Vauxhall Takes Action in Zafira B Fire Scandal, Promises Major Recall

Initially, Vauxhall released a statement that it had found that “the incidents have occurred due to previous repairs being performed improperly or using certain non-genuine parts.”

In other words, it wasn't their fault. However, the public outcry was so strong that Vauxhall offered to fix over 200,000 cars to get rid of the problem. The Driver Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) today has upgraded the inspection and rework program, which is already underway, to a full-on recall.

“We recognize that owners may have vehicles which have been improperly repaired without their knowledge or before they bought the vehicle,” said Rory Harvey, Chairman of Vauxhall Motors. “Safety is our priority and we have been working tirelessly in the past weeks to find the root cause and contact owners to explain the situation and our actions. The DVSA’s acknowledgement of the root cause is an important milestone but the important thing now is to ensure that all Zafira B owners bring their vehicles in for inspection and rework.”

Vauxhall says that its dealer network has already fixed about 45,000 of the 234,938 affected vehicles. The plan is to have all of them inspected within the next 10 to 12 weeks. The model affected is the Zafira B, built between 2005 and 2014. The cars are all right-hand drive and have manual or no A/C.

Below, we have all sorts of cool and relevant videos for you Zafira B owners. One is a statement from the company chairman, followed by footage of the parts, and even a video of the car in flames. That one might give you sleepless nights.

Among those affected by the fire is Lisa Taperek from Wiltshire. Just seconds after noticing white smoke and getting her 10-year-old son out, the whole vehicle burst into flames. “When I play it back in my mind and think ‘if I had run into a shop, or left him in the car, it makes me quite sick’. I am very lucky - he's very lucky,” she said.