Vauxhall recalls self-combusting Corsas

Chavs

And imagine the fireball once the JD Sports knock-off nylon trackies of the chav typically driving the said Corsa catch fire! Keep them on the road, I say: it's natural selection afterall...

March car buyers OK?

As the owner of a 05-reg Corsa should I be worried by the ABS-explody issues or does it literally just affect 53, 54 and 55-regs? No word on Vauxhall's website yet, nor on the GM site.

Basically what I'm asking is, can I start pointing and laughing at the September-car-buyers yet?

What about 03, 04 and 05?

or do they only sell Corsas for half the year...?

French electrics

I thought only my beloved Citroen had inbred electrical gremlins...

At least Citroen electrics don't spontaneously combust....

(And no laughing about xantia doors dropping off while driving)

smokin!

Is this why most Corsa's seem to be fitted with chimney pot sized exhausts these days?

I presume the 5000 watt stereo systems are commonly fitted are used to try and extinguish the flames in the same way that Red Adair uses explosives to fight oil derrick blowouts.

how about...

It seems like a good time to release a Matchbox edition of the Corsa.

It could be in the hotwheels range of toys. :)

igmc

Anyone checked for alien landings?

Seems a tad unfair to blame the corsa when there's an obvious potential for combustion: Wowbagger the infinitely prolonged, on his quest to insult the universe alphabetically, was getting up to the Dents...

He probably torched the cars on takeoff or landing.

Obvious, really. Bit surprised Mr Haines didn't propose this angle.

(With apologies to Douglas Adams for this pathetic attempt at humour)

Re: Chavs

"And imagine the fireball once the JD Sports knock-off nylon trackies of the chav typically driving the said Corsa catch fire! Keep them on the road, I say: it's natural selection afterall..."

I don't think there's any need to worry on that score - the only time you'll see yer average spotty hood-rat in a new-ish car of any make is if they've just nicked it, and since the scrotes round here prefer to use trees/lampposts/other road users for braking purposes, the chances of an ABS-induced conflagration is, sadly, slim. In addition, old-skool Novas and Citroen Saxos(!) seem to be the proles-royce of choice in these parts.

As for the first poster, there's nothing wrong with the Corsa unless you count the fact that the 1.2 petrol-engined version is absolutely gutless (my driving instructor had one as a courtesy car after his 1.4CDTI got pranged - I could have farted my way to 60mph more quickly than the 1.2 could manage)

Hope it doesn't eventually include Astras too...

... as I've just been waiting a whole bloody month for a new engine from Vauxhall for my 54 reg Astra diesel, maybe they were all on strike.

Rob

Another recall

Crikey! This will be the third recall for our 54 plate Corsa in under 2 years of ownership and 7k miles. It's at the garage almost as much as out 307 was, except Vauxhall pick up the tab rather than us. Still, nice semi-auto gearbox for town driving, and it fits through smallish gaps. I bet sales of hatchback Astra's have plummeted since the new Corsa 'D' arrived - they're the same size!

@SImon, was the 1.4CDTI mis-badged, or an old one? Vauxhall these days do their own 1.7 100bhp, and a Fiat 1.3 (really 1248cc) with 90bhp. I think they used to use a 1.5 as well before GM's Italian affair.

Traffic...

It is an uncanny coincidence that my journey to work this morning didn't involve following a Corsa at 36mph down a perfectly straight derestricted road... Good work Vauxhall!

haha..

Corsas, pah! You'd never find any problems with a lovely French car like my Megane, absolutely reliable in every way...

..erm..

..why are all my lights flashing on and off, and the doors won't open?

Not just the ABS

I had a corsa as a hire car a few weeks ago and had an absolute nightmare with it. Heading down the M4 at 6am the rev counter, speedo, radio and, more worryingly, power steering failed. If this happened at 6PM and not 6AM it would have been a disaster. The ABS light stayed on for the entire journey and the short trip through the timed speed trap was interesting as the speedo read 140mph and then 10mph, and various degrees in between. Great job there Vauxhall.

As explained in Fight Club

"A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one"

General Motors (Vauxhall in the UK to distance their product from the plastic rubbish they sell in the US based markets) couldn't care less if a few of their customers get torched due to saving a few pence on cheap parts and careless assembly. This class of motor manufacturer are in the business of making money on the finance package, the car is purely the method of getting you to buy the finance. They gave up trying to make a profit on cars against the likes of Toyota and Honda a long time ago.

I suggest that you choose a motor manufacturer who is still building their reputation by over-engineering their product, not one who lost it decades ago and is in the process of going under.

Re: Hope it doesn't eventually include Astras too...

Corsas are made on the continent and shipped over here.

Astras are made in Ellesmere Port, NW England (amongst other places in Europe too, but most of ours are homebred).

I wouldn't worry - it's just continental crap that's going tits up. I have a right to say that after the amount of time and money I've spent on my 406. French cars... *shudders*

OOOOOOhhhhh non Apple vs. MS Fanboy opportunity!

I hate french cars, based on nothing. Never owned one, but I just hate them. Do you think this is because I like Apples and Steve Jobs is God................................................Damnit, I blew it!

Apples vs MS?

Don't be silly - this is nothing like it. Apple fanboys love apple, MS fanboys love MS.

Non-French car owners hate French cars. French car owners hate them even more...

Re: Apples vs MS?

The french just hate everyone, and everyone hates the french.

Vauxhall Corsa Fire

My 54’reg 3dr Corsa SXI CDTi 1.3 also mysteriously burst into flames on my drive Aug’06.

The car had been parked in gear and whilst on fire jumped forward spreading the fire to my home. My family & I, including a new born baby escaped the inferno at approx midnight when a neighbour managed to alert us, but the car was destroyed & the house so badly damaged we had to move out for a month.

Vaux had re-called my car but sent the letter to my old address & even then it was too late.

Fire & Police put the fire down to arson but I think its too much of a coincidence that so many others have had this problem.

Can there really be so many arsonists with grudges against Corsa’s?!?

Vaux investigated my situation but said my car was too badly damaged for them to be able to say what caused the fire. Isnt this a get-out?

At what point will Vaux agree there are too many Corsa’s catching fire for them all to have been started by anything other than this ABS wiring fault?

It seems Vauxhall want to brush off any claim that a fire was caused by the wiring fault. I mean... how exactly do you prove what started a fire with a completely burned out car? and at what point will Vauxhall agree that it was likely that it was the fault?

Maybe when 1000's of people have suffered the mysery me and my family have OR are they waiting until someone pays the ultimate price and it costs a life?

We were left scared to be in our home, without a car & for a while had to live in a different town whilst in rented accomodation provided by our home insurers. Even today, a year on.. we are still paying massively inflated insurance premiums as a result of the claim.