Motorists complain en masse to courts about European car breakdowns

Moscow car owners have filed more than 100 consumer protection lawsuits against the Russian offices of European automakers since 2022, according to data on the website of the Moscow City Court. There, including appeals, there are about 35 lawsuits for BMW, 40 for Mercedes-Benz and about 30 for brands of the automobile concern VAG, which includes Audi, Volkswagen, Skoda, Porsche.

Owners most often complained about problems with the engine, electrical units, and suspension components. In addition, consumers encountered malfunctions of multimedia equipment and software, experts interviewed by Izvestia said. The companies that were supposed to fix them were unable to connect to the official application servers. Previously, it was possible to control the car's functions through them, but after the sanctions were imposed, this became impossible.

"There are also those who have moved to premium China, but there are problems with it as well. In particular, there are no spare parts available, no authorization to carry out official repairs of batteries or body panels. In such cases, dealers can refuse to repair," said Nikita Pankov, technical director of the tuning studio Seven Force.

Closure of borders and the resulting difficulties with the supply of spare parts, partly due to the disruption of logistics chains, seriously complicate the process of service, experts add.

Read more in the exclusive material of Izvestia:

Imported hope: drivers sue en masse over problems with European cars