Wivenhoe mum still without car 3 months on from 'massively stressful' Citroën recall
A MUM says her car is now only worth £135 after motorists were told to stop driving their cars over a potentially dangerous airbag fault.
Three months ago Michelle Horne, 39, of Wivenhoe, received an immediate stop-drive action call for her Citroën DS 3.
Miss Horne says it has left her unable to get to work in her role as a learning support assistant.
She says she has not been offered a courtesy car or been able to ascertain when the fault will be fixed.
The motoring giant is recalling second generation Citroën C3s and first-generation DS 3 vehicles manufactured between 2009 and 2019 which are equipped with Takata airbags.
Problem - the Citroen DS 3 (Image: Public) Miss Horne said: “I didn’t understand it at first, it’s quite shocking, I kind of ignored it, then I got another letter so I thought I should sort it out.
“Every time I call the helpline number they hang up on me when I ask them about a courtesy car.
“I have no way to get to work now, I have been left without a car and no idea when it will get fixed.
“I have also looked at selling my car, and it's currently being valued is £135 because of the faulty airbags.
“I can’t take my son away, I have no idea what I can do.”
Fed up - Michelle Horne and her car (Image: Public)
Miss Horne has resorted to using buses but says the situation is “not ideal” when carrying her weekly food shop.
She’s also missed out on helping her dad during the school holidays because she doesn’t have a car.
Miss Horne was booked to take her car into the Citroën garage on August 19 to fix the car.
But she claims it was cancelled because “there are no parts in the UK”.
She said: “I spoke to Citroën garage, and asked is it still going ahead, they say they don’t have the parts.
“No one seems to know, I don’t know when my car will be fixed.
“It’s been massively stressful, I don’t know if I am coming or going, if I can drive my car or can’t.
“I’m on a waiting list for a courtesy car; it should be a priority.
“It’s dangerous, I don’t want to be driving it with my son in the car.
“Someone needs to get involved, someone needs to be done, it can’t just be left.”
A spokesperson for Citroën said: "The replacement of airbags made by the supplier Takata affects many vehicles manufacturers including ourselves.
"Vehicles of ours included in this new stop-drive action in the UK, were already part of an ongoing comprehensive recall campaign that started over one year ago, first in Southern Europe and then expanded northwards.
"The company’s focus remains on completing the replacement of airbags in affected vehicles as swiftly as possible.
"Our Citroën network is fully engaged in maximising the number of cars that can be completed every day and, to increase our repair capacity even further and minimise as much as possible the impact on customers, our Peugeot network is now authorised to replace airbags on these cars in addition to at home options.
"It is inevitable, with such a large number of vehicles affected, that customers could be inconvenienced in the short term.
"However, we are deploying a variety of options to support mobility, recognising that every driver will have individual requirements, and that priority needs to be given to customers with the most urgent needs.
"With regard to Michelle Horne, we are sorry for the experience received and we will be in contact directly to assist further.
"Customers should check if their vehicle is affected and what actions are advised by using the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) check tool on the Citroën UK website citroen.co.uk/maintain/safety-recall-check.html.
"If impacted, they should register their vehicle to enable the processing of their repair as soon as possible.
"Owners can contact our Recall Helpline on 0800 917 9285, Citroën Customer Care on 0800 093 9393 or via our website here: citroen.my-customerportal.com/citroen/s/case-webform?language=en_GB#1."