Dear all,
You may or may not already be aware of the product recall identified
below .
Officers have identified the Manchester licensed vehicles affected by this
recall and have spoken to most of the proprietors this morning . At this
stage we believe there to be less than 10 Manchester licensed vehicles
affected by the recall.
Officers have spoken to staff at the London Taxi Agent on Cross St , who
confirm the remedial action required to the affected vehicles is for a new
steering box to be fitted . It would appear that some of the vehicles have
already had remedial work undertaken , however we have been advised by
Cross Street that this has not rectified the problem and that further
remedial work will be required.
Manchester City Council is in the process of issuing formal suspension
notices in respect of the vehicles concerned .
Attached below are the press release and recall letter issued by LTC.
Regards
Jenette Hicks
Licensing Unit Manager
Licensing Business Unit
Manchester City Council
Neighbourhood Services
PO Box 271
Manchester
M18 8YU
And below is an account of the new Chinese cab from a Manchester owner:
I drive a 12 reg manufactured TX4 , fortunately the check on the Chinese Taxi Company's website came up clear (let's hope it works correctly).
The problem with these cabs is that the Chinese just copy everything, where previously your components were Ford or perhaps AC Delco now they are a Chinese copy and that copy is not usually good enough until a few years of quality control, customer complaints and warranty returns etc bring the problem of the component to light.
The 12 reg I drive has now done 22,000 miles, it was apparent from day one that the build quality was not near as good as the 56 reg I bought, the interior plastics scratch at the slightest knock, the pedal rubbers are worn through, the door straps came away in the first week, new rear wishbone bushes were needed at 10,000 miles, we have had TWO new clutches, new tyres all round, the gear stick gaiter broke in the first week, the gear knob no matter how many times you tighten it up, soon comes loose again.
Many of these problems are trivial but will need to be corrected when the cab is presented for test each year along with other things that I have no doubt will materialise, all are covered by warranty at the moment, but that warranty will run out leaving the owner to pick up bills that he really should not have to on a cab of maybe 3 or 4 years of age.
The shame is that the concept of the vehicle is fabulous, it is ideal for taxiing, passengers can get in and out quickly (unless they are old) and on the SAFE side, the driver has control of the rear doors (unlike a saloon car) especially at night with the drivers separate compartment and hammer attack proof (is the Chinese copy still?) screen. The turning circle gives incredible manoeuvrability for a big vehicle and with the high driving position giving great vision, you can spot fares and gaps in the traffic that you can take advantage of.
You can get a wheelchair passenger in too, well you can if you don't pull your own back out trying.
Unfortunately as good as the concept is, the delivery is not!
The vehicle is too heavy, too heavy on fuel, suspension has always been awful except for the first 2 weeks when it is brand new. Wind noise even at 50 miles an hour is terrible coupled with the whistling system laughably called an intercom which uses one of the stereo speakers (FFS this is 2012)
Old people have always found it difficult to get in and out- the solution a step stored in the boot that the driver has to dig out, get down on his knees in the rain and dark to fix to give at best a couple of inches relief PLEASE!!!!!!!!!! Has anyone ever used it?
We all know already about TX4 engines blowing up, that was even before the Chinese were involved, I fear the worst for the company, sales are already in the toilet. This could be the nail in the coffin, don't expect the Chinese to come to the rescue of the current shareholders, we have been here before I think with a company that went by the name of Rover.
You may or may not already be aware of the product recall identified
below .
Officers have identified the Manchester licensed vehicles affected by this
recall and have spoken to most of the proprietors this morning . At this
stage we believe there to be less than 10 Manchester licensed vehicles
affected by the recall.
Officers have spoken to staff at the London Taxi Agent on Cross St , who
confirm the remedial action required to the affected vehicles is for a new
steering box to be fitted . It would appear that some of the vehicles have
already had remedial work undertaken , however we have been advised by
Cross Street that this has not rectified the problem and that further
remedial work will be required.
Manchester City Council is in the process of issuing formal suspension
notices in respect of the vehicles concerned .
Attached below are the press release and recall letter issued by LTC.
Regards
Jenette Hicks
Licensing Unit Manager
Licensing Business Unit
Manchester City Council
Neighbourhood Services
PO Box 271
Manchester
M18 8YU
And below is an account of the new Chinese cab from a Manchester owner:
I drive a 12 reg manufactured TX4 , fortunately the check on the Chinese Taxi Company's website came up clear (let's hope it works correctly).
The problem with these cabs is that the Chinese just copy everything, where previously your components were Ford or perhaps AC Delco now they are a Chinese copy and that copy is not usually good enough until a few years of quality control, customer complaints and warranty returns etc bring the problem of the component to light.
The 12 reg I drive has now done 22,000 miles, it was apparent from day one that the build quality was not near as good as the 56 reg I bought, the interior plastics scratch at the slightest knock, the pedal rubbers are worn through, the door straps came away in the first week, new rear wishbone bushes were needed at 10,000 miles, we have had TWO new clutches, new tyres all round, the gear stick gaiter broke in the first week, the gear knob no matter how many times you tighten it up, soon comes loose again.
Many of these problems are trivial but will need to be corrected when the cab is presented for test each year along with other things that I have no doubt will materialise, all are covered by warranty at the moment, but that warranty will run out leaving the owner to pick up bills that he really should not have to on a cab of maybe 3 or 4 years of age.
The shame is that the concept of the vehicle is fabulous, it is ideal for taxiing, passengers can get in and out quickly (unless they are old) and on the SAFE side, the driver has control of the rear doors (unlike a saloon car) especially at night with the drivers separate compartment and hammer attack proof (is the Chinese copy still?) screen. The turning circle gives incredible manoeuvrability for a big vehicle and with the high driving position giving great vision, you can spot fares and gaps in the traffic that you can take advantage of.
You can get a wheelchair passenger in too, well you can if you don't pull your own back out trying.
Unfortunately as good as the concept is, the delivery is not!
The vehicle is too heavy, too heavy on fuel, suspension has always been awful except for the first 2 weeks when it is brand new. Wind noise even at 50 miles an hour is terrible coupled with the whistling system laughably called an intercom which uses one of the stereo speakers (FFS this is 2012)
Old people have always found it difficult to get in and out- the solution a step stored in the boot that the driver has to dig out, get down on his knees in the rain and dark to fix to give at best a couple of inches relief PLEASE!!!!!!!!!! Has anyone ever used it?
We all know already about TX4 engines blowing up, that was even before the Chinese were involved, I fear the worst for the company, sales are already in the toilet. This could be the nail in the coffin, don't expect the Chinese to come to the rescue of the current shareholders, we have been here before I think with a company that went by the name of Rover.
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