{"id":646719,"date":"2026-05-13T14:01:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T12:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=646719"},"modified":"2026-05-14T09:33:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T07:33:47","slug":"30973-cars-recalled-in-south-africa-in-five-months-with-one-model-topping-the-chart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/motoring\/646719-30973-cars-recalled-in-south-africa-in-five-months-with-one-model-topping-the-chart.html","title":{"rendered":"30,973 cars recalled in South Africa in five months, with one model topping the chart"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Since January 2026, the National Consumer Commission (NCC) has published recall notices affecting 30,973 vehicles in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VW Polo Vivo was the car most impacted, with the NCC reporting that Volkswagen had recalled 25,729 units in March 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VW Polo Vivo is South Africa’s best-selling passenger vehicle, and any recall affecting models of the car would likely impact a substantial number of units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the NCC’s announcement at the time, VW informed the commission that the rivet height on the handbrake lever for the affected vehicles was outside the required specification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If the rivet height is out of specification, the handbrake may not engage properly or could, in rare cases, disengage unexpectedly,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This may pose a safety risk, particularly when the vehicle is parked on an incline.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second-most-affected model this year was the Toyota Land Cruiser LC300, with 1,846 units recalled a few weeks later \u2014 far fewer than the Vivo recall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Toyota South Africa, the automatic 10-speed transmission in the affected Land Cruisers may experience solenoid failure under certain driving conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Transmission Electronic Control Unit (T-ECU) and the Engine ECU may not detect or report the failure, resulting in the transmission over-revving in certain gears,” the NCC said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The danger posed is that the transmission housing could be damaged, resulting in a loss of motive power at higher speeds. The transmission fluid could also leak, creating a fire hazard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A significant number of recalls affected vehicles that required reprogramming rather than mechanical fixes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Renault Kwid, Lexus LX500D, and Toyota Land Cruiser were all affected by software issues. Dashboard warnings or critical transmission behaviour issues were addressed digitally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A number of electric vehicles (EVs) were recalled in the first five months of 2026 due to battery-related risks that could lead to thermal events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Model<\/strong><\/td>Number Recalled<\/strong><\/td>Primary Issue<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead>
VW Polo Vivo<\/strong><\/td>25,729<\/td>Handbrake lever rivet height out of spec<\/td><\/tr>
Toyota Land Cruiser LC300<\/strong><\/td>1,846<\/td>Transmission programming (over-revving)<\/td><\/tr>
Renault Kwid<\/strong><\/td>1,393<\/td>Software\/Dashboard warning light sensitivity<\/td><\/tr>
Ford Transit \/ Tourneo<\/strong><\/td>582<\/td>Battery emitting acidic smell (rotten eggs)<\/td><\/tr>
Ford Ranger (XLT\/Wildtrak)<\/strong><\/td>438<\/td>Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve failure<\/td><\/tr>
Volvo EX30<\/strong><\/td>372<\/td>High-voltage battery overheating (fire risk)<\/td><\/tr>
MG MG3<\/strong><\/td>209<\/td>Seat frame contact during collision<\/td><\/tr>
Lexus LX500D<\/strong><\/td>110<\/td>Transmission programming (over-revving)<\/td><\/tr>
Jaguar I-Pace<\/strong><\/td>67<\/td>Battery thermal overload (fire risk)<\/td><\/tr>
Land Rover Defender<\/strong><\/td>60<\/td>Seat belt anchorage bracket weld strength<\/td><\/tr>
Hino 700 Series Truck<\/strong><\/td>58<\/td>Fuel pump housing cracks (fuel leak)<\/td><\/tr>
Audi e-tron GT<\/strong><\/td>40<\/td>Brake pedal rod connection loosening<\/td><\/tr>
Ford Puma<\/strong><\/td>26<\/td>Restraint Control Module software error<\/td><\/tr>
Lexus RC-F Vehicles<\/strong><\/td>22<\/td>Issue with fuel injection system<\/td><\/tr>
Hyundai i30 \/ Elantra<\/strong><\/td>14<\/td>Airbag unit abnormal operation<\/td><\/tr>
Mercedes-Benz G-Class<\/strong><\/td>5<\/td>Wheel bolts not meeting specification<\/td><\/tr>
Total Vehicles<\/strong><\/td>30,973<\/strong><\/td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

EVs recalled over potentially overheating batteries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Models like the Volvo EX30, which saw 372 recalls in January, and the Jaguar I-Pace, which had 67 recalls in April, both had potential critical battery errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the case of the EX30, the affected vehicles were the single motor extended range and the twin motor performance versions, both with battery overheating risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In rare cases, the battery may overheat when charged to a high level, which could potentially result in a thermal event, posing a fire risk,” the NCC said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Owners of the affected vehicles are advised to limit their car’s maximum charge level to 70% until a fix is available.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jaguar I-PACE EV models were also recalled due to a potential issue affecting the high-voltage battery pack. In certain circumstances, these batteries could overheat and cause a fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, the NCC said that affected I-PACE models would receive a software update that restricted maximum battery charge level to 90%, with consumers warned to park the vehicles outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The oldest vehicles targeted by a recall in 2026 were from Hyundai. The local arm of the South Korean carmaker recalled 14 units of the i30 (FD) and Elantra HD distributed in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Consumers who no longer own the affected vehicles are encouraged to inform Hyundai Customer Care to assist in tracing the current owners,” the NCC said in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One unique recall affected the Renault Kwid, which saw 1,393 models recalled in February following a notification from Motus Vehicles Distributor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These vehicles were involved in a product trade recall due to issues with dashboard warning light illumination, which were addressed by a software update prior to their sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“According to the supplier, there are no vehicles in consumers’ hands. Motus Vehicles Distributor will update the software before releasing the affected vehicles,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Photos of all the recalled vehicles in 2026 so far<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Volvo EX30<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Toyota Land Cruiser LC300<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Lexus RC-F vehicles, including the Lexus RZ-F 60C.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
VW Polo Vivo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Ford Transit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
MG MG3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Ford Ranger Wildtrak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Renault Kwid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Lexus LX500D<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Land Rover Defender<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Hyundai i30<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Ford Puma<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Toyota Hino 700<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Audi e-tron GT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Mercedes-Benz G-Class<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Jaguar I-PACE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Hyundai Elantra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Of the 30,973 vehicles recalled in South Africa this year so far, VW accounted for 83%. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341213,"featured_media":646722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29366],"tags":[40550,99240,1501,23080,33589,1203,88858,11919,105140,33072,63251],"class_list":["post-646719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-electric-vehicles","tag-evs","tag-ford","tag-hyundai","tag-jaguar","tag-national-consumer-commission","tag-polo-vivo","tag-toyota","tag-vehicle-recalls","tag-vw","tag-vw-polo-vivo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646719"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=646719"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":647511,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646719\/revisions\/647511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/646722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=646719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=646719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=646719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}