Peugeot safety recall letter arrived 3 weeks after we had damage caused by the faulty part

DoodleWoo20

Our Peugeot 3008 had catastrophic engine damage caused by a faulty camshaft. It was towed to an AA Smartcare affiliated garage at the recommendation of AA roadside assistance. The damage caused smashed tappets to the engine, which had to be removed,along with numerous camshaft and timing belt parts that had to be replaced. The engine had to be stripped and rebuilt. The repair cost £3,300. 

Three weeks after the repair, we received a safety recall letter for the very problem we had just had, and paid to fix. The safety recall letters have been sent out since July in phases. Sadly ours was sent too late to stop this massive amount of damage by Peugeot’s faulty part.  

We contacted Peugeot customer care, who told us they wouldn’t help us because the car had been fixed at an independent garage, not a Peugeot one. 

Of course we were not to know at the time because we had not yet been told of the safety recall, at the time our vehicle was towed away. 

What rights do we have in this scenario? What steps should we take?

DeathByFluffy

How long have you had the car, and where did you purchase it from? 
UK consumer rights are against the retailer of the faulty product, not the manufacturer - so it won't be as simple as sending Peugeot the bill I'm afraid. 

born_again

DoodleWoo20 said:

Our Peugeot 3008 had catastrophic engine damage caused by a faulty camshaft. It was towed to an AA Smartcare affiliated garage at the recommendation of AA roadside assistance. The damage caused smashed tappets to the engine, which had to be removed,along with numerous camshaft and timing belt parts that had to be replaced. The engine had to be stripped and rebuilt. The repair cost £3,300. 

Three weeks after the repair, we received a safety recall letter for the very problem we had just had, and paid to fix. The safety recall letters have been sent out since July in phases. Sadly ours was sent too late to stop this massive amount of damage by Peugeot’s faulty part.  

We contacted Peugeot customer care, who told us they wouldn’t help us because the car had been fixed at an independent garage, not a Peugeot one. 

Of course we were not to know at the time because we had not yet been told of the safety recall, at the time our vehicle was towed away. 

What rights do we have in this scenario? What steps should we take?

How old is the car?
Has it been service in line with requirements.
Still in warranty?

DoodleWoo20

The car is 7 years old and has been serviced correctly. 

But the point is that the safety recall letter arrived with us 3 weeks after we had a major engine problem. And that engine problem was entirely due to the exact same faulty part that Peugeot had started a recall campaign on, in July this year. Letters were sent out in phases since then. They failed to inform us in time. 

Our mileage is below average for a car of this age. 

Alderbank

For a safety recall the manufacturer notifies DVSA about their concern and DVSA then liases with the manufacturer to plan a phased recall.
When a large number of cars are involved the recall is phased so that parts are available and mechanics' labour can be scheduled at dealerships. DVSA will phase the recall according to the seriousness of the fault - if they agreed the phasing over 6 months or more the urgency cannot have been that great.

When the recall notices are sent out the manufacturer doesn't know whether the work has been previously carried out by the owner of a specific vehicle, as you have in your case, or even whether the vehicle has been scrapped.

I presume the recall is advising you to book remedial work at a Stellantis workshop? For peace of mind I would still take your car to be checked to make sure that the work you had done elsewhere has satisfactorily fixed the reason for the recall.

powerful_Rogue

DoodleWoo20 said:

Our Peugeot 3008 had catastrophic engine damage caused by a faulty camshaft. It was towed to an AA Smartcare affiliated garage at the recommendation of AA roadside assistance. The damage caused smashed tappets to the engine, which had to be removed,along with numerous camshaft and timing belt parts that had to be replaced. The engine had to be stripped and rebuilt. The repair cost £3,300. 

Three weeks after the repair, we received a safety recall letter for the very problem we had just had, and paid to fix. The safety recall letters have been sent out since July in phases. Sadly ours was sent too late to stop this massive amount of damage by Peugeot’s faulty part.  

We contacted Peugeot customer care, who told us they wouldn’t help us because the car had been fixed at an independent garage, not a Peugeot one. 

Of course we were not to know at the time because we had not yet been told of the safety recall, at the time our vehicle was towed away. 

What rights do we have in this scenario? What steps should we take?

Very quick Google for Peugeot 3008 Camshaft recall - Presuming you have followed this process?

https://www.peugeot.co.uk/owners/customer-support-1-5-blue-hdi-diesel-engines.html

Aylesbury_Duck

I agree with Alderbank, get it checked out.

Your consumer rights should be exercised against the seller.  Unless you have a warranty through Peugeot I don't think they hold any responsibility to you. 

Where did you buy it from, when, and how did you pay for it?

DoodleWoo20

I think it’s unfair that Peugeot are saying they would have retrospectively paid for the repair (per the link from Powerful_Rogue), but won’t in my case, just because the repair happened at an independent garage. Also, in that link, they say they will look at assisting repairs that happened BEFORE 1st July 2025, which is when they started to issue the recall letters.

If the camshaft fails between 1st July and when we got our recall letter (14 November) then surely they should be assisting us with the cost of this repair?

Aylesbury_Duck

DoodleWoo20 said:

I think it’s unfair that Peugeot are saying they would have retrospectively paid for the repair (per the link from Powerful_Rogue), but won’t in my case, just because the repair happened at an independent garage. Also, in that link, they say they will look at assisting repairs that happened BEFORE 1st July 2025, which is when they started to issue the recall letters.

If the camshaft fails between 1st July and when we got our recall letter (14 November) then surely they should be assisting us with the cost of this repair?

Only if you meet the eligibility criteria.  Do you?  Edited to add, now I can read the criteria:  I see that you don't meet criterion 4: The diagnosis and repair related to the camshaft chain must have been carried out by an authorized dealer belonging to the Stellantis network.  

You haven't answered the questions about where you bought it, when you bought it, and how you paid.  It looks like you've reached a dead-end with Peugeot so if you want to exercise your consumer rights, the answers to those questions are important.  

Bigduke2004

DoodleWoo20 said:

I think it’s unfair that Peugeot are saying they would have retrospectively paid for the repair (per the link from Powerful_Rogue), but won’t in my case, just because the repair happened at an independent garage. Also, in that link, they say they will look at assisting repairs that happened BEFORE 1st July 2025, which is when they started to issue the recall letters.

If the camshaft fails between 1st July and when we got our recall letter (14 November) then surely they should be assisting us with the cost of this repair?

I feel your pain. The problem is that Peugeot will try wash their hands of it even if the matter as you say was a fault they have actually issued a recall for. This is a company I have a great deal of experience fighting for fairness with. I fought them for 3 and a half years over a faulty adblue system that I could prove not only were they fully aware of but they later tried to tell the ombudsman was a "characteristic of the car" (I even had the vehicle sign written with quotes from a freedom of information request) Long story short they lost the ombudsman ruling and only when they realised I was taking that report to court did they back down and buy back my car for full price paid, still not admitting fault of course. So be prepared for them to continually tell you it's not their problem. Sadly given the age of the car the retailer is unlikely to be able to do much. It might be worth considering going to the ombudsman about it with all the evidence you çan muster. There is no guarantee there though, mine was in warranty when the fault occurred and they failed to fix it continually until the warranty expired. I hear you on the fairness point but fairness is unfortunately not part of big business. 

silverchoice

Bigduke2004 said:

LDoodleWoo20 said:

I think it’s unfair that Peugeot are saying they would have retrospectively paid for the repair (per the link from Powerful_Rogue), but won’t in my case, just because the repair happened at an independent garage. Also, in that link, they say they will look at assisting repairs that happened BEFORE 1st July 2025, which is when they started to issue the recall letters.

If the camshaft fails between 1st July and when we got our recall letter (14 November) then surely they should be assisting us with the cost of this repair?

I feel your pain. The problem is that Peugeot will try wash their hands of it even if the matter as you say was a fault they have actually issued a recall for. This is a company I have a great deal of experience fighting for fairness with. I fought them for 3 and a half years over a faulty adblue system that I could prove not only were they fully aware of but they later tried to tell the ombudsman was a "characteristic of the car" (I even had the vehicle sign written with quotes from a freedom of information request) Long story short they lost the ombudsman ruling and only when they realised I was taking that report to court did they back down and buy back my car for full price paid, still not admitting fault of course. So be prepared for them to continually tell you it's not their problem. Sadly given the age of the car the retailer is unlikely to be able to do much. It might be worth considering going to the ombudsman about it with all the evidence you çan muster. There is no guarantee there though, mine was in warranty when the fault occurred and they failed to fix it continually until the warranty expired. I hear you on the fairness point but fairness is unfortunately not part of big business. 

Can you please give me details of the ombudsman because I have had the same problem with a 5008.