The Story of the Winch

Dacia-Renault Works recalled 15,000 units of its latest Logan model, for checking two possible faults in its make and the winches. The maker insists there is no reason for panic, but panic is what gripped the recent owners of the Logan cars.

The Dacia car-maker did not explain if the fault in the winches makes them to bend or to crack.

Officials at the car making plant located in Pitesti city recalled exactly 15,169 car units, sold between 23 August and 20 November 2004. The maker will replace the winches for these cars because the decision to replace a cast-iron screw with a steel-made one proved to be bad for the smooth operation of the winches.

Also, some 2,300 car units will be checked for faulty wiring, which could cause short-circuits, while other 2,549 car units will have their computers on board reprogrammed to allow the engine ignition at low temperatures.

When trying to find out which are the possible faults of the winch from mechanics authorized to service the Dacia-made cars, they said that they do not no the nature of the fault, but only that they have to replace the winches of the Logan model.

The PR guy at the Dacia dealership in Calea Floreasca Street, in Bucharest, had no information to dispense either.
Since no complaint from the customers was responsible for the recalls, one has to assume that routine controls at the plant pointed them out. So, we are left with the official explanation only, which is that the winches show _a lack of rigidity of the winch, which in time may lead to its faulty operation._ Constantin Stroe, the vice-president of the Council of Administration at Dacia Works, said in a phone interview with Jurnalul National that he does not understand why such a strong public reaction occurred for just a preventative measure, which proved the care of the car-maker for its customers and for which Dacia Works take full responsibility.

It was a small thing, which was easy to mend. The fact that over 800 cars were checked since the recall campaign started stirred uproar in the media, though this was a move decided by the company by its own initiative, and not as a result of complaints from the customers, said Stroe.