Popular minicab vehicle recalled by Vauxhall over fire fears for the third time

UK car manufacturer Vauxhall have announced the recalling of 235,000 Zafira B people carrier models for a third time after identifying a new source of fires in the vehicle. The popular manufacturer of automobiles had previously claimed to have eliminated all risk of blazes in the MPVs after faults caused fire alerts in 2016.

But a more recent case of a car exploding after wiring overheated has forced bosses to order another recall. The latest issues with the Zafira could cost the firm a whopping £100million, the Sun reported.

The recall is of standard Zafira Bs made between 2005 and 2014, which early reports have suggested could total 235,000 individual vehicles.

CEO Stephen Norman conceded “huge regret” over the recall, but the UK manufacturer, which is owned by Peugeot, says it will replace a pin in the plug of the wiring that links the battery to the heating. It remains the subject of a criminal investigation over claims it knew about the fire risks but took no action.

Vauxhall were under the spotlight for faults found to cause fires in the same vehicles in 2015 and 2016, with one Zafira bursting into flames on the day its owner received a recall letter.

A second incident saw one of their vehicles burst into flames after it was already supposedly "fixed." caught fire after it was “fixed”.

The Sun newspapers started their own probe into the fires which led to Vauxhall appearing before the Transport Select Committee where it admitted being aware of fire risks as early as 2010.

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