Some 45,000 Dutch cars affected by Citroën's worldwide recall over faulty airbags

Over 45,000 Dutch Citroën owners have to return their cars to the garage due to a fault in the airbag, ANP reported based on information from parent company Stellantis. Citroën recalled certain versions of the C3 and DS3, made between 2009 and 2019, due to the airbag issue. The problem is in the inflator of the airbags, made by the Japanese manufacturer Takata.

The chemicals in the inflator have turned out to deteriorate over time, causing the airbags to inflate with too much force. “In the worst case, this can result in serious injury or death,” a Stellantis spokesperson told the news wire. The recall has been going on for some time.

The chemicals are particularly affected by warm and humid conditions, so the recall started in countries with warm and humid climates. It has now reached the Netherlands. Many different car brands used the Takata airbags for many years and several problems have come to light in that time, NOS .

There were reports of airbags spontaneously exploding. There were also airbags that tore due to a production error, causing metal particles to be blown through the car. At least 16 people died and 184 got hurt due to that fault.

The Japanese company went bankrupt in 2017 after the largest recall in history, involving 69 million cars in the United States. A lawsuit revealed that Takata’s management knew about the issues with the airbags and deliberately kept them quiet..