Automobile Three Guarantees Case: Car Infotainment Screen Goes Black, Multiple Repairs Fail, What Should the Owner Do?

When your car’s infotainment system frequently lags, has black screen freezes, and the 4S dealership deflects responsibility, what can the automotive three guarantees regulations do for you?

In the era of smart cars, the infotainment system has become the “second brain” of the vehicle. However, this has led to more and more consumers experiencing problems such as frequent lags, black screen freezes, automatic restarts, or sudden failures of assisted driving functions, including erroneous braking.

These “soft faults,” being software-related, often leave consumers in a difficult position regarding responsibility delineation and lengthy rights protection cycles.

This article analyzes a typical smart car software fault rights protection case, delving into the core provisions of current regulations, and providing owners with clear and practical guidance on rights protection.

Frequent freezes in the infotainment system, 4S dealership deflects with “software issue”

Mr. Li, a car owner from Guangzhou, purchased a certain brand of electric sedan in May 2024. Shortly after taking delivery, the vehicle began to exhibit troublesome issues: the central control screen frequently lagged and froze. More dangerously, during one high-speed drive, the adaptive cruise control function suddenly disengaged, and the dashboard displayed “system malfunction,” nearly causing a rear-end collision.

Mr. Li took the vehicle to an authorized 4S dealership for repairs. After testing, the dealership’s technicians admitted there was a fault in the infotainment system, performing software flashing and system resets four times. However, after each repair, the problem only lasted for 1-2 weeks before reappearing.

Mr. Li believed that the repeated faults in the infotainment system had severely affected daily use and posed safety risks, demanding that the 4S dealership replace the vehicle in accordance with the three guarantees regulations. The dealership refused, citing “not meeting the conditions for a replacement,” and stated they could only continue to “attempt repairs.”

Case Outcome:

After multiple negotiations, Mr. Li successfully defended his rights, and the 4S dealership processed the vehicle replacement for him, compensating for vehicle usage fees as per the three guarantees regulations.

Mr. Li’s case also became a typical precedent for the applicability of the three guarantees return and exchange rules for smart car software faults.

Key Facts:

1. The vehicle was purchased less than a year ago, with a mileage of 12,000 kilometers, still within the warranty period and the validity of the three guarantees.

2. The infotainment system had accumulated four visits for repairs.

3. The problem recurred after each repair, with consistent fault symptoms.

Software faults are also “quality issues”

The core dispute in this case lies in: Does the software fault of the infotainment system fall under the “quality issue” defined by the three guarantees regulations? Can repeated repairs trigger replacement conditions? This can be analyzed from the following two dimensions:

(1) “Quality issues” encompass software faults

According to the “Regulations on the Responsibilities of Repair, Replacement, and Return for Household Automotive Products,” the quality issues of household automotive products refer to situations where the product does not meet technical requirements.

In judicial practice and industry consensus, functional faults of the infotainment system and intelligent driving assistance systems—such as frequent black screens, freezes, function failures, and abnormal exits—are clearly categorized as quality issues if they pertain to the product not meeting technical standards or advertised functionalities.

(2) Legal conditions for return and exchange: Four repairs for the same fault

Article 24 of the three guarantees regulations clearly states: Within the validity period of the three guarantees, if any of the following situations occur, the consumer may choose to replace or return the product:

If repairs for serious safety performance faults have accumulated to two times and the issue is still not resolved or new serious safety performance faults occur; if the engine, transmission, power battery, or driving motor has been replaced twice due to quality issues and still cannot operate normally; if the same main component has been replaced twice due to quality issues and still cannot operate normally; if the cumulative repair time due to quality issues exceeds 30 days, or if repairs for the same quality issue exceed four times.

The key applicable clause in this case: The frequent black screen freezes of the infotainment system fall under “the same quality issue.” Mr. Li’s vehicle was repaired four times for the same issue within the warranty period (the issue remained unresolved after the fourth repair), fully meeting the conditions for return and exchange due to “cumulative repairs exceeding four times.”

Rights Protection Insights: What to Do When Encountering Smart System Faults?

Mr. Li’s case is not an isolated incident. In actual vehicle use, consumers often encounter similar situations:

The infotainment system frequently has black screens, freezes, voice control failures, abnormal functions after OTA upgrades, and performance degradation.

The 4S dealership delays handling with reasons like “software issues” or “waiting for the next OTA upgrade.”

Faced with such situations, if negotiations with the 4S dealership yield no results, consumers can protect their rights through the following channels:

1. File a complaint with regulatory authorities: Call the 12315 hotline to report to the market supervision department.

2. Log onto the National Market Supervision Administration’s Defective Product Management Center website (www.dpac.org.cn) to report defect clues.

3. Submit complaints through the China Internet Auto Quality Complaint Platform.

When protecting rights, car owners should pay close attention to the number of repairs and repair days. For each visit for repairs, always request a repair order stamped with a seal, clearly documenting fault phenomena, test results, and repair items. This is crucial evidence for proving “cumulative repair times” and “cumulative repair duration.”

In the era of smart cars, software faults are also quality issues and fall under the three guarantees regulations. When your infotainment system frequently lags or intelligent driving functions suddenly fail, take immediate action to protect your rights.

(Reviewer: Zhang Xiaobo)

     【Disclaimer】This article represents the author's personal views and is not related to Hexun.com. Hexun.com maintains neutrality regarding the statements and opinions contained in the text and does not provide any express or implied guarantees regarding the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of the content. Readers should use this for reference only and assume all responsibilities themselves. Email: news_center@staff.hexun.com

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