[Sran]

A Kerala Consumer Court awarded 3 Lakh in compensation to the owner of a Ford car after the car returned mileage that was 40% less than what the manufacturer advertised.

The car company contended that mileage would vary depending on driving conditions, road type, traffic conditions, and so on. They also stated that the mileage they reported was determined by a third party.

The consumer forum appointed an expert commissioner, who handed in an extensive report after thorough examination and testing of the vehicle, revealing that the approximate mileage given by the car during the running test conducted in the presence of the parties involved was 19.6 km per litre.

It was noted that the car’s leaflet and brochures clearly stated that the 2014 Ford Classic Titanium with the Duratorq Diesel engine gets more than 32 Km/pl.

Because these documents did not specify the conditions under which this mileage could be obtained, the opposing parties’ contention was rejected.

https://lawtrend.in/car-fails-to-del...-to-car-owner/

[WorkingGuru]

Consumer forum cases are usually appealed against and even if the consumer is right, the compensation is usually diluted down to an insignificant level.

32km/l would obviously be as per some specific test conditions, else 80% of the adverts would have to stop!

[DicKy]

Was this the Autocarindia mileage run? Remember them getting 30+ kmpl and 25+ kmpl for the diesel and petrol respectively by going around and around in some testing track.

Though this is funny, I wish it was not. There are many more serious cases of car owners going through hell, yet they are not compensated. This just happens to be an overzealous customer. Even ARAI figures are taken just as a rough yardstick by both SAa and customers. Or should one be worried that it took 8 years for the compensation to come?

[jalex77]

Originally Posted by DicKy

Was this the Autocarindia mileage run? Remember them getting 30+ kmpl and 25+ kmpl for the diesel and petrol respectively by going around and around in some testing track.

Though this is funny, I wish it was not. There are many more serious cases of car owners going through hell, yet they are not compensated. This just happens to be an overzealous customer. Even ARAI figures are taken just as a rough yardstick by both SAa and customers. Or should one be worried that it took 8 years for the compensation to come?

Yes it was the Autocar India event.

"..To examine the complaint, the forum appointed a Ph.D holding Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering of the Government Engineering College as the expert commissioner.

The expert commissioner found that the actual mileage delivered by the car during the running test conducted by him in the presence of all the parties was around 19.6 kmpl.

publish, the manufacturer cannot shirk off their responsibility towards the consumer under the shield of the argument that the mileage test is conducted by a third party agency", the forum stated in the order.

"misleading advertisement highlighting an exaggerated mileage" amounts to an unfair trade practice. The Court awarded Rs 1.50 lakhs to the complainant towards financial loss sustained by her, Rs 1.50 lakhs for mental agony and distress and Rs.10,000 towards legal expenses with an interest of 9% from the date of filing of the complaint till actual payment.."

Source:https://www.livelaw.in/amp/news-upda...e-owner-215623

[arjungod]

Posted about the same on the fuel efficiency thread
Post 5751
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post5449955 (What is your Actual Fuel Efficiency?)

There was an interview with the owner and the lawyer on a Malayalam news channel.

https://youtu.be/AdiXKR3T3OI

[GeeTee TSI]

Are the EV makers advertising the (unreal) ARAI range figures due for another such slap in the face?

[Raghu M]

Same thing with EVs. The mentioned range is hardly anywhere close to the real world mileage. Standard test drive conditions are only available in the manufacturing unit, they can't be claimed as real mileage by the OEMs.

[McLaren Rulez]

Wow that case is one damn good ad for that engine! 19.6 kmpl under real-world driving conditions? It's a full size car running a standard ICE yo, it really doesn't get better than that.

[Latheesh]

Companies sponsor those mileage runs and use the result in their ads and sponsored contents. These practices should stop.

[KA18]

Just wondering, if Ford has shut shop in India, will this judgement be useful?

From whom will the car owner take compensation from?

[saum1230]

I wonder if such judgements really help the consumer. There is a standard way of calculating and reporting mileage, which auto manufacturers should follow and consumers should learn to interpret. If a consumer court can override the reliability of those standards, no auto manufacturer would want to use those.

Ultimately, car brochures and adverts will not mention mileage anywhere (as many have already stopped doing). Does this benefit the consumer more, as there is no misinformation, or does it harm her more, as there is no information at all? People will end up relying on word-of-mouth (of social media or influencers), which are far easier to manipulate than an established set of protocols, rules and standards.