The Takata airbag affair broke out in 2014 and since then the American authorities have 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, small parts could be thrown and cause serious injuries.
And in Guadeloupe, a total of ten investigations were opened on charges of “homicide” or “unintentional injuries”, indicated the public prosecutors of Pointe-à-Pitre and Basse-Terre. They concern Citroën vehicles, but also Ford, Toyota and Nissan.
“Long, technical” investigations
“While an investigation has focused, since June 2023, on five accidents, including three for “involuntary homicide”, two new deaths have been identified as linked to this defective equipment,” Guadeloupe 1ère reported this Friday. Among these cases concerned, five fatal cases and accidents whose victims still suffer serious after-effects, details Le Figaro which reveals the affair.
The prosecutor of Basse-Terre, Xavier Sicot, underlines the complexity of these cases, calling for “long, technical investigations with probable international dimensions”. According to Grégory Guyard, lawyer for several families of victims, “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” so as to “not make waves”.
A broken cheekbone and a gouged out eye
One of these ten investigations will focus on the case of a 29-year-old young man who was the victim of a road accident in Guadeloupe in October 2022, in a used Citroën C3. According to Le Figaro, he lost control of his vehicle and hit a pile of stones in a “light impact” which triggered the opening of the airbag. Results: metal debris all over his face, a broken cheekbone and a gouged out eye.
This massive recall of Citroën in Europe linked to this old story of defective Takata airbags puts the brand in turmoil, with hundreds of thousands of customers asked to no longer use their vehicle until it is repaired. Tens of millions of cars from many brands (Mazda, Ford, Honda, BMW) have since been recalled for airbag replacement, with a final recall announced by Nissan on Thursday. The recall concerns a total of 605,772 Citroën C3 vehicles (the brand’s best-selling model, ahead of the 2CV) and DS3, sold between 2009 and 2019 in around twenty countries in Southern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. .
Nearly 60,000 courtesy vehicles
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 very insufficient, say many customers, particularly in Guadeloupe, who want to get back on the road as quickly as possible and be compensated for the danger incurred over the years. 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.
