The black streak continues for car manufacturers facing airbag problems. After Citroën and DS Automobiles, it is Opel’s turn to recall numerous models, according to a sheet issued on the Conso Rappel site Friday June 21, 2024.
The Stellantis group, which owns the famous car brands, is mired in a scandal linked to defective airbags from its Japanese subcontractor Takata. However, the giant of the sector had recently assuredAFP that“no case of failure had been identified” on Opel vehicles, specifying that they “are equipped with different airbags”.
Opel Mokkas produced between 2012 and 2015
The massive recall of June 21, however, indicates a risk of injury for owners of Astra H, Astra J, Cascada, Meriva B, Mokka, Signum, Vectra C, and Zafira C models (Rapex: 03.01.2005 – 11.06. 2). According to L’Argus , firstly 25,000 examples of Opel Mokka, produced between 2012 and 2015, are affected in France. But customers can continue to drive them without risking an accident.
To help Opel owners contact a dealer or authorized repairer, the German brand has put a verification tool online. Simply enter the “vehicle identification number”, present on the registration document, to find out if the vehicle is one of the affected models.
The same type of incident as at Citroën
“The propellant used in the driver’s airbag inflator can degrade when exposed to very high temperatures and very high humidity levels, specifies Opel in its recall. If activated after an impact, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to burst and metal fragments may pass through the cushion material causing injury to occupants. »
This type of incident is exactly the same as that observed last May on Citroëns or DS equipped with Takata airbags. Violent accidents have occurred due to Japanese products and have even resulted in the death of several drivers.
19,000 airbags changed on C3 and DS3
On June 19, Citroën’s general manager, Thierry Koskas, explained that 140,000 people had come forward after the recall affecting 246,000 customers. The brand has changed the airbags on 19,000 C3s and DS3s in France. In Europe, 35,000 vehicles have been fitted with new airbags since the recall launched in May, representing just 6.6% of all affected C3s and DS3s.
In total, 530,000 owners of Citroën C3 and DS3 sold between 2009 and 2019 and equipped with a “specific” Takata brand airbag were contacted and asked to no longer drive their vehicle until the airbags were changed. But the work of manufacturers is slowed down by the late delivery of new airbags. In total, eight million vehicles could ultimately be included in the recall procedure.
