A “Lemon” is what we use to describe a car that has manufacturing defects, such as problems that cannot be permanently fixed or the reason for it unidentifiable. Lemon laws are laws that hold the manufacturer liable for any defects on the car, whether it be detrimental to the safety or its occupants or an annoyance that plagues its owners.
Lemon cars
Also called “Lemons”, most laws in other countries label a car as a “Lemon” when the same problem occurs even after multiple attempted repairs, or when a defect renders the car unusable for a prolonged period of time. Lemons can be used both to describe new and old cars that are not up to a certain standard.
Lemon laws
There have already been lemon laws implemented in countries such as our neighbouring Singapore, United States, South Korea, and even China. These laws hold the manufacturers responsible for defects and require them to repair their products and/or reimburse consumers for the trouble, and if the problem can’t be fixed they should be refunded.
What about Malaysia?
Lemons can appear anywhere and Malaysia is no exception. Without lemon laws in place, manufacturers can get away without any consequences, and us consumers are the ones who have to bear dealing with the defects which can be dangerous on the road.
Calls to have lemon laws placed in Malaysia have been to no avail, mainly by organisations such as Penang Consumers’ Association (CAP) and The National Consumers Complaints Centre (NCCC), where numerous people have gone to over the years for complaints pertaining to defects with no one taking responsibility for it, with lemon laws still not being implemented in Malaysia.