Audi SA is taking heat from agitated consumers after a number of Audi owners have taken to social media to document their cars going up in flames.
They have also accused the manufacturer of not responding appropriately.
That Audi SA notified affected owners of a “worldwide preventative campaign” to replace the heater element in certain models last Wednesday‚ to prevent fire‚ has served to add fuel to the fire.
A day later‚ yet another Audi was ablaze on a roadside – the M41 in Umhlanga – lighting up Twitter. Mo (@MsLishia) tweeted: “Audi South Africa‚ is there any statement on the growing number of Audi cars bursting into fire every other day
https://twitter.com/MsLishia/status/1019947093648183296
The manufacturer responded: “It is incorrect to assume that the fire cases on social media are related to each other.
“All legitimate fire cases which we are aware of and can relate back to our official records‚ are unique‚ separate and isolated in their nature.
“Each case which had occurred in the past‚ had been managed separately with its own investigation‚ findings and conclusions behind them.
“It would be incorrect to assume any sort of relationship between the incidents.
In all examples‚ Audi has followed an extensive fire safety process in looking into the cases and has provided relevant assistance options to each customer in line with our company policies and guidelines.”
The “Audis burning” story is to a large extent being driven on social media by Capetonian Themba Mabasa‚ who has gone head-on with Audi South Africa since his three-year-old Audi TT burnt out completely during a long road trip from Cape Town to Limpopo on the Easter weekend.
In @audisouthafrica private recall letter sent to selected few, it stated that vehicle are recalled because it might catch fire in rare cases. How rare are these? And in all these cases Audi took no responsibility. #AudiFire #CountryDuty pic.twitter.com/9U2NfdPGlV
— Phat Peeg🇿🇦 (@TCMabasa) July 20, 2018
But he’s not alone.
Prominent KwaZulu-Natal Midlands chef Alex Poltera also took to social media armed with photos and a video after his Audi Q3 caught fire in June.
“Here is my Audi Q3‚” he tweeted. “The report from Audi was inconclusive‚ and they have subsequently ‘washed their hands’ of me. Just a friendly warning to be aware and careful. This is becoming a frequent trait of what used to be a good brand.”
Audi SA’s PR manager Tashta Bhana said the various Audi fire-related cases “creating conversation” on social media originated from the Mabasa case.
Source: Timeslive
