Vauxhall is launching a second recall on the Zafira B model to protect the vehicles from catching fire. Last year, Vauxhall informed all 234,938 Zafira owners in the UK about improper repairs to the blower motor resistor potentially creating a fire hazard, and began to fix thousands of affected cars, following a spate of vehicle fires.
Vauxhall has now launched a second recall in order to “improve the overall robustness of the system.” The second recall will replace the current soldered fuse resistor with a wax fuse resistor, reducing the opportunity for manipulation. The company will contact all 234,938 customers to inform them of the required work. It is planning to start sending letters during August.
Like the first recall, owners will see all work conducted free of charge, and when the recalls are complete, all vehicles will have a new wax fuse resistor, a new blower motor and a new moulding at the base of the windscreen to address water ingress problems.
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VAUXHALL ZAFIRA B PREVENTATIVE ACTION ANNOUNCED
Luton- Vauxhall today announces that owners of Vauxhall Zafira B models will be invited to bring their vehicles back to Vauxhall dealerships so that a preventative action can be carried out to protect the vehicles from the risk of fire.
In December last year we wrote to all 234,938 Vauxhall Zafira B owners to make them aware of an issue which could affect their vehicle.
Our investigations had found evidence of improper repair of the blower motor resistor and its thermal fuse, which is designed to protect the blower motor system.
These improper repairs, which may have been conducted without the owners’ knowledge, can lead to overheating of the system’s electrical components and the potential for a fire. Resistors should never be repaired, they should only be replaced.
Since then we have been conducting a recall programme designed to return vehicles to their original condition.
This has involved replacing the resistor in every vehicle we have inspected and the blower motor and the pollen filter in many thousands of vehicles.
All of this has been free of charge to the customer.
At the time of the recall we said we would consider additional actions we might take and we have been in constant contact with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).
On May 9th we presented a status update to DVSA and agreed the additional action we are announcing today.
While the current action achieves the objective of returning vehicles to their original condition, after extensive investigations we have decided to go further and improve the overall robustness of the system.
We will therefore be initiating a second recall to replace the current soldered fuse resistor with a wax fuse resistor so reducing the opportunity for manipulation. When the recalls are complete, all vehicles will have a new wax fuse resistor, a new blower motor and a new moulding at the base of the windscreen to address water ingress.
Again, this work will be conducted free of charge.
We will soon be writing to all customers to inform them of the second recall action and provide appropriate advice.
Subsequently we will write to customers on a staggered basis to invite them in for the second recall. It is planned to commence sending these letters during the month of August.
Owners of vehicles which have not yet had the initial recall completed should still bring their vehicles to their dealership to have them returned to their original condition.[/showhide]
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