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Mercedes-Benz Malaysia issues recall for a large number of vehicles produced between 2004 and 2016

The Takata airbag issue started some 7 years ago, and millions of vehicles have been recalled over the years to have their airbag systems replaced. The urgency of the recall was because a dangerous condition in the system’s inflator module could cause the pressure to become too high and break up the module, sending metal pieces towards the driver (and front passenger) at 300 km/h. In some cases, people died as a result of severe injuries.

Takata supplied the airbag systems to many different carmakers so all of them had to make a recall and some companies, like Honda Malaysia, put in a really serious and costly effort to get owners to bring their vehicles in. However, because vehicles change owners over time, recall notices did not reach everyone and there are probably many vehicles still with the dangerous airbag systems.

*Inside a steering wheel with an airbag system.*

The manufacturers continue to try to make the replacements as much as possible and Mercedes-Benz Malaysia is conducting a safety recall of potentially affected Takata airbag modules from specific models in compliance with the European type approval. This is after gaining a deeper understanding of the condition of airbags modules in the vehicle after a prolonged period. This can be particularly in certain climatic conditions in high humidity countries with high temperatures.

Models poduced between 2004 and 2016 affected
In fact, in mid-2019, the carmaker made a worldwide recall of affected models of its passenger cars, vans and trucks. Locally, the models affected include the models 169 (A-Class), 203, 204 (C-Class), X204 (GLK), 207 (E-Coupe/ Convertible), 212 (E-Class), 164 (ML and GL-Class), 251 (R-Class), 171 (SLK), and 197 (SLS AMG) which were produced between 2004 – 2016.

*The largest number of cars being recalled in Malaysia would be from the C-Class (above) and E-Class (below) produced between 2004 and 2016.*

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia and Daimler AG reassures its customers that all its presently produced passenger car models are no longer equipped with Takata (or other manufacturers’) airbags which have ammonium nitrate as the primary propellant. This element was a key factor in the cause of the problem.

Notifications sent out
Mercedes-Benz owners can check their vehicle VIN on the Mercedes-Benz microsite mb4.me/airbagrecall or by calling the Malaysian Customer Care Centre on 1-800-88-1133 to confirm if their vehicle has been identified for this voluntary program. Mercedes-Benz Malaysia urges all affected customers to contact authorized Mercedes-Benz dealers, the Customer Care Centre or use our online booking facility upon the receipt of the notification to replace the airbag, subject to parts availability. The replacement airbag will be provided free of charge if there is a need for it to be changed.

In the event that you are not the original owner, you might not receive any notification as the contact details with MBM may not be updated to yours. You will still be entitled to the replacement (if needed) so contact their Customer Care Centre for assistance.

The explosion that saves lives instead of kills…

Vaccination does not make you immune to COVID-19 infection. You can still get infected and although you may not show symptoms, you can spread the coronavirus to others. Do not stop taking protective measures such as wearing a facemask, washing hands frequently and social distancing.

Highlights of all-new Honda City Hatchback which you can book now

The all-new Honda City Hatchback is nearing launch in Malaysia and as bookings can now be placed at authorised dealers nationwide, Honda Malaysia has provided an overview of the features available. While silent on the prices, the company has confirmed that the new model will be launched before the end of this year. It is unlikely that the prices will be far different from the latest City Sedan (RM74,191 – RM105,950) as it is also assembled locally at the plant in Melaka.

The City Hatchback, which shares the same platform as the City Sedan, replaces the Jazz which has been in the market since 2003. Based on the Thai-spec model, it is around 390 mm longer than the Jazz and 54 mm wider, but 36 mm lower. With the wheelbase at 2589 mm, there is 59 mm extra length between the front and rear wheels, which suggests that the interior should also be a bit more spacious (although the packaging in the Jazz has always been pretty good too).

Hybrid or petrol engine choices
As with the City Sedan, customers can choose the advanced hybrid electric system (e:HEV) or the conventional and proven 1.5-litre DOHC i-VTEC petrol engine with 121 ps (highest in class) and maximum torque of 145 Nm. The e:HEV powertrain has Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive (i-MMD) with 2 electric motors working with a 1.5-litre petrol engine. Besides good fuel efficiency, the performance is also strong, thanks to the 253 Nm of torque which is comparable to a D-segment car with a conventional powertrain.

Incidentally, the City Hatchback assembled in Malaysia differs from the one sold in Thailand as the powertrain offered there is only a 1-litre DOHC 3-cylinder turbocharged VTEC unit. That engine produces 122 ps/173 Nm.

ULTRA Seat
The features and equipment follow those of the sedan in general, but the City Hatchback also as the added versatility of the 4-Mode ULTRA Seat in the rear. This is a variable seating arrangement which was introduced with the first generation of the Jazz in the 2003 (and also the City in the same year). The practical and innovative idea was developed by interior designers after long periods of watching people at supermarkets loading various items. They saw that there was a need for more vertical space for tall items like plants, and made it possible for the entire seat to be flipped up so that the height available would be from ceiling to the floor. This is known as the Tall Mode, which is complemented by Utility, Long, and Refresh modes for different needs.

Honda Malaysia will also offer Remote Engine Start which allows the engine to be started from outside the car, enabling the air-conditioner to be switched on to cool down the cabin before entering. Passengers at the rear will also have added comfort with cool air being brought to them via the dedicated vents.

Honda SENSING and LaneWatch
As would be expected, the City Hatchback (RS only) will have Honda SENSING, the driver assistance suite of systems. This uses front wide-angle view camera (at the top of the windscreen) to scan the road ahead of lane marking as well as other vehicles. Besides automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning, it also has adaptive cruise control and control the car from moving out of its lane unintentionally. Auto High Beam is also provided to keep maximum illumination available but automatically dipping the headlights if there is approaching traffic.

Also installed as standard in the City Hatchback (RS and V versions) is Honda LaneWatch. This innovative blindspot monitoring system uses a small camera mounted on the left door mirror to capture real-time images of the area along the side of the car. The image is displayed on the centre screen whenever the left turn signal is activated and the driver can see if there is any approaching vehicle. The advantage of this approach is that the driver’s head turns left less and the image shown is also easier to see than on the door mirror which is some distance away.

“Honda is not new to the hatchback segment in Malaysia as the popular Jazz which was introduced back in 2003 has sold more than 122,000 units to date. The Jazz is well-known for its practicality and versatility, and is highly popular as one of Malaysians’ favourite urban cars. We believe, with the introduction of the All-New City Hatchback, this model will raise the benchmark to be another game-changer in the market and soon also become Malaysians’ most favourite hatchback car,” said Honda Malaysia’s Managing Director & CEO, Madoka Chujo.

For more information or to place a booking for the City Hatchback, visit any authorised Honda dealership in Malaysia. To locate a showroom, visit www.honda.com.my.

Honda Malaysia offers two extra benefits for new vehicle purchasers until the end of 2021

Mercedes-Benz A45S AMG: The Hot Hatch History Will Never Forget!

There was a time when hot hatches were the ultimate in driving experience. They offered the purest driving experience despite being small in size and power.

Then came the mid-2000s and the power craze that ensued. That’s when all car makers seemed to hurry to lay down as much power as they could as quickly as possible.

This meant doing away with some of the basics that made a hot hatch such as light weight, only the barest of necessities, and as little in the form of driving aids as possible.

That was when the likes of the Ford Focus RS, the Megane RS and Clio RS as well as the Civic Type R reigned supreme. This was in Malaysia of course. Europeans had other contenders, but let’s keep it local. On that note – we also had the Satria GTI (not really mid-2000s) and the Satria R3.

Now though we have the Mercedes-Benz A45S AMG, a hot hatch that is powered by the most powerful four-cylinder ever made.

This AMG is so intelligent that it is able to send power to individual wheels when needed rather than between the front and back axle, like the cheaper but less intelligent A35 AMG. It’s also interesting to note that the engine of the A45S is still made by a single person who then signs off on the engine (shown below), but the A35 though is powered by an engine that was put together on a conventional assembly line.

The A45S AMG offers 421hp and 500Nm of torque.

It does the 0-100km/h in just 3.9 seconds.

These were numbers that Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini once offered. Today, these numbers are available in an A-Class.

Let that sink in.

But that aside, the A45S is such an animal to drive, that it almost make you doubt your driving skills.

It makes you think that you don’t have the skills to fully exploit its potential.

At one moment it is just chugging along, and with just a tap of the accelerator it threatens to tear your face off with unbelievable acceleration.

You truly have to feel it at least once in your life. Forget paying for a roller-coaster ride, pay an owner of an A45S AMG to let you feel its launch control.

Let’s start with the design

A standard A-Class on steroids is the easiest way to sum it up. You will probably see a lot of pretenders on the road, those that have spent their fair share of time in a local body shop in Sunway or someplace.

The front aero works are functional though and work to cool the brakes and channel air to the radiator mounted at the bottom of the front bumper.

The design is basically acceptable, except for those fake exhausts that are basically regular exhaust housings for a regular set of exhausts. The kind that you could find on a Proton Iswara.

What about the interior?

A fantastic place to be in and that is putting it lightly. Let’s start with the seats because that’s where you will be spending all your time on whenever you are driving this car.

Fantastic, adjustable and intelligent – that’s how I would describe it.

Not only are the seats in the A45S AMG full sports seats with adjustable side bolstering. But the seats also feature a technology called Mercedes-Benz Seat Kinetics.

This tech is aimed to improve comfort and to safeguard your back and discs. When selected, this mode constantly and minutely adjust the seat settings by a few degrees or millimetres, and it is all aimed at improving comfort over long hours.

Besides that, there is the massive twin-screen Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) display, with each monitor measuring in at 12.3-inches, which results in a massive 24.6-inch screen just ahead of you.

As you would expect, the MBUX is basically the avatar through which you access all the digital goodies the A45S has to offer. Digital goodies like Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, all the settings of the car, and even the different driving modes.

I like the driving modes because it turns the beast into a little charmer when the going is steady. And you select the different driving modes via a switch at the centre console, or a dial located on the steering wheel. Which curiously looks like it was inspired by Porsche’s boost button that is similarly located at the same place as the Mercedes. Talking about drive modes, this takes me to my next point.

How does it drive?

As you would expect of an AMG – but more! Because of the aforementioned driving modes, the car really does have a near Jackyl & Hyde character at the touch of a button.

Select Race mode and it turns into a fire breathing dragon that will have your passengers unashamedly offering their recently consumed lunch to the floor mats.

This is of course the point at which the car is at its finest. The most AMG you can get in a hot hatch.

In this mode, the acceleration is so fierce that I sometimes forget to breathe. This mode is also way past my skill level so I only dabbled with it a couple of times, for giggles.

In Sport mode though, the car simply offered a glimpse of what it was capable of doing. I am not sure why anyone would select this mode when you can simply go full power in Race mode. Perhaps this is to scare passengers without scaring yourself.

Comfort is the mode I spent most of my time in because I reckon the people who buy this car will be spending a lot of their time commuting in this mode except for that occasional blast up to their favourite roads.

Unless you have a car for different purposes.

Simply put – the A45S AMG has a mode for every mood you are in. And if you don’t know what mood you are in, there is individual mode that lets you select how you want certain elements of the car to feel like. Such as the suspension, the accelerator and the heft of the steering wheel.

But it can also be very tiring to live with. Simply because you are always aware of what is under your right foot, you tend to take short cuts.

Such as when you are cruising along in traffic and see an opening that would get you to your destination quicker. Usually you would not think of such a manoeuvre because it wouldn’t be very nice to cut anyone off.

But with 421hp under your right foot in such a small car, it is as simple as nudging the throttle, and listening to the turbos spool in about a quarter of a second and before you know it you are already in that small opening in traffic. All this without disrupting the pace of traffic, save for that small annoyance to the driver you just cut off.

Should you buy it?

Of course you should! This car will go down in history books as a legend. It is up there with the hot hatch greats such as the Renault 5 Turbo. It is a car that history will remember and will forever speak about as that car that once had the most powerful four-cylinder engine in the world.

It doesn’t only have the most powerful engine, but it is also incredibly fun to drive.

As tiring as it can be, I looked forward to getting into the seat every chance I got.

The interior too can be a charming place to be in. With a Burmester sound system offering a orchestra-ish experience and enough USB plugs to light up an LED christmas tree, it has almost everything you could want.

Buy it if you can. Get someone else to buy it if you can’t afford it. Create opportunities to drive it every chance you get. Because cars like this don’t come often. We motor heads are lucky to be alive during the era of the A45S AMG. Enjoy it any chance you get.

As for the price, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia wants RM437,673.41 for the A45S AMG. Which is a lot of coin for an A-Class. But don’t think of it as an A-Class, because it will never make sense to fork out that much for such a small car. Instead, think of it as a fire-breathing baby-AMG – perhaps then it would make sense.

Showing a new model and hiding it at the same time (w/VIDEO)

Back in earlier years, car companies had only to worry about professional spy photographers capturing images of their next model. The occasions when ordinary members of the public happened to spot and know what they were seeing were few and usually, they saw but could not record anything. The cameraphone changed all that and with it also came social media which had an image up within seconds and seen around the world within minutes.

Furthermore, with sophisticated editing software, it was also possible to ‘strip away’ simple camouflage like the black tape that was commonly used. Even in earlier days, some of the pros would try to remove camouflage and then sell their pictures to magazines as ‘scoop pictures’.

More sophisticated camouflage created

So for the carmakers, especially those in the R&D department which had to conduct tests in public areas, camouflaging prototypes required even more sophisticated approaches. Working with the design studio, they have come up with wraps with mind-bending patterns, squiggles, and swirls which cover almost every part of the vehicle except things like the front and rear lights which must be visible to other road-users for safety reasons.

The aim of these patterns is to confuse the eye and prevent industry spies from being able to focus on the vehicle’s features. While a general idea of the shape may be discernible even with the camouflage, some key elements like the design of the grille or the actual shape of side windows are still hidden.

Ford’s latest camouflage, inspired by the block pattern on the Bronco R Baja racer as well as mountain ranges, uses hundreds of blue, black, and white blocks in a pixelated pattern to break up the appearance of the underlying shape of the vehicle while it’s still under development.

Optical illusion

The camouflage is being used on the next generation of the Ford Ranger at the moment. Designed by a team at Ford’s Design Centre in Melbourne, Australia, this camouflage pattern creates an optical illusion that makes it difficult to pick out exterior features in sunlight, while a reflective element helps hide the vehicle’s shape at night.

“We were asked to develop a camouflage that allowed you to clearly see that this is the new Ranger but not see it at the same time,” said Leigh Cosentino, Design Manager at Ford Australia. “The inspiration originally came from the Baja livery Ford has been using; as I’m a huge fan of motorsport it’s hard for me not to be obsessed with machinery like that,” added Lee Imrie, the Ford Australia designer who developed the successful pattern.

Not usual type of camouflage

According to Cosentino, the project was about more than just disguising key features in the sheet metal. “We wanted the design to be dynamic and exciting and build anticipation towards the reveal of next Ranger without looking like a derivative of military camouflage,” he said.

The design is dense at the bottom and then the pattern becomes scattered towards the roof. It ends up being a good camouflage, is visually exciting but also gives the pattern a sense of movement. It’s not the usual static type of camouflage.

“There’s no linework on this camo that aligns with anything on the exterior and that means you can’t see volume or shape or lines in the vehicle,” added Imrie. “My intention with this design was to scatter your eye so that you can’t focus on a specific line; and the colour patching adds to that effect.”

But there’s more to the pattern than just scattering your eye. While Imrie said he based the pattern on the Bronco R racer, he also took inspiration from the Next-Generation Ranger itself. “I started with squares rotated at 45 degrees, and scattered them throughout the page, attempting to make a reoccurring silhouette of a mountain top landscape which echoed the lifestyle orientation of the Next-Generation Ranger. When you stand back, it has a clear connection to a digitised military camouflage but with a connection to nature,” Imrie said.

The digitised pattern took the team 2 months to develop and test. It’s printed onto vinyl and applied in 2 stages taking up to two days to apply. The full-vehicle base layer contains the blue, black, and white blocks and is applied in the same way a regular wrap is. The second, reflective ‘layer’ consists of up to one hundred individual reflective elements hand placed on the vehicle.

If you’re wondering when the new Ranger will be seen without all the camouflage, Ford has confirmed that it will be this coming November 24.

‘Live The Ranger Life’ celebrates Ford’s pick-up truck evolution into the modern lifestyle machine that it is today

Shell Malaysia’s ‘Every Little Point Counts’ campaign rewards motorists with e-vouchers

We once took for granted the freedom of being able to drive wherever in the country we wanted to go, whether to balik kampung, have a holiday or just look for new eating places. And then came the Movement Control Order which stopped all interstate crossings as one measure to stop the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Then we realised how much we missed the freedom of travel.

Now that the restrictions are lifted and we can go everywhere again, Malaysians are starting to travel for leisure again. Seemingly to celebrate this, Shell Malaysia is offering its customers RM5 Shell e-vouchers for BonusLink Points collected at Shell stations nationwide in the months of November and December 2021.

The ‘Every Little Point Counts’ campaign, as it is known, applies not just to fuel purchases but for every purchase made at Shell station nationwide. Customers can accelerate their BonusLink Point collection by getting their must-have road trip necessities at Shell stations. Be it big or small, every transaction at a Shell station earns BonusLink Points.

To participate, customers simply need to swipe their BonusLink card or use the BLINK app with any purchase and receive BonusLink Points. Once they accumulate 200 standard points, a RM5 e-voucher will be sent to them on the BLINK app or to the email address which is registered with BonusLink. The e-voucher can be used immediately at any Shell station in Malaysia. It can be redeemed for purchases from as low as 100 points. The Shell voucher for 200 standard BonusLink Points is given once in the month of November and December, respectively

If you do not already have a BonusLink account, you can sign up for one at any Shell station or use the BLINK app that can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. First-time users will be rewarded with a RM4 Shell voucher and 100 BonusLink Points as a welcome offer.

Shell Malaysia realizes dreams of local SMEs

Updated Perodua Myvi to be launched soon, bookings now accepted

The Perodua Myvi, Malaysia’s bestselling car, has received an upgrade with cosmetic changes, enhanced intelligent safety features, improved fuel economy, and a new colour as well. The prices will range from RM45,700 to RM58,800 (Peninsular Malaysia, without insurance) Sales tax will not be charged until June 30, 2022.

The variants available will be the 1.5 litre AV (Advance Variant), 1.5 litre H, a 1.5 litre X as well as two 1.3 litre G variants. All variants will now only be available with automatic transmission (probably CVT) as Perodua has discontinued the manual transmission from its line-up. This is probably due to demand for manual variants having diminished to the point that it is no longer commercially viable to assemble them as the volume is too small.

Though all Peroduas are pretty economical to run, being able to go further would be welcome by anyone, especially in these difficult times. The engineers at Perodua have been able to squeeze an extra kilometre per litre (based on tests with the 1.3-litre engine) to improve fuel consumption to 22.2 kms per litre from 21.1 kms/litre. Of course, how much you actually get will depend on driving style, traffic conditions, etc. But most people should be able to go at least 800 kms on a full tank.

The AV, H and X variants as well as one of the G variants will have the latest Perodua Smart Drive Assist (PSDA) system, designed with the safety of the driver and pedestrian in mind. After testing the Myvi AV, ASEAN NCAP awarded the maximum rating of 5 stars.

As for the new colour, this is known as Cranberry Red, and it is only available for the Myvi AV. Other colour choices are Ivory White, Glittering Silver, Lava Red (not available for the AV), Granite Grey, and Electric Blue.

“These changes represent our efforts to meet our customers’ growing expectations while at the same time offer greater value by introducing the Next Standard for Malaysia’s most accepted model, the Perodua Myvi,” said Perodua President & CEO, Dato’ Zainal Abidin Ahmad.

Bookings are now accepted at all authorised Perodua outlets nationwide. For more information or to locate a showroom, visit www.perodua.com.my.