Citroen owners left stranded over airbag safety risk

Theo Leggett and James KellyBBC NewsBBCLisa Shackleton says her DS3 won’t be mounted till the tip of JulyAn estimated 120,000 motorists within the UK have been left unable to drive their vehicles after a security alert over a probably deadly fault with airbags.The automotive large Stellantis not too long ago stated folks ought to cease utilizing variations of the favored Citroen C3 and the associated DS3 altogether till they had been mounted.The “stop-drive” instruction got here amid rising issues concerning the security of airbags fitted to those fashions, following a deadly accident in France final month.Plenty of homeowners have since informed the BBC they face lengthy waits to get their vehicles mounted. Stellantis stated it was “inevitable” that clients can be inconvenienced.Amongst these affected is Lisa Shackleton from Hull who contacted the BBC through Your Voice, Your BBC Information. The 69-year-old owns a 2014 Citroen DS3. She wants it to take her aged husband to specialist medical appointments.She has additionally booked a summer season vacation in a cottage a three-hour drive away, to be near her daughter, who’s present process chemotherapy. However now she is uncertain of the way to get there.”I’ve tried to get the automotive mounted, however as I did not get to know concerning the recall quickly sufficient, the earliest it may be accomplished is the tip of July,” she says.”It is booked in at a dealership in York, and that is an hour’s drive away.”One other motorist informed the BBC she had not been capable of guide her automotive in for the restore till January subsequent 12 months.Stellantis, the multi-national agency which owns the Citroen model, stated it was “working to maximise” the variety of automobiles it may restore every day, and that precedence wanted to be given to these with probably the most pressing wants.Airbag scandalStop-drive remembers, the place homeowners are informed to not use their vehicles in any respect as a consequence of security dangers, are uncommon. This one impacts all C3 and DS3 fashions constructed from 2009-2016, in addition to a handful of DS3s produced from 2016-2019. Stellantis stated they shouldn’t be pushed till airbags produced by the now defunct Japanese provider Takata have been changed.It’s the newest improvement in a long-running saga which has led to the recall of an estimated 100 million vehicles worldwide over the previous decade.The difficulty was introduced again into focus final month by the dying of a motorist in northern France. A 37-year-old girl driving a Citroen C3 was killed after a minor collision in Reims when she was struck by flying steel from a defective airbag.Takata was as soon as one of many world’s largest suppliers of airbags, security units which are supposed to shield folks from impacts when accidents happen. However in 2013 experiences started to emerge of individuals being killed or injured by their merchandise. Explosive chemical compounds, used to inflate the luggage shortly within the occasion of an accident, had been changing into extra unstable over time, particularly in heat and humid situations.This might trigger them to blow up with an excessive amount of power, fracturing their steel container, and sending shrapnel into the cabin of the car.A lot of automotive makers had been affected and quickly responded with a swathe of remembers. Nevertheless Stellantis, then generally known as PSA Group previous to a merger with FiatChrysler, stated it had been informed by Takata that airbags made in its European factories weren’t affected, and so they continued to be fitted in new automobiles in consequence.Takata filed for chapter in 2017, its status destroyed by the affair.’Poor communication’Stellantis stated it had solely turn out to be conscious of incidents involving European-made airbags in 2019, and initially believed solely vehicles in scorching and humid areas had been affected. It started a recall marketing campaign in these areas.In April final 12 months the recall was prolonged throughout the entire of Europe, however folks had been nonetheless allowed to drive their automobiles whereas they awaited a restore.The C3 and DS3 had been already lined by this recall, however following the incident in northern France, Stellantis went additional, asserting a stop-drive motion throughout the continent, together with within the UK. This took impact on 20 June. Since then, nevertheless, dozens of automotive homeowners have complained to the BBC of poor communication from Stellantis and combined, typically contradictory, messages from Citroen and DS dealerships.Regardless of the typically critical disruption brought on to automotive homeowners’ day by day lives, Stellantis stated it had no plans to offer compensation whereas including that it had “mobilised the entire firm” to supply the variety of substitute airbags required.A spokesperson stated: “It’s inevitable, with such a lot of automobiles affected, that clients shall be inconvenienced within the brief time period.”What isn’t clear is how clients ought to get their vehicles to dealerships for the restore work, as they can’t be pushed. Trade consultants say drivers ought to examine with their insurers earlier than getting behind the wheel.The corporate stated it was “investigating choices of airbag substitute at different websites, along with our Citroen community, together with at [the owner’s] house”.In the meantime in France, the federal government has informed drivers in Corsica and within the nation’s abroad territories, the place the local weather is hotter, to cease utilizing any vehicles of any model fitted with Takata airbags.The identical instruction applies to automobiles on the French mainland constructed earlier than 2011. In complete, round 2.5 million vehicles are affected.Within the UK, the Driver and Automobile Requirements Company stated it supported Stellantis’ resolution to situation a stop-drive recall and was working with the corporate to boost consciousness of the problem, however didn’t at the moment have any plans to order a wider recall.Homeowners can discover out whether or not their automotive is included within the recall right here.