Vauxhall has called on the Government to give manufacturers access to information held by insurance companies on vehicle fires. Vauxhall believes that having access to a database with such information would allow manufactures to quickly identify if any of their cars are susceptible to a fault that could set them on fire.
During 2015 and 2016, Vauxhall issued recalls of its second-generation Zafira MPV in the UK due to faults that led numerous examples to catch on fire. Also during last year, Vauxhall recalled over 2,000 examples of the previous-generation Corsa in Britain due to a faulty component which could potentially catch fire.
Representatives of Vauxhall were recently summoned to appear before the Transport Select Committee in regards recent recalls.
The manufacturer has asked for help with the matter and has advised that a database with vehicle fire reports could help it and other car makers. Vauxhall added that it believes that the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has already written to the Committee to say that it is in favour of the idea.
One drawback with making a potential database like this is it would probably not show how exactly a fire started. But Vauxhall says it would give a vital indication into the number of incidents, as well as how they relate to certain models.
In regards fire incidents involving the Zafira, Vauxhall points out that information about the fires were reported to the car maker several years after they took place, which they said made the issue harder to address.
Vauxhall also revealed to the Transport Select Committee that 166,000 UK-based Zafiras have been fixed to address the potentially fiery fault they carry. However, it also says a further 55,000 cars have yet to be sorted, despite sending up to seven letters to their owners.
