Driveshaft Inspection For Selected Proton S70 Units

It appears that national carmaker Proton is silently inspecting the S70 sedan model's driveshafts that was just launched back in Nov last year.

Earlier this week, CariCarz.com has learnt that Proton is quietly performing inspections and checks into selected units of the Proton S70 sedan. Specifically, the component being looked into in said Geely-based sedan model is its driveshaft.

Our source, a Proton S70 owner, shed light into the matter following a recent 10,000 KM service performed at an authorised Proton service outlet. During said visit, our source was consulted by a Service Advisor on the inspection effort on top of the usual service parts and labour details.

Further checks with an insider source of ours at the national carmaker confirmed that this inspection exercise is being carried out. However, other than clarifying that this is not a recall, our source declined to divulge further information regarding said inspection’s reasons, or the number of units affected.

Our sources confirmed that the checks centres on the Geely-based sedan's driveshaft component specifically, though the reasons for which, and number of units affected, remain unclear.

A plausible reason for this could stem from a possible flaw in said part, either from its production or fitment during assembly – a fairly common issue in most mass-produced products. However, we have no confirmation to which as yet.

Nevertheless, given how this issue hasn’t developed into any serious outcomes yet, S70 owners have little to worry about. Like recalls,  inspection efforts as such, and the subsequent replacement, repairs and rectification works to address the faulty part are usually borne by the automakers. In some instances, the effort is also covered under vehicle warranty coverages.

Typically with inspections as such, we reckon owners have little to worry about as the costs for inspection and perhaps rectification works associated with it are usually borne by the automaker.

The fact that Proton has kept mum is also very telling in that perhaps the issue isn’t widespread or a safety concern. As of June 2024, the national automaker has shifted up to 10,914 units of the S70, which also sees it stand as one of its best-sellers presently.

Launched back in Nov last year, the S70 is available in four variants, all sharing the same 1.5-litre 3-cyl turbo petrol heart paired with a 7-speed DCT automatic box. The former outputs 148 HP and 226 NM to drive the front wheels via the latter, promising 0-100 KM/H dashes in 9 secs too.

Through the S70, Proton is positioning it as a C-segment sedan alternative with accessible prices a la a B-segment sedan, the latter evident from its starting prices that range between RM73,800 and RM94,800.

Depending on variant, the S70 is priced between RM73,800 and RM94,800, offering near C-segment size and perks at accessible B-segment-like prices. Critically, it stands as one of the safest in class too after earning a five-star score from the ASEAN NCAP crash-testing body.

More recently, the S70 was revealed as the base of Proton’s newest racecar, with an early prototype of which shown at the Malaysia Autoshow 2024. The model is also tipped to be the next base for a new fleet Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) patrol cars following recent sightings of an early prototype.

EDITOR’S NOTE (31 July 2024):

Due to a slight misinterpretation of information from our sources, we had originally reported this article as a silent recall effort. However, our insider at Proton reached out to us again earlier today and reaffirmed that this is not a recall effort. The report has been amended to reflect this fact.