The Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) in Germany officially monitors a recall for around 75,000 older Opel diesel vehicles. There may be 400,000 cars worldwide affected in total.
Since last summer, the manufacturer had voluntarily offered owners a free update of the software to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. Now the recall is being monitored by a German authority. It concerns diesel variants of the 2013 – 2018 Astra, Corsa and Insignia models, which were equipped with 1.3- and 1.6-litre Euro 6 diesel engines. Around 400,000 cars with this engine were sold worldwide.
By December 2021, 19,000 of the approximately 75,000 vehicles in Germany had received the update, a company spokesperson confirmed to the autoservicepraxis.de website. Opel had always insisted that the exhaust gas treatment of its diesel models complied with the legal requirements and, in particular, that no illegal defeat devices had been installed.
The company is also taking action against the now obligatory nature of the recall. However, after an investigation by the Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office in a parallel case, the company had accepted a fine of 65 million euros, as autoservicepraxis.de notes.
The development of the engines in question dates back to the time of the former owner General Motors, which sold Opel to the then Peugeot parent PSA Group in August 2017. This has since been merged into the Stellantis Group.
Other current Opel recalls
Last week, Opel announced a recall for older Insignia models. We wrote about it in advance at the beginning of February in an article Opel recalls over half a million older Insignias for tie rods corrosion.
This week, Opel is recalling nearly 19,000 2010-2018 Astra, Cascada, Meriva and Zafira vehicles via Rapex due to airbag problems. In addition, a trailer hitch coupling may rupture with 117 Opel Grandland SUVs produced in July 2021 – see table below.
| Make, Model (years) | Problem |
|---|---|
| Opel Astra (2010 – 2018) | A defect in the gas generator of the driver airbag can lead to uncontrolled inflation and the release of metal fragments. |
| Opel Cascada (2013 – 2018) | A defect in the gas generator of the driver airbag can lead to uncontrolled inflation and the release of metal fragments. |
| Opel Grandland (2021) | Due to missing components of the trailer hitch, the coupling may break. |
| Opel Meriva (2010 – 2017) | A defect in the gas generator of the driver airbag can lead to uncontrolled inflation and the release of metal fragments. |
| Opel Zafira (2010 – 2018) | A defect in the gas generator of the driver airbag can lead to uncontrolled inflation and the release of metal fragments. |
Where now?
- 2021: Detailed statistics of vehicle recalls in Europe
- Check recalls by VIN
- Weekly Recalls Overviews
Source: autoservicepraxis.de, autofahrerseite.eu, ec.europa.eu