousness of their epic mistakes. At this stage Perodua is no better than Takata, both have blood on their hands.
ya only initiate recall when many users impacted, no proactive measures from perosua@ burukdua management as usual
Calling Newme. Sila beri pencerahan to this ‘superior Japanese quality’ you were bragging about.
Such excuses and selective actions reeks of insincerity
“We believe it to be the most thorough and efficient way to avoid service centre overcrowding,”
That’s correct. Let them call the towing lorry instead.
Perodua’s excuses are a complete joke.
They has become a troll company, nothing else.
Quite rightly there mate. A troll company that hires trollers to sit here in PaulTan blog.
Most fuel pump recall brand: p2 and honda
untung arr. my brother have been driving his myvi for over 100,000km by now, no fuel pump issue. change it to re-instate so nice, free gift.
this issue is quite rare, despite over 300,000 Perodua sold during that period -already 1% Malaysian population man.
compared to VW DSG issue. that was so drama almost every car kena.
Nice try to paper over this massive failure of a recall by your dishonest company. When we buy cars from you, we don’t expect lies to be your ‘free gift’ included.
Some said Perodua has the better car because they sold more. All I see here is they sold more and have more to replace but not having the RESPONSIBILITY to make good the replacement in proper.
Sorry, but dumb excuse.
As the others said, a product recall should happen before a customer encounters such failures and not after the fact. Do it for all your customers not just a selected few, then sweep everything under carpet.
What were they thinking ???
Bangkai gajah nak ditutup dengan nyiru.
Do you know what the letter says about recall? Not even a single word. It says some sort of exercise of Invitation to a Quality Inspection. Invitation? Kenduri kahwin? And never ever mention about the pump replacement.
Honda also make a big announcement before,Proton also. A dedicated website,insert vin nombor or plate number and walla a spot on. No need to panic.
Most of us?
Perodua issues fuel pump recalls for 2018/2019 Perodua Myvi. How can? Malaysian says Myvi is bullet proof and good RV. Moreover it use timing chain lorr, so superior.
Aruz also kena!!! Suspension leaks yet service centre say leaks mean ada minyak atas lantai…. 99.99% can see aruz got rear absorber leaks symptoms, 99.99% for 2019 model fuel pump issue, steering may got sound when turning!!! Tik tok tik tok
I believe you don’t even own a Myvi.
Those who own it feels the pain.
Those who don’t own it, troll here. Perodua already issued recall bulletins months ago, if you got it then go la. What’s the big hoo-ah about this all?
I believe you are not Anana.
Myvi sama fuel pam with RM1.5Mil Lexus LC500.
Yearly sales only few hundred units, if without parent company support Lexus already extinct in Malaysia market.
Its not myvi only, some aruz also affected (confirmed by my customer). They say only call for some ‘mileage reach’ but do they know how much customer doing? Some of the customers doing 20k in just 5 months due to long travel each day while in manual service it count at 1 year. Got 1 case where customer didnt get any invitation, his car suddenly shut while stopping at the side of the road. Why he didn’t get the invitation? Some of my customers also haven’t got any invitation. Or do they have to wait for their cars to breakdown first?
Hello Perodua, pls do a proper recall like a true transparent Japanese culture since you admitted the parts will fail. Replace it without delay, stop giving silly excuses.
most important is p2 ensure enough stocks of new replacement fuel pump….
later tak cukup….public announcement/direct write letter also failed
No stock went for inspection already for Aruz..
Why use inferior parts?
Lol! What happen to Jepunis quality?
Made in indo denso?
According to their website they manufacture fuel pumps in Japan, China, India and Thailand only.
In Malaysia they manufacture air conditioners and electronic parts and in Indonesia air conditioners, radiators, spark plugs, horns and filters.
Had received the quality inspection letter…. went there for inspection and fuel pump check..but fuel pump No stock…
You shall not panic says Zainal Abidin.
Actually not only myvi, Aruz also have the same issues…
> MCO, want to keep customers safe by keeping them out of the SCs
The issue already arose way before MCO.
>Want to avoid overcrowding SCs
All your customers walk-in without an appointment?
>Only customers who exceeded certain mileage are contacted
First of all, that is a crazy policy – You literally let your customers who own that batch of faulty Myvis drive around in a timebomb without notifying them even with the letter. Secondly, your customers who don’t service at Perodua SCs, how do you track their mileage?
> Fuel pump failure only happens when car is stationary.
No true. Already have cases where the car lost power when in motion. Think about it, if the fuel pump can fail while idling, what’s to prevent it from failing when driving? Do they know how fuel pump works?
And finally, by not making a public announcement, you put at risk owners who have moved on from their address registered with Perodua/JPJ, and secondhand owners who will not receive those letters.
So stop with your piss poor excuses and admit that you feared tarnishing your reputation with a public recall. Not only you do not own up to your mistakes by selling cars with defective parts, but you are also trying to quietly cover it up.
You suck, Perodua.
Yours truly,
Ex-lagi best Myvi owner, you know, that one with defective EPS that you also never fixed.
The reason why they’re not pushing as hard like that takata airbag issue is coz it’s not a life threatening issue. Worst thing that could happen is you cannot start car and have a lousy day for that one time and even so it takes a while for it to fail.
I feel your biasness, but frankly, Friend, if you really don’t like Perodua, for whatever reason, you can always buy other makes. It’s a free market.
How sure it is not life threatening? If fuel pump failed while driving on highway, you think it won’t be a dangerous hazard on the road to you and others?
Very sure. Why? Myvi out since mid 2018, it’s been two years and has there been any fatalities or close calls relating to this issue? No right? Furthermore and I quote the article above
“solvent drying for longer periods of time” during manufacturing, which could cause surface cracking and excessive fuel absorption. This in turn could eventually cause the impeller to become deformed and fail. If the fuel pump gives up the ghost, a car may suffer from loss of engine power and/or a failure to start.”
If it does fail, most likely you will be able to identify the symptoms from it such as:
Whining Noise From the Fuel Tank
Difficulty Starting
Engine Sputtering
Stalling at High Temperatures
Loss of Power Under Stress
Car Surging
Low Gas Mileage
Car Will Not Start
So yeah, it’s not really life threatening if you compared to the infamous takata airbags scandal.
I have been using Alza n Myvi all along for more than 10 years now….no much of the problem…! Dont make comparision with those of proton or any toyotas or hondas…. Perodua is perodua…keep it up P2 s… Good job…!
The article is not about more than 10 year old Alza n Myvi
hahaha, p2 owner complaint about p2 parts
Abuhden! You think what, P2 salesmen should complain about P1 parts?
I think a public announcement will chow corporate responsibility. Direct approach to customer is equivalent to concealing problem. Further, customer’s address may not have been updated or car sold off, although probably numbers would be low due to car being relatively young. We can also conclude no manufacturer has a car which is void of defect.
Ahh…no wonder i saw a white Myvi stalled at a traffic light as the light turn green. Was a shock to me.
Anyway, i think its irresponsible say that this is not a safety recall. P2 can guarantee the failure only happen when the car is not moving?
Maybe most of accident all these while involving Myvi are caused by the pump failure?
Losing power steering and brake booster while driving is not a safety issue?
Before recall, make sure got enuf replacement fuel pump. If not, this shows P2 has no communication between corespondance ppl, techicians and store ppl. Like “Take kisah attitude” Malu seh!
Please dont waste customers time going to SC but habuk tarak. Only to get free mineral water or stale coffee.
Myvi PMT2352 is affeted on ur change fuel pump
Shhh…danny why you write like this; Know any third-generation Perodua Myvi owners? Share this with them.
You just create ‘panic’ to Myvi Gen3 owner. Beat the purpose of P2 targeted approach. Covid gonna increase with Myvi cluster then if you take P2’s justification.
“We therefore elected to only contact owners whose vehicles have passed that particular mileage, as the likelihood of the issue occurring is then higher,”
Yet we received the letter at 8000+km mileage only. Other high-milers did not get the letter *rolls eyes*