London - Vauxhall has ordered a humiliating second recall of thousands of its cars after a group of mothers campaigned on Facebook.
The women set up a pressure group after their Vauxhall (Opel) Zafira MPVs set on fire, and discovered hundreds more had experienced the same problem.
Vauxhall now faces a £50 million (R1.1bn) bill and questions from MPs over allegations of a cover-up.
The manufacturer recalled all 234 938 Zafira B cars in December after reports of 200 fires, which it insisted were caused by ‘improper’ repairs. But it has now announced another recall after it was handed evidence by the mothers claiming the fires were actually triggered by a design fault with a motor in the heating system that makes it rust.
The mothers had brought in electrical engineers to investigate because cars which had not had repairs, and ones which had been recalled, were still catching fire.
Sue Freemantle, 37, a mother of five who started the group, said: “Our lives have been put in danger. Vauxhall has been desperately trying to cover it up.
Vauxhall Zafira fires 'becoming more common', warn UK firefighters.
— Firehammer (@fire_hammer) January 29, 2016
It’s disgusting.” Jacqueline Young, of law firm Slater and Gordon which represents Zafira owners, said: “At best, Vauxhall has been woefully incompetent. At worst, they have sought to conceal a potentially life-endangering technical fault.’” Mrs Freemantle’s car burst into flames outside her home in Ivybridge, Devon, with three of her children inside. Luckily nobody was hurt. The healthcare assistant set up the group last year with Claire Wheatley, 36, and Jade Hellewell, 26. They were joined by Jo Hunt and her husband Dan, one of the electrical engineers. The group now has 14 500 members.
Forensic engineers
Among the owners whose cars set on fire after being cleared in the first recall were Craig Hemmings, 32, and wife Sallie Ann, 29, from Peterborough. Terrifying footage showed their car engulfed in flames.
The mothers’ claim about the design flaw was backed up by an independent report by forensic engineers, commissioned by The Sun.
The campaign group says there have been more than 300 fires, at least 15 of which were in cars that had been recalled. The London Fire Brigade has attended 120 Zafira fires since 2013, including 14 this year. Tory MP Huw Merriman said he will bring Vauxhall bosses before MPs to be quizzed about the “alarming” situation.
Vauxhall will invite owners in for the recall in August and said they should not use the heating or fan. It said it has decided to improve the “robustness of the system” after “extensive investigations”.
The Vauxhall Zafira is a rebadged version of the Opel Zafira, which was also sold in South Africa. At this stage it’s unknown whether any local cars are affected.
Daily Mail