The first application case of the so-called'Lemon Method', which is exchanged and refunded by the manufacturer when it repeatedly breaks down after purchasing a new car, came out.
According to the automobile industry and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held the Automobile Safety and Defect Deliberation Committee at the end of last month to recognize defects for Mercedes-Benz's S-Class 2019 S 350d 4matic and issued an exchange decision.
This is due to the vehicle's owner requesting a replacement when the ISG (Idle Stop and Go) system fails.
ISG is a system that reduces fuel consumption by automatically turning off the engine when stopped.
The deliberation committee determined that the ISG defect was not related to the safety of the vehicle operation, but would affect the economics.
The Lemon Law is a system that allows the manufacturer to request a replacement or refund for a new car if the same major defect recurs more than two times and general defects occur more than three times within one year (within a mileage of 20,000 km) after purchasing a new car.
Earlier, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has been implementing the'Korean Lemon Law' since 2019, following the BMW fire accident.
There have been 30 cases in which exchanges or refunds have been made by agreement between the manufacturer and the borrower during arbitration, but this is the first time the arbitration department has officially made an exchange decision.
A Mercedes-Benz official said, "We are in the process of exchanging customer vehicles as soon as possible, respecting the decision result of the deliberation committee and complying with the procedure," and said, "We will continue to actively cooperate with the enforcement of the Lemon Law."
(Photo = Yonhap News TV, Yonhap News)