Since May, the Citroën and DS network has embarked on a mammoth task: replacing the driver and passenger airbags in more than 500,000 vehicles in Europe. Supplied by the Japanese equipment manufacturer Takata, which went bankrupt in 2017, these airbags present a risk of inflicting serious injuries or even death. Owners of C3 and DS3/DS 3 have even received a “Stop to drive”, instruction ordering them to immediately stop driving their vehicle. If this type of measure is not rare in the United States, it remains exceptional on the Old Continent. Heavily criticized due to sometimes chaotic management at the start, this campaign now seems to be on the right track.
Stellantis, the group which owns the Citroën and DS brands, announces that it has passed the milestone of 300,000 vehicles reconditioned in Europe, according to our colleagues at Décision Atelier. Adding to this the 113,000 waiting for parts or the workshop to be available to be repaired, we reach 415,000 cars. But there remains a major problem: copies remain untraceable. In France, Stellantis deplores that it “There remain more than 50,000 customers who are not yet registered”. The company therefore implores them “to carry out this procedure as quickly as possible, taking into account the risks incurred in the event of damage to the Takata airbags”.
An incomplete database
Even if hundreds of thousands of registered letters have been sent, not all the owners concerned are necessarily included in the Stellantis database. This campaign concerns second generation C3s and DS3/DS 3 city cars manufactured between 2009 and 2019. The oldest cars are already almost 15 years old. They may have changed hands several times, and are often no longer followed in the network. In some cases, they may have changed countries or even continents, or even become wrecks without the manufacturer being informed. Mail therefore cannot always reach the correct address. Stellantis is far from being the only one to be faced with this problem: it affects the thirty manufacturers who have installed potentially defective Takata airbags in some of their models, like BMW, Honda, Nissan or the Volkswagen group. Toyota had thus indicated that it had gone so far as to go door-to-door to try to find owners of dangerous vehicles in Martinique.
A real security issue, especially overseas
In France, the case of overseas territories is the most thorny. This is where the highest number of serious or fatal accidents linked to Takata airbags have been recorded. Hot, humid climates are most prone to poor aging of ammonium nitrate, the unstable component used in the offending airbags. But for now, only 82% of C3 and DS3/DS 3 owners referenced in this vast area have had their vehicle corrected. Even if this figure is higher than those recorded in mainland France, we are still quite far from 100%.
If you are the owner of a city car which could be in this case, do not hesitate to contact customer service or use the online tool offered by Citroën and DS to find out if your vehicle is affected by a campaign. reminder. This service is also offered by other manufacturers who have used Takata airbags. To be fixed, you will simply need the serial number of your car, indicated at the letter E of the registration document.
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