New episode in the Takata soap opera: Citroën has just extended its “stop” withdrawal to these defective airbags, with almost 250,000 copies of C3 and DS3 worried about the northern half of France.
• What is the problem of Takata airbags?
Takata Airbags’s problem has been known for a long time: the scandal exploded in the United States in early 2010, after the first suspicious deaths that involve this team provided by this Japanese company.
Takata has admitted to having hidden an important defect in the origin of this unofficial explosion of the air bag that can cause serious, even fatal lesions: the use of ammonium nitrate as an explosive to inflate the airbag, a component that can seriously age, especially in wet and humid. areas.
Consequently, the American Road Safety Agency (NHTSA) has requested dozens of millions of vehicle reminders in the United States, with many interested brands. It is estimated that Takata provided 20% of the air bags installed in new cars.
In 2017, Takata declared fraud guilty and, in front of strong fines and this reputation fogged by the scandal, the company presents bankruptcy.
• Why this new reminder in France?
This new withdrawal in the north of the country allows to expand the coverage area of a first campaign, also in “Stop Drive”, which had concentrated on The southern half of France under a Clermont-Lyon line and launched in early 2024. a reminder that also referred Other European countries or Maghreb For the brand of the Stellantis group.
In Europe, many brands have been removing models equipped with Takata airbags for more than 10 years, following the scandal that had exploded in the United States. But without this mention, “Stop Drive”, which asks the owners of the vehicles that no longer use them before the airbag replace A reminder classic.
If we take another worried brand, Honda began its first campaigns of Takata reminders in 2013 in Europe. In total, of 66,652 vehicles involved in France (products between 2001 and 2015), more than 92% had an airbag replacement on December 1, 2024. or a total of 4,836 vehicles remembered to find: “All customers have received several Letters, the first by registered mail, the others in shipping followed and most were contacted by phone, if the number was available, “said a Japanese brand spokesman.
The challenge of this case in Europe remains to determine the responsibility of the manufacturers in these recovery campaigns and the role of the authorities to demand the replacement of the airbags. In several cases of death, the retirement letter came after the fatal accident linked to these defective airbags.
• How many vehicles worried in Europe?
Stellantis had communicated a figure of nine million cars to be removed in Europe. Therefore, this includes the “Stop Drive” reminders of Citroën in C3 and DS3, but also the other models concerned with more conventional reminders (which do not prohibit the vehicle with the airbag replacement), In Citroën again (C4, DS4 and DS5), but also with Opel.
However, there is currently no global figure that estimates the number of vehicles in question in Europe, beyond the Stellantis group.
In May 2024, UFC-Esc Choisir He had published a “non -exhaustive list of brands, models and production dates” in question, with the links to dedicated web pages of each manufacturer (linked here), with many brand models Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Ford, Sling, Rolling, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes, Nissan, Seat, Skoda, Suzuki, Toyota AND Volkswagen.
• How do I know if my car is worried?
The different manufacturers sites Have a section dedicated to these current reminder campaigns, that is, of course, Citroën.
For a more global vision, the easiest way is to go to This site of the Ministry of Ecologythat lists the different brands and models. We find these links to the sites that allow motorists to verify if their vehicle is subject to a current retirement.
• How many victims linked to these defective airbags?
In the United States, authorities estimate that 27 deaths and more than 400 wounds can be attributed to this defect in Takata Airbags.
In France, there are at least 12 deaths, 11 abroad and 1 in Continental France, scored AFP on Monday, February 17. An article in the Parisian of the same day mentioned a total of 18 deaths and “numerous cases of severe mutilation.”
Source: BFM TV
