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The infotainment in my new lease car is intermittently faulty. What are my options with the leasing company?

I have a 2021 Seat Leon FR Sport. It was leased in April. It seems to have developed a number of faults all connected to the infotainment and SOS function. The infotainment system often hangs on a 'please wait' screen for up to 30 minutes. No amount of resetting it or restarting the car fixes it but then magically it works again. This seems to happen roughly every one journey in 10. This means I can't control basic functions like the radio or heater. I also get a message - 'SOS Error: Emergency Call Workshop!' - with a warning triangle on the dash (this seems to be a common issue across the VW Group). This happens at similar regularity and is fixed by turning the car off and waiting a few minutes.

I've contacted both my local SEAT dealerships but they can't fit in for an investigation until October and even then, if the issue is present at that time, they may not be able to do anything.
What are my options with the leasing company or the next steps I should take as a £27k car without a radio or heater doesn't seem acceptable.

Asked on 6 August 2021 by Robert McCall

Answered by Dan Powell
You should complain to the leasing company direct - they are the legal owner of the car. Tell the company the car is faulty and not of satisfactory quality. The leasing company is liable for the quality of the car. They should fix the fault within a reasonable time, replace the car if there’s a suitable like-for-like replacement available, give you a discount on your monthly payment or allow you to hand the car back and end the agreement.
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