Toyota and Mercedes must also immobilize vehicles in France, according to the Ministry of Transport – Liberation
Thousands of vehicles are preparing again to be immobilized in France. Toyota and Mercedes car manufacturers will have to recall many cars to change their defective airbags, the Ministry of Transport said on Thursday, April 10.
As Citroën has already done and Volkswagen, Toyota and Mercedes will notably have to identify and recall « shortly » Twenty models sold between 2001 and 2018, in Not recommending that their owner to roll as long as the repair has not been made. Popular Toyota Yaris (produced between 2001 and 2017) and Corolla (2001-2010) are particularly concerned, as well as the Mercedes Class A II produced between 2004 and 2016 and class C II and III (2004-2016). Airbags of 2.3 million vehicles still remain to be replaced in mainland France, the ministry said in a press release.
A spokesperson for Toyota confirmed the upcoming launch of a recall campaign in mainland France after the one launched overseas. The owners concerned must consult the identification number of their vehicle on their gray card and check on the manufacturers’ website. The situation of vehicles of the Chevrolet brand, rarer on French roads, is also « Under specific surveillance following reports »said the ministry in a press release.
The Japanese manufacturer’s airbag scandal has been shaking the automotive sector since 2014: because of a badly aging gas, this safety equipment is likely to explode by projecting parts of the drivers. In France, 29 accidents related to these airbags have been identified, causing 11 overseas deaths and one in mainland France, according to the Ministry of Transport.
The Ministry of Transport now obliges car manufacturers to intensify the search for vehicles still equipped with dangerous airbags, under penalty of heavy financial sanctions, going up to one million euros per day of delay, according to a decree transmitted to dealers on April 7 and consulted by AFP.
Manufacturers must in particular « Send a new letter to all the owners of the vehicle concerned, asking them to stop driving their vehicle and to change their airbag »and set up « A centralized information system for monitoring the vehicles concerned » Until effective airbag replacement.
The Chancellery also requested Thursday, April 10, the regrouping of all the surveys carried out on the consequences of the failures of the Takata airbags to the specialized interregional jurisdiction (JRIRS) of Paris. « It seems appropriate to envisage, in the interest of a good administration of justice, a grouping with the Jirs de Paris of procedures related to the bet and the maintenance of the defective airbags of the Takata brand », writes the Ministry of Justice to Prosecutors in this note. The Chancellery stresses that this junction can intervene « Whether they are aggravated deception and deceptive commercial practices but also deliberate endangerment, involuntary injuries or manslaughter or any other related offenses ».
Update at 9:17 p.m. With the request of the Chancellery for the grouping of surveys.
