KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 — Chery Malaysia has issued a new statement following JPJ’s recall notice for the Omoda 5 SUV. The Chinese automaker has provided more details on what went wrong with the rear axle and they also shared how existing Chery Omoda 5 owners in Malaysia can check if their vehicle is among the 600 units that have been recalled.
Chery explains what went wrong with the Omoda 5’s axle
According to Chery, they have launched a thorough investigation into the axle issue and have reached out to their parts vendor for further clarification. Chery Auto Malaysia Vice President, Lee Wen Hsiang explained that after a comprehensive investigation, the vendor revealed that the axle issue was due to a facility upgrade where a worn-out tip of an automated welding machine was replaced with a new unit. He added that the replacement of the new welding tip resulted in a miscalibration of the equipment.
As a result, Chery says there are a total of 60 units of Omoda 5 with the affected parts in Malaysia, which were produced on August 15, 2023. As a precautionary measure, they are casting a wider net by implementing a special service campaign to call in and inspect Omoda 5 vehicles with rear axles produced between August 14 to 17, 2023, totalling 600 units in Malaysia.
The affected axle is part of the Omoda 5’s torsion beam rear suspension set up. For clarity, the EV version — Omoda E5, uses a multi-link rear suspension setup which is different from the petrol model.
As of May 3, 2024, Chery says they have contacted 32 out of 60 (53 per cent) directly affected owners. To ensure all affected Omoda 5 owners are well informed, they will provide weekly updates to provide awareness and ongoing information about the status of the recall programme.
Chery says they are also working closely with the Ministry of Transport to ensure the rectification of all affected units was conducted to the highest standards of safety.
How to check if your Chery Omoda 5 is affected by the recall
Chery says they view this axle issue seriously as customer safety is their utmost priority. They are in the process of reaching out to customers of the affected Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) to request them to bring their vehicles to their authorised service centres for a detailed inspection.
If you want to know if your Omoda 5 is affected, you can visit Chery’s Product Update page and enter the VIN. If your Omoda 5 is part of the recall campaign, you can contact them for further arrangements.
Your Omoda 5’s VIN can be found in 4 areas in the car. You can view the VIN from the label located at the top left of the instrument cluster through the front windscreen or the label located on the hood as illustrated above. Alternatively, you can view the VIN number stamped under the driver seat or at the back door as shown above.
If you have any enquiries, you can contact Chery at +603 2771 7070. — SoyaCincau
