Vauxhall has released a statement following an investigation by TV programme Watchdog in to an outbreak of fires in Corsa ‘D’ models. 

Broadcast last night (Wednesday 2nd November), the show featured a section referencing seven fires in the previous generation Vauxhall Corsa D models. Vauxhall responded after customer cases were highlighted by Watchdog and also provides advice on how to check if your Corsa D could be subject to a Safety Recall.

The Corsa D is one of the brand’s most popular models, with over 700,000 sold in the UK between 2006 and 2014. Earlier in the year Vauxhall had identified a potential fire related issue with specific Corsa D variants equipped with the 1.4 Turbo petrol engine. Nine cases had previously been reported which were investigated. Two of these cases had resulted in a fire, resulting in a Safety Recall to address this issue, initiated in April 2016 for the 2,767 vehicles affected.

Three of the customer cases on the TV show relates to the 1.4 Turbo engined Corsa D models, already subject to an ongoing Safety Recall due to the potential for a short circuit to occur in the Vacuum Pump Relay box from water ingress.

Of the three cases identified by Watchdog, one was inspected by Vauxhall and the cause of fire confirmed as a short circuit in the Vacuum Pump Relay Box. The other two Watchdog 1.4 Turbo cases were not inspected. Attempts were made to seek an inspection in one case, and in the other Vauxhall says it was only made aware of the fire eight months after it occurred.

The remaining four Watchdog cases relate to other Corsa D engine derivatives. While none of these vehicles has yet been inspected to determine the cause of fire, Vauxhall says attempts are being made to arrange inspections in two of the cases and in the other two they have been closed after failure to reach the customer. There are no Safety Recalls related to fire for Corsa D derivatives other than that for the 1.4 Turbo.

The Watchdog investigation comes after previous reports of other Vauxhall cars catching fire surfaced in 2015 and 2016.

Vauxhall says customer safety is of the utmost importance and it takes any report of fire very seriously. Customers with concerns relating to the issues raised by Watchdog are advised to click here.