Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
'MAN Truck has BMW-like defects'
Owners of MAN Truck hold a protest at MAN Truck & Bus Korea headquarters in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Kim Young-booo
By Nam Hyun-woo
By Nam Hyun-woo
MAN Truck owners held a rally, Wednesday, denouncing the German commercial vehicle maker for concealing critical defects in its engines from motorists. They also claimed their trucks are plagued with the same defect as BMW diesel vehicles that have been catching fire.
During the protest at MAN Truck & Bus Korea headquarters in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, they said MAN's D26 engine series contain defects in its exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler but the company is concealing the flaws and avoiding responsibility.
“We found multiple errors and defects in our MAN 25.5-ton trucks, including engine rust, malfunctioning transmission, melting EGR coolers and cracks in engine heads,” said Kim Young-booo, leader of the protest.
“However, MAN Truck & Bus Korea is exploiting the country's lax Motor Vehicle Management Act and imputing its responsibility of repairing them to owners, while refusing to talk with owners,” Kim said. “It is like we are riding on a ticking bomb that can harm not only us but also pedestrians.”
An EGR cooler is a part that lowers the temperature of exhaust that is recirculated by the EGR system, which then recirculates the exhaust gases back into the engine to lower cylinder temperatures and emissions.
The part is picked as the root cause of more than 50 fires in BMW vehicles last year, which led to $10 million in fines against BMW Korea and massive recalls affecting more than 170,000 BMW cars.
According to the owners, many mechanics have found the engine problems also stem from the faulty EGR coolers which fail to lower the temperature of exhaust gases and recirculate heated exhaust into the cylinders through the intake manifold.
The only reason their trucks have not been catching fire is because MAN Truck's intake manifold is made of alloy casting, they said, adding that damage is apparent in their engines.
“We found that four MAN Truck service centers each replaced on average 35 EGR coolers and EGR valves last year alone,” Kim said. “Given the company has 20 service centers, we assume more than 700 trucks have shown similar malfunctions and replaced EGR coolers or valves.”
“If MAN Truck did not report this to the Ministry of Environment, it could violate the Motor Vehicle Management Act and the Clean Air Conservation Act.”
Kim said he expects the environment and transport ministries to begin their investigations on MAN Truck & Bus Korea soon.
The owners added that the company is demanding expensive repair fees for the malfunctions, blaming “drivers' poor experiences in driving and maintaining trucks.” Kim said the members of the protest group have an average 10 years of experience driving trucks.
The protest came after MAN Truck & Bus Korea's launched a “voluntary” recall last month on 1,195 dump trucks containing risks in their gearing system. At the time, however, the owners criticized the recall saying the company is attempting to cover up the root cause of the gear malfunctions, which is the high temperature of the engine.