These cars goes for like $20K for a ute or SUV among if not the cheapest here. Just make sure you have health insurance to cover for abestos poisoning in the future.
http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/asbestos-parts-in-recalled-cars-wont-be-replaced-20120815-247jv.html
http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/asbestos-parts-in-recalled-cars-wont-be-replaced-20120815-247jv.html
Asbestos parts in recalled cars won't be replaced
Date
August 15, 2012 - 10:00AM
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Richard Blackburn
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ACCC's decision not to force makers to replace deadly parts labelled "disgraceful".
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Chinese car asbestos scare
The Chinese cars Great Wall and Chery are expected to announce a recall following information some of their motors use asbestos elements. Toby Hagon reports.
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Almost 24,000 budget-priced Chinese cars have been recalled over asbestos fears, but the companies that make the cars will not be forced to fix the problem immediately.
In a decision that has been labelled “disgraceful” by the car repair industry, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it would monitor the recall of Chery and Great Wall vehicles with engines and exhaust gaskets containing the potentially deadly material, but not force the manufacturers to replace the asbestos parts until they were required to be changed during regular servicing.
Some parts may never be replaced, potentially ending up in wrecking yards or recycling stations.
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The move has angered the chief executive of the Motor Traders Association, James McCall, who said the affected parts should be removed and replaced immediately.
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“I think that’s disgraceful, absolutely disgraceful. The damage that asbestos in motor vehicles has done to repairers and people in our side of the industry over the years is tragic, absolutely bloody tragic. And for these companies to be exporting vehicles that contain that sort of material is really a very poor reflection on the company and a poor reflection on the government for not better supervising the standard of the importers.
“They should be recalled and all those things replaced,” he said.
He said the parts should never have made it to Australia in the first place. Asbestos has been banned in the car industry since 2004.
“These vehicles when they are imported are supposed to meet Australian standards and I’m quite sure there isn’t a standard that says you can have asbestos parts in your vehicle. It’s either a lack of regulation or a lack of supervision.
“If they are in breach of the existing regulations they should be dealt with under the regulations but if they are not in breach of the regulations then the regulations should be tightened.
“We fought hard to have asbestos abolished from vehicles because there were people dying,” he said.
McCall said the recall would not be effective if parts were only replaced when they wore out.
“The car could have changed hands two or three times by then,” he said.
The investigation was triggered by Customs and Border Protection officers, who detected the asbestos in imported spare parts.
ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said the asbestos was sealed in components within the cars and presented no health risk to consumers during normal use of the vehicle.
But she warned owners against carrying out any do-it-yourself maintenance on the vehicles.
“Asbestos is a prohibited hazardous substance and these engine and exhaust systems should only be worked on by qualified personnel using appropriate safety procedures,” she said.
The importer of both Chinese brands, Ateco Automotive, will replace all spare parts containing the asbestos, but will not institute a retrospective refit of asbestos components on existing cars. Ateco has also instructed dealers to stop selling the vehicles containing asbestos and will replace the affected parts in its existing cars.
It will contact all owners to warn them of the hazard and arrange for warning stickers to be placed in the engine bays of affected vehicles. Training will also be offered to service technicians.
The move by the ACCC is a controversial one because it will limit the effectiveness of the recall. Typically, recall completion rates drop significantly after the first three years of ownership, as cars are sold on and the dealership loses contact with the vehicle.
The importer of both brands in Australia, Ateco Automotive, has known about the issue for "a period of months" and has been working with various government departments including Work Cover and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to determine a course of action.
Despite the sensitivities surrounding asbestos – known to cause asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer – Rickard said the automotive industry was experienced in managing the risk of asbestos, as cars sold prior to 2004 often had gaskets containing asbestos.
Asbestos was also commonly used in other car components including brake pads.
“However, consumers and automotive repairers must be made aware that the risk may be present in these much newer vehicles. This is the focus of the recall campaign,” she said.
The ACCC will monitor the recall and Workplace Health and Safety authorities will look after the workplace issues.
An assessment commissioned on behalf of Ateco by occupational health and safety consultants Hibbs and Associates concluded there were "negligible" health risks for drivers, passengers and mechanics working on the cars.
"Even if carried out in an uncontrolled way, handling and removing these gaskets constitutes a very low asbestos related health risk," the report concludes.
However, the report acknowledges that in severe cases there is still some risk of breathing in asbestos fibres: "During replacement of gaskets containing asbestos severe mechanical abrasion would be required to release measurable quantities of respirable asbestos fibres."
The Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce, which represents more than 5000 Victorian automotive businesses, confirmed asbestos was commonly used in older cars.
"On these vehicles, service and repairer technicians replace old asbestos parts, when needing replacing due to wear, with non-asbestos parts, taking precautions and following approved procedures in the workplace, including wet down processes and wearing safety clothing, using appropriate equipment and disposing of asbestos parts in designated bins," said David Purchase, VACC executive director.
The anticipated recall is a further blow to the credibility of Chinese car makers, which have already raised the ire of safety authorities that have criticised the occupant protection of some Chinese vehicles.
Before signing on as the exclusive Australian importer, Ateco said it was given "written assurances" from Great Wall and Chery that their vehicles complied with Australian regulations and did not contain any asbestos.
It is understood Ateco uncovered the presence of asbestos in various gaskets and notified Great Wall and Chery but was given further assurances it was not used in the production process.
It was later proved that there was asbestos in as many as eight gaskets in each vehicle (some vehicles have only one or two gaskets containing asbestos).
Ateco says it froze stock and asked the brands to stop production and replace the affected components, which has been done on newer models.
However, the fact the recall impacts two non-related brands brings into question the Chinese supply chain.
Chinese cars have proved tempting to Australians due to their cheap prices, with Great Wall this year being the 17th most popular brand of more than 50 on sale in Australia.
