Ex-cop’s nasty surprise after buying $60k ute

An Aussie who bought a ute, believing it would be the ultimate town cruiser and strong enough for the odd caravan trip, has had a nasty reality check.

A flurry of Aussies have registered their interest in a potential class action against two hugely popular car manufacturers over a costly alleged design flaw.

Among them is Matt Cribb from northern New South Wales, who owns a 2020 Mazda BT-50.

He purchased his brand-new ute, believing it would serve as the ultimate town cruiser and the occasional caravan trip.

But what allegedly manifested left the 48-year-old thousands out of pocket and, until recently, scratching his head.

“I don’t see why after spending $60,000 on a brand-new car you should have to then go spend thousands more to fix a mechanical issue,” he told news.com.au

Pictures of late tyres from Matt Cribb BT-50 show the extent of the tyre wear. Picture: Matt Cribb

Three of Australia’s best-selling four-wheel drives and utes, including the BT-50, could soon be the subject of a class-action lawsuit over an alleged design flaw that leads to excessive tyre wear.

Sydney-based Chamberlains Law Firm is seeking participants in a lawsuit against Isuzu for the current generation of D-Max (2019 onwards) and MU-X (2020 onwards), as well as the current generation of Mazda BT-50 (2020 onwards).

The lawsuit centres on an alleged flaw in the front suspension design of the vehicles, which allegedly results in “bump steer”, leading to excessive and premature tyre wear.

Owner’s expensive headache

While the alleged issue with the vehicle is now widely reported, Mr Cribb, a former police officer, said his tyre wear had reached a “totally illegal” stage just 30,000km out of the showroom.

“At that stage, there wasn’t much information around, and we thought ‘oh well, maybe it was just the pretty low-quality tyres that come out with them’,” he said.

“So I went and bought some of the top-of-the-line tyres at $400 each.”

However, a fresh set of BF Goodriches, which totalled over $1600, allegedly fell far short of their renowned life expectancy despite numerous wheel alignments.

Matt Cribb's Mazda BT 50.

“Same thing, it totally scrubbed the inner tyres – and that was with tyres being rotated every service and all that,” Mr Cribb alleged, saying the high-end tyres lasted just 50,000km.

He said there was negligible weight on the front of this vehicle. There had been nothing added to the front of the car that would cause extra weight on the front tyres and it had seldom been off road or towed his caravan. Primarily, the vehicle is used for the 5km trip into town.

Late-model Mazda BT 50s are among the subjects of the potential class action (file image).

Mr Cribb said getting answers and attempts at reimbursement from Mazda proved tricky. He said he was being sent “round and round” between the dealer and the manufacturer.

A rejected claim from his Mazda service agent in early May, seen by news.com.au, said Mazda would not assist in replacing the tyres.

It states that the issue was “the result of external factors, normal wear, and not pertaining to any manufacturing defect issue”.

“I’ve had 4WDs all my life, dual cabs, or single cabs, and this is the only car that we actually haven’t had a bull bar on,” Mr Cribb said.

“I’ve never ever had this problem, and I’ve driven on all sorts of rough roads and whatnot.”

A former police officer for 15 years, Mr Cribb is well versed in spotting defective tyres and said his original tyres rapidly deteriorated to illegal levels.

The late-model D-Max is also vulnerable to the alleged design flaws.

“I told the people at the tyre shop, ‘I really shouldn’t be driving down the road’,” he said.

Entire market emerges with alleged flaw fixes

The issue appears to be widespread enough that a market has emerged offering aftermarket fixes.

A Google search shows several Australian aftermarket suspension suppliers and fitters offering upgraded front steering knuckle kits specifically for the allegedly impacted vehicles, and at a hefty premium.

One charges $2,465 for parts and installation, stating in its description, “The Isuzu D-Max, MU-X & Mazda BT-50 (allegedly) suffer from chronic bump steer, resulting in radically increased tyre wear, which is apparent in standard-height vehicles but becomes more prominent as you lift them.”

Both Chamberlains and Mr Cribb believe the market’s emergence suggested the extent of the alleged flaw is broad.

“Someone’s not gonna go and produce, engineer and get all the approvals for specific steering knuckles unless there’s a widespread issue,” Mr Cribb argued, suggesting the vehicles should be recalled.

In a statement, Chamberlains wrote, “It is alleged that despite this problem being apparent for a number of years, no permanent fix has been offered by Isuzu or Mazda in relation to this issue.

“In the meantime, independent companies are offering aftermarket replacement steering knuckles, at a cost of approximately $3,000 per vehicle.”

Class action lawyer ‘swamped’ with potential claimants

Chamberlains’ Special Counsel Michael Lalji alleged affected drivers face increased costs due to frequent tyre rotations and replacements, potentially impacting the vehicles’ resale value.

Just days into the call out, he previously told news.com.au that he had been “swamped with inquiries”.

“Because of the nature of the vehicles, the tyres are actually quite expensive because they are quite large.”

Notably, the Mazda BT-50 shares identical design elements with the Isuzu D-Max, manufactured in the same Thai factory, following an arrangement between the two companies in 2016.

Isuzu’s MU-X is also within the scope of Chamberlains’ potential class action.

Despite being separate entities, Isuzu manufactures the BT-50 on behalf of Mazda, with both vehicles sharing front suspension components.

Isuzu Ute Australia has responded to local feedback by offering customers free wheel alignments with new geometry settings to address the alleged fault.

Drive reported that they have even replaced tyres at no cost to the owner in severe cases.

Neither Mazda nor Isuzu have responded to requests for comment from news.com.au.

The BT-50 and the D-Max tied for the winner of the 2022 Drive Car of the Year Best Dual-Cab Ute award.

The D-Max was the third most popular new vehicle sold in Australia in 2023, with more than 31,000 units sold, marking a nearly 30 per cent increase year over year.

Isuzu Ute Australia claimed the 10th highest-selling brand position in the country, while Mazda secured the second spot.

According to the 2023 CarExpert report on Australia’s best-selling cars, the Mazda BT-50 emerged as the fourth best-selling ute and ranked 18th overall in new car sales.

Meanwhile, the MU-X has consistently dominated as Australia’s best-selling “Ute-based SUV”.

Originally published as Ex-cop’s nasty surprise after buying $60k ute