Last May, Stellantis was forced to recall more than 600,000 vehicles, including Citroen C3 and DS 3 models, due to a problem related to Takata airbags. The notice stated that, due to a defect, the airbags may not deploy, putting the driver and any passengers at risk. For this reason, the automotive group has prohibited the owners of the affected cars from driving them. This is a very complicated situation that puts thousands of motorists in difficulty, as they are unable to use their cars for several months due to the lack of spare parts and courtesy cars.
Stellantis: legal action starts from France regarding the Takata airbag issue
According to L’Automobile Magazine, the Myleo platform, the same lawyers who dealt with the situation related to problems with PureTech engines, have undertaken a new legal action for the airbags as well. Takata, a Japanese company that went bankrupt a few years ago, has supplied parts to several car manufacturers in recent years. From 2000 onwards, both FCA (now Stellantis) and Toyota had encountered problems with airbags that, potentially, are now found in 8 million vehicles (obviously not all with this problem).
The legal action allows owners of vehicles involved in this recall to join at a cost of 339 euros. Currently, the legal action is open only to French consumers, but it may soon expand to other countries where the cars affected by the recall are present. The action aims at obtaining compensation for all the owners involved, although the process will be very long. Registrations will be open until September 8, 2024, and then the legal battle will continue, which could last several years. In the meantime, Stellantis has sent a letter to all owners of the affected C3 and DS 3 models and is trying to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.