Citroën accelerates recall of cars due to airbag defect

Citroën is intensifying its efforts to replace airbags in vehicles affected by a dangerous defect that can cause them to explode, however the problem affects almost a quarter of a million cars and the rate of the recall has been slow so far.

The recall affects C3 and DS3 models, which first came out in 2009 and 2019 respectively and were delivered to places south of Clermont-Ferrand and Lyon. 

Citroën issued the recall after discovering the airbags could be defective due to “deterioration” of the gas that inflates them.

It took the decision in early May after two deaths, attributed to faulty airbags exploding.

The company has written to affected owners, advising them not to drive the cars until fixed. 

Read more: Car airbag recall concerns up to 1.4m French vehicles, says watchdog

Slow rate of recall

Only qualified mechanics can replace the defective airbags, and each change takes around an hour.

Around 250,000 cars in France are affected, however, by mid-July the company said it had replaced just 35,000. 

To speed up the process, Citroën has increased the number of courtesy cars in its network from 25,000 to 40,000, and a new production line for replacement airbags has been set up by its supplier in Italy. 

Owners are required to register vehicles online to have the airbags replaced. However, many have complained of waiting weeks to receive the registration code. 

In addition, many of those that did receive the code learned that their closest Citroën garages could not do the work, claiming they could not afford the €1,500 replacement cost, which Citroën has been slow to reimburse. 

With limited courtesy cars, some owners have had to hire vehicles themselves and Citroën has made no promise to repay them

Similar recalls are in place for some Opel (Vauxhall) cars in France. Range Rover has also issued a recall for models with Takata airbags.

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