Despite a nationwide appeal, hundreds of owners of Citroen cars have yet to contact the company in relation to its "stop driving" warning affecting almost 2,000 cars.
Citroen is one of over 30 car manufacturers that used Takata airbags, which are affected by a serious safety issue, on its production lines. Some 65 million vehicles worldwide - produced by companies from Toyota to BMW - were subsequently affected by recalls.
The fear is that "chemical substances in the inflators of the Takata airbags fitted in the cars may deteriorate over time, particularly in warm, humid climates. This could cause the airbag to burst with too much force in the event of an accident, which could lead to serious or even fatal injuries in the worst-case scenario."
These are the car models affected and their dates of manufacture:
- Citroën C3 Phase 2 (from 24.09.2008 to 21.02.2017)
- Citroën C4 (from 02.02.2010 to 20.05.2018)
- Citroën DS3 (from 05.12.2008 to 30.05.2019)
- Citroën DS4 (from 05.05.2010 to 03.02.2017)
- Citroën DS5 (from 30.06.2010 to 09.02.2018)
- Citroën C Zéro (from 10.2010 to 02.2017)
This week, the managing director of Citroen in Ireland, Colin Sheridan, said the receipt rate of registered letters to owners had been high, and the letters signed for.
However, he added that hundreds of owners had yet to respond to the request to make a booking with a Citroen dealership to have the airbags replaced.
"We are in a good place and ahead of the curve when compared to other markets. But hundreds have not responded. We would encourage anyone who hasn't been in contact to do so and make the booking to have the work done".
All affected Irish Citroen car owners have already received two rounds of notification, with the first of these issued even in advance of Stellantis launching the 'Stop Drive’ campaign. These letters date back to last January.
Since the ‘Stop Drive’ – the owners have now received three letters, with the latest being sent by registered post.
A total of 1,800 cars are affected, and many of them are understood to be imports from the UK.
Owners can check if their car is affected by the recall notice on www.citroen.ie or consult their local Citroen dealer.
