Over 33,000 people urged to stop driving their Citroëns immediately over airbag fault

Car group Stellantis is calling on 33,260 owners of certain Citroën cars in the Netherlands to stop using their cars immediately due to health concerns regarding the vehicle’s airbags. The call follows an incident in France last week, in which a woman lost her life as a result of injuries that she sustained due to defective airbags.

The recall concerns Citroën C3 and DS3 models manufactured between 2009 and 2019 that are equipped with Takata airbags. Owners are being notified and asked to contact a dealer to arrange a free repair.

Since 2014, millions of cars with Takata airbags have been recalled. The Japanese manufacturer went bankrupt in 2017. It was proven at the time that the airbags were at risk of exploding due to a mistake in production, which led to metal fragments flying through the car. Several drivers died due to these issues globally.

A recall of these models also occurred in January in the Netherlands. Some drivers have already taken their cars to the garage to solve these issues. However, Stellantis felt it was unnecessary at the time to call on the car owners to stop driving the vehicles.

The recall of the Takata airbags started relatively late in the Netherlands within the company. Countries with warm and humid climates were given priority because, according to Stellantis, the risk of problems with the airbags was greater there.

A spokesperson for the ANWB responded to the news by saying that they have never seen a recall with a "stop-drive" advisory in the Takata case before. "At least, I can't remember it," he said. "It certainly has an impact on people when they suddenly can't use their car anymore," he added.

The spokesperson went on to say that he is "very curious" about the exact offer Stellantis is making to the affected motorists. He wonders whether the company, for example, is offering them temporary replacement transport or compensation. "We’ll only know once we’ve seen the letter." He added: "I can imagine that arranging replacement transport for 33,000 cars could be challenging."

Stellantis is not only taking action in the Netherlands. The company has also, for example, called for 82,000 Citroëns of the C3 and DS3 models to be taken off the road in France. The French Ministry of Transport had previously urged for such a recall.