“An old affair”
The Takata airbag affair broke out in 2014.
After several serious accidents, the American authorities confirmed that the deterioration of a gas made these airbags potentially dangerous, particularly in regions with hot and humid climates.
In the event of an accident, when the airbag is triggered, particles or small parts may be thrown and cause serious injuries.
Tens of millions of cars from many brands (Mazda, Ford, Honda) have since been recalled for airbag replacement, with a final recall announced by Nissan on Thursday.
“It’s an old business which first started in the United States, Takata told us that there was no problem in Europe,” Citroën director Thierry Koskas explained on BFM Business on Friday.
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Citroën then launched monitoring of airbags in Europe and announced a first recall campaign in the United States at the end of 2022, then in the West Indies in 2023. The manufacturer had set aside 951 million euros for these campaigns.
But the reminders arrived too late to avoid drama. After several fatal accidents involving C3s, judicial investigations were opened in Guadeloupe and Guyana for “involuntary homicide”, according to local prosecutors.
According to Grégory Guyard, lawyer for several victims’ families, “the recall campaign worked very poorly, because Citroën only wrote to first-time buyers”. He accuses the group of having known about the problem and “acting at the bare minimum” to “not make waves”, he told AFP.
In Europe, the situation has changed with “first incidents” in 2023, according to Mr. Koskas, followed by a first discreet recall at the beginning of 2024 and this larger operation in mid-May.
The replacement of airbags has since been organized in the dealer network. Stellantis, the parent company of Citroën, Peugeot and 13 other brands, will deploy nearly 60,000 courtesy vehicles throughout the month of June, including 25,000 in France.
This support is sluggish and insufficient, say many customers, who want to get back on the road as quickly as possible and be compensated for the danger incurred over the years.
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Compensation?
“In 2016 we were sold a vehicle which we already knew was defective and dangerous,” testified Dimitri Moulin, 52, from Aigues-Mortes (Gard).
“Many manufacturers did the same thing at the time, but they recalled the cars in the following years. You have to imagine that when we receive the mail, we are told that we should no longer drive because there is is in danger of death!” he reported.
Yet a fan of the brand and grandson of a Citroën employee, Mr. Moulin says he had to call customer service “40 times a day” before his car was taken care of.
Some customers are considering legal action. Maryse-Hélène Malroux, 52, from Cazères (Haute-Garonne), launched an “airbag scandal” collective on Facebook.
After registering her son’s DS3 on the brand’s website, she has been waiting for several weeks for a coupon to give to the dealer so that he can order the airbag. A lawyer by profession, she also contacted lawyer Christophe Lèguevaques, a specialist in collective actions, to decide on a procedure.
“We are thinking: will we settle for a little candy, compensation for the immobilization of the vehicle? Or do we need a conviction, a case law so that all manufacturers feel responsible?” said Ms. Malroux.
The director of Citroën promised on Friday “improvements in the days and weeks to come” in the support of affected customers, while the brand is also launching the 4th generation of the C3 with great fanfare.
