An old story of defective airbags forces Citroën to recall hundreds of thousands of C3 and DS3 vehicles (AFP / Lionel BONAVENTURE)
A massive Citroën recall in Europe linked to an old story of faulty airbags is putting the brand in turmoil, with hundreds of thousands of customers asked to stop using their vehicle until it is repaired.
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. .
– “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, small parts could be thrown and cause serious injuries.
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.
“It’s an old business which first started in the United States, Takata told us that there was no problem” on airbags produced in Europe, Citroën director Thierry Koskas explained on Friday. on BFM Business.
Stellantis has started distributing replacement vehicles for Citroën and DS drivers stuck by a faulty airbag (AFP / MARCO BERTORELLO)
Citroën had launched monitoring of airbags “by carrying out periodic tests in external laboratories”, 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.
In Guadeloupe, a total of ten investigations have been opened on charges of homicide or involuntary injuries, the public prosecutors of Pointe-à-Pitre and Basse-Terre told AFP on Friday.
They concern Citroën vehicles, but also Ford, Toyota and Nissan.
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 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.
The situation has changed in Europe with “first incidents” in 2023, according to Mr. Koskas, and “potential cases in the Mediterranean region”, according to Stellantis, followed by a first discreet recall of vehicles in early 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.
– Compensation? –
“In 2016 we were sold a vehicle which we already knew was defective and dangerous,” testified Dimitri Moulin, 52, from Aigues-Mortes (Gard).
The new Citroën C3 photographed during the second press day of the Paris Motor Show on September 30, 2016 (AFP / MIGUEL MEDINA)
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?” launched 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.