Now Vauxhall faces a probe over Corsa fires
MPs may widen their probe into Vauxhall following reports of dozens of Corsas bursting into flames.
Bosses at the car giant could be hauled before the Commons Transport Select Committee for a second time following claims that up to 865,000 Corsas are at risk of exploding.
It comes after Vauxhall was called before the committee to answer questions about its Zafira B model earlier this year.
The firm was forced to issue a humiliating £50million second recall of 237,000 of the people carriers following dozens of fires.
It then faced claims it had ‘covered up’ the dangers after it admitted a Zafira B had burst into flames in February 2009 – nearly seven years before the first recall in December last year.
Now owners of Corsas – Britain’s second most popular car – claim their cars are also bursting into flames, with a Facebook group set up for victims receiving dozens of examples.
Independent investigators, commissioned by The Sun, claim more than 800,000 Corsa Ds and Es built since 2006 may be at risk because of a heater wiring fault that can cause flames to explode through the dashboard. The newspaper claimed the problem was similar to that in the Zafira.
Vauxhall, owned by US giant General Motors, last night dismissed the claims. It said it had ‘no confirmed reports’ of fires starting in Corsas’ heating and ventilation systems, and the problem with the Zafiras did not extend to any other model.
But owners and MPs have called on the manufacturer to act now to reassure worried customers.
Iain Stewart, a Tory on the transport committee, said Vauxhall should either arrange for an immediate recall or ‘be upfront and demonstrate beyond doubt why there are no grounds for concern’. He added: ‘I shall be discussing these allegations with my colleagues ...and we may decide to reopen our inquiry.’
Committee chair Louise Ellman said: ‘When we heard from Vauxhall earlier this year. ..we made it clear [it] must do better in identifying and rectifying any safety risks.
‘That reports of fires in a different Vauxhall model are now emerging is a matter of deep concern ... We want to know how they are ensuring the safety of drivers and their families.’
The DVSA said it is working with the Department for Transport ‘to consider further action’.
In April, Vauxhall recalled 2,767 Corsa Ds with 1.4litre turbo engines over fears water getting into the electrical vacuum pump could start fires. But it said this problem was limited to specific Black Edition models produced at its Eisenach plant, and the issue was not related to the heating. It said the latest fires could be due to maintenance work.
However the BBC’s Watchdog separately identified fires in seven Corsa Ds. Of those, only three fell under recall. Labour MP Robert Flello said: ‘We need to get to the bottom of who is responsible ...they need to be held to account legally.’
Vauxhall was alerted to the problem with the Zafiras after a Facebook campaign. It first issued a recall of all 237,000 Zafira B cars in December last year after reports of 200 fires, which it insisted were caused by ‘improper’ repairs.
The second recall was announced after it was handed evidence claiming the fires were triggered by a design fault in the heating system. But since work began only 132,000 cars have been recalled and fixed.
Jo Hunt, who was part of the campaign, said: ‘We just want them to sort this out and stop burying their heads in the sand.’
Last night Vauxhall said: ‘Customer safety is of the utmost importance and we take any report of fire very seriously...Earlier this year we identified a potential fire related issue with a specific Corsa D variant equipped with the 1.4 Turbo petrol engine.
‘A Safety Recall to address this issue was initiated in April 2016 for the 2,767 vehicles affected.’