National Consumer Commission recalls over 25,000 Polo Vivos

• The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has announced that over 25,000 VW Polo Vivo vehicles have been recalled due to a manufacturing fault
• The NCC was informed that the fault that VW found could result in safety risks that could harm members of the public
• The NCC has given citizens advice on measures they must follow and get their vehicles to the nearest VW dealership for inspection

Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly News’ Deputy Head of Current Affairs, contributed coverage of international and local social issues, including health, corruption, education, unemployment, labour, service delivery protests, and immigration in South Africa, during his seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

PRETORIA, GAUTENG — The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has called on Volkswagen Polo Vivo owners to take their vehicles to the nearest VW dealership after it recalled 25,729 vehicles. The NCC has found manufacturing faults.

In a statement that Briefly News has seen, the Commission said on 5 March 2026 that VW revealed the rivet height on the handbrake lever fitted to vehicles purchased between February 2025 and February 2026 may be outside the required specification. This could result in handbrakes that do not engage properly, and in rare cases, disengage unexpectedly, especially if the vehicle is parked on an incline.

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The NCC urged Polo Vivo owners to take their vehicles to any authorised VW dealership for inspection. The NCC also urged motorists with affected vehicles to park with additional precautions and not park on the hill on uphill or downhill slopes until the vehicles have been repaired.

Polo Vivo owners must be careful: NCC

The NCC remarked that it is monitoring the recall closely to ensure full compliance with the Consumer Protection Act and to safeguard consumer rights. Acting Commissioner Hardin Ratshisusu pointed out that any inspection will be done at no cost to the vehicle owners.

South Africans react to the news

Netizens made jokes about the recall of the Polo Vivo.

Mr Morale & The Big Steppers said:

"This is due to the mjolo pandemic."

Williams pointed out:

"Your favourite German brand with so many issues and no outrage about it, but if it were a Chinese brand, Twitter warriors would be making noise."

Edmund Sebetsa laughed.

"There goes your overrated "quality" German cars. 😂"

Martin Lungsta Jr. observed:

"These German automakers are just going out sad. They are overcharging their customers for nonsense and history."

Mr. T Hlatshwayo added:

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"The brakes make a loud noise when braking. The window switch sometimes stops working. There is also a loud noise, especially when going up a steep hill. The front lights also sometimes fade."

3 Briefly News stories about the NCC

• The National Consumer Commission announced in June 2024 that it would conduct nationwide inspections of spaza shops. The move came after the NCC discovered spaza shops that were noncompliant.
• The NCC also investigated FlySafair in January 2025 for its overbooking policy. The investigation came after a customer complained about its overbooking of 300 passengers despite having 200 seats available.
• The NCC announced on 24 February 2026 that it would investigate nine sanitary-pad manufacturing companies. A study conducted by the University of the Free State allegedly found endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the products.

Source: Briefly News