The Consumer Dispute Settlement Commission of the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) decided on free inspections and parts replacement over an air conditioner defect in Audi electric SUVs.
The commission said on the 11th that it decided to mediate by ordering Volkswagen Group Korea to provide free inspections and replacement of related parts for the 2022 Audi "Q4 e-tron" and "Q4 Sportback e-tron40."
The vehicles with defects were produced from March to June 2022. The commission determined that the climate control system could not withstand the high operating pressure of the refrigerant (R744) used in the vehicles, causing refrigerant to leak at the consolidation points of each component, which in turn led to degraded cooling performance.
Accordingly, the commission required Volkswagen Group Korea, the importer, to provide free inspections of key climate control components such as the compressor, refrigerant lines, and sealing, and to replace them with improved new parts if leaks are confirmed.
Earlier, in May, the commission initiated a collective dispute mediation process on the case, and Volkswagen Group Korea proposed extending the warranty by "2 years or 50,000 km" for all 2,004 Q4 e-tron vehicles. However, the applicants for mediation noted that it "only stops at replacing some parts while ignoring the structural problem of the refrigerant itself."
The commission criticized Volkswagen Group Korea for taking a passive stance on document submissions and on-site inspections, saying a more proactive attitude is needed to restore consumer trust.
The commission plans to notify the parties to the collective dispute mediation of the mediation decision in writing. A party may inform the commission within 15 days of receiving the decision whether it accepts the contents of the mediation decision, and if the party accepts or is deemed to have accepted the decision, the effect of a judicial settlement arises.