Citroen/DS 3 stop drive recall

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This is popping up all around t'interweb, on forums and even Reddit & Facebook. Posters are complaining that Citroen have no parts, and long wait times for appointments, and that their insurer says the car is not insured to drive whilst waiting.

Won't be long until the TV consumer programmes start running it.

When my Nissan got the second airbag change, Nissan UK sent a Very Nice Man from the RAC (rather than the AA if you are old enough to remember the advert..) to change it on my drive- how sensible! 

Topcat_2

Ive been given below from a Citroen dealership who dont have parts and dont know when they are getting them. RAC are helping out now apparently, 
Try citroenrecall.rac.co.uk and register there. 

Grey_Critic

It was mentioned on BBC News this morning. 

WellKnownSid

It's a bit more serious than has been reported.  According to Which?:

The issue has become so serious in France – with at least 18 deaths in France, including 16 in its overseas territories (with hotter climates) associated with Takata airbags on various car brands – that the French transport ministry has issued its own ‘stop-drive’ recall on 2.5m cars with Takata airbags. 

https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/stellantis-issues-rare-stop-drive-recall-for-uk-drivers-adbx11x1JNof

wyattharrisx

It's a shambles. How can they legally do this when repair times are up to 6 month, there must be consumer protections in place. People are paying insurance, tax, car finance still and legally cannot drive the car. How can parents and carers and workers get about. I have emailed news@moneysavingexpert.com to see if good old Martin can get involved. Lets all do the same to see if his team can pick the issue up and get some action going on it. 120000 people is an awful lot in this country to be left in limbo. 

mana001

Why aren’t we protected as consumers , if an item is faulty with no immediate repair options how can they not offer a replacement or refund ? Especially in life or death situations 
 I’m a single parent and also have a 3 month old grandchild I need to take places. 
I work for the ambulance service and need my car to get to work 

I’m currently on hold and have been for an hour to the help line 

Some answered and sounded like I was talking to someone in another country in their living room and said if the dealer can’t help then I will have to rent a car and they have no answers for me. 

He said they have no information to help them and his words were “the situation has exploded like a bomb” and he could help and to try and call back Monday , although unaware what they can do on Monday 

this is a dire situation for many people and a disgrace 

dealers can’t get me in to repair till November !!

MattMattMattUK

mana001 said:

Why aren’t we protected as consumers

Consumers are protected by consumer legislation, as well as various other bits of legislation all interacting.

mana001 said:

if an item is faulty with no immediate repair options how can they not offer a replacement or refund ? 

Consumer rights depend on who the customer bought the goods from, Most of these cars are 10+ years old, all are at least 5+ years old. Anyone who still owns a car and bought it direct from Citroen might potentially have a claim, depending on the age of the vehicle, any against most dealers would have almost no prospect and any bought privately have no claim at all. There is no "They" do replace or refund and even if there was there would not be a field of several million cars sat around to be used as replacements, a refund would account for usage and for a ten year old car the retained value is often minimal at best. 

mana001 said:

 I’m a single parent and also have a 3 month old grandchild I need to take places. 
I work for the ambulance service and need my car to get to work 

None of that has any impact on consumer rights, nor on safety legislation.

mana001 said:

I’m currently on hold and have been for an hour to the help line 

Some answered and sounded like I was talking to someone in another country in their living room and said if the dealer can’t help then I will have to rent a car and they have no answers for me. 

They likely do not have any answers themselves at this point. The dealers are just the middlemen, none of this is down to them, they are just the route to attempt a resolution.

mana001 said:

He said they have no information to help them and his words were “the situation has exploded like a bomb” and he could help and to try and call back Monday , although unaware what they can do on Monday 

They might well have been told there will be more information from Citroen, the government and airbag suppliers ready for Monday, alternatively they might have just wanted to get you off the phone as there was nothing further that they could do.

mana001 said:

this is a dire situation for many people and a disgrace 

Emotional hyperbole will not help the situation.

mana001 said:

dealers can’t get me in to repair till November !!

That would appear to be lucky, some people are being told next year. 

MattMattMattUK

wyattharrisx said:

It's a shambles. How can they legally do this when repair times are up to 6 month,

It has nothing to do with inconvenience or lead times and everything to do with safety and avoiding deaths.

wyattharrisx said:

there must be consumer protections in place. 

Most consumer rights on 10-20 year old goods and most likely will not apply in many cases as many of these vehicles will have been bought from a private sale not a business purchase. There is an obligation on Citroen to fix the issue under different legislation, but they cannot install airbags that do not exist (production is at maximum capacity) or where they do not have the additional trained technicians to install them, so it will take some time.

wyattharrisx said:

People are paying insurance, tax, car finance still and legally cannot drive the car.

The law exists for safety first and foremost. Not many people are going to be paying finance on a 10-20 year old car and they could SORN the car, so they would not have any ongoing costs.

wyattharrisx said:

How can parents and carers and workers get about.

Taxi, bus, walk, hire car, etc. the reality is that does not matter, the reason the Stop-Drive Recall has been issued is to avoid deaths, not inconvenience. 

wyattharrisx said:

I have emailed news@moneysavingexpert.com to see if good old Martin can get involved. Lets all do the same to see if his team can pick the issue up and get some action going on it.

There is nothing that can or will be done at this stage that is not already being done, having a media tantrum about it is not going to help.

wyattharrisx said:

120000 people is an awful lot in this country to be left in limbo. 

They have not been left in limbo, they have been told what will happen and what will need to happen and that it will take months to resolve, most who have called have already been booked in for appointments. It is a far from ideal scenario, but people being killed would be even worse. 

jimjames

Clcatt91 said:

Nobbie1967 said:

What about getting the airbag removed? Usually pretty straightforward, couple of screws and a snap connector. You’ll have to drive with an airbag light on until it’s repaired. Personally I’d just drive it as is on the basis that the risk is tiny. Depends on your attitude to risk. If you’re highly risk averse then you’ll have to park it up and find alternative transport.

To get to work I have to go on 2 different motorways. Maybe if it was just city driving I wouldn't be too fussed, but I think it would be risky to have no airbags. The alternative route avoiding motorways is twice as long, so I dont think that would be any better either. I'm seriously considering just buying another car at this point

I guess it depends how much you need the car. People drove cars for many years without airbags (and many cars on the road still don't have them with people using them perfectly safely)

MattMattMattUK

jimjames said:

Clcatt91 said:

Nobbie1967 said:

What about getting the airbag removed? Usually pretty straightforward, couple of screws and a snap connector. You’ll have to drive with an airbag light on until it’s repaired. Personally I’d just drive it as is on the basis that the risk is tiny. Depends on your attitude to risk. If you’re highly risk averse then you’ll have to park it up and find alternative transport.

To get to work I have to go on 2 different motorways. Maybe if it was just city driving I wouldn't be too fussed, but I think it would be risky to have no airbags. The alternative route avoiding motorways is twice as long, so I dont think that would be any better either. I'm seriously considering just buying another car at this point

I guess it depends how much you need the car. People drove cars for many years without airbags (and many cars on the road still don't have them with people using them perfectly safely)

The issue is that this stop-drive recall means it is essentially prohibited from driving on UK roads, it is not related to being able to drive at one's own risk, which would be a choice that people could make for themselves if they wished.