The case of Takata’s defective airbags continues unabated. While the C3 and DS 3 are the subject of a massive recall, it is the turn of the C4, DS 4 and DS 5 produced between 2009 and 2019 to be for the same reason. Another brand of the Stellantis group could be affected depending on the Parisian. These are vehicles from the manufacturer Opel whose production dates back to 2005.
Other Citroën vehicles affected
According to information from our colleagues, several hundred thousand vehicles are affected and Stellantis is sending letters “per lot, depending on the age of the vehicles, and to owners established under a Lyon Clermont-Ferrand line”. However, Citroën is trying to reassure owners of the C4, DS 4 and DS 5: “We are not in an emergency situation such as we are currently experiencing on C3 and DS3, where we are asking their owners to stop using their car immediately because we consider that the risk is too high. important.”
These vehicles, unlike the recalled C3 and DS 3, can still be driven until the next airbag replacement. It is possible to check if your model is affected from the Citroën website. Simply enter the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) which is made up of 17 characters starting with VR7 and VR7, indicated on the registration document.
As explained previously, several Opel vehicles would be affected by this airbag problem. According to the Vehicle and Engine Market Surveillance Service (SSMVM), attached to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, the first alerts date back to 2020. The service states that Stellantis was aware of it since December 2023 and that there would be, in all, 8.2 million cars affected. The group has not communicated about this number.
Several deaths linked to Takata airbags
As explained by Figaro, the driver of a C3 equipped with a Takata airbag died at the wheel of his vehicle, in the Hautes-Pyrénées. The public prosecutor of Tarbes is considering “to open a judicial investigation given the potential multiple responsibilities”. The inflatable bags from the Japanese brand, which disappeared in 2018, use a gas which deteriorates when it is hot and humid. French territories are therefore at risk, as in Overseas Territories.
In Reunion, a woman died at the wheel of her DS 3 in September 2021 and a serious accident took place in November 2022 in a C3. Two procedures “possibly linked to airbags” are in class.
Citroën C3 1.2 l Turbo MAX
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In Guadeloupe, there are also three fatal accidents on board a C3 between 2020 and 2023. One of the victims is a mother, who died in May 2024, following the activation of her Takata airbag “without prior shock”. Xavier Sicot, local prosecutor, told the media that “the autopsy revealed that the death resulted from the projection of a metal element from the driver’s airbag towards the victim’s head”.
Toyota, Ford and Nissan could be affected
Other manufacturers would be concerned since in Guadeloupe, the judicial information is interested in deaths that occurred in 2020 on board a Toyota and a Ford. In Pointe-à-Pitre, preliminary investigations are looking into unintentional injuries on board Nissan vehicles.