Vauxhall suddenly bursts into flames on the same day the owner received a letter recalling it
Drivers' lives put at risk as Vauxhall Zafiras burst into flames while on the road
MOTORISTS are being forced to flee their cars bursting into flames as Vauxhall Zafiras continue to be plagued with problems threatening the lives of their passengers.
The car company has already issued two recalls of the vehicle after it emerged the cars were catching on fire, often while the passengers were still inside.
The fire took hold of the Vauxhall Zafira in barely five minutes
One Vauxhall Zafira owner received a letter his car was being recalled just this week– the same day as it burst into flames.
Damian Fisher, 43, was driving in Bromley, south-east London, when he noticed smoke coming from an air vent next to the dashboard earlier this week.
But as he began inspecting the vehicle, the fire took hold, quickly consuming the entire car.
“It literally took five minutes from start to finish," Mr Fisher said.
“I went into hysterics. The fire brigade turned up and said I was in shock so they got me some oxygen.
“To make matters worse when I got home there was a letter on my doorstep from Vauxhall recalling the car because it might catch fire.”
But Mr Fisher is just one of thousands of Vauxhall Zafira owners left devastated by their vehicle spontaneously catching on fire.
The car company has already issued two recalls of the car after the issues surfaced, facing a bill of £50 million.
It has also faced accusations of a cover up by furious customers, who have said the company tried to play down the issue to save cash and protect its reputation.
The company first had to recall 235,000 Zafira B models last December after 200 fires, warning motorists that the cars needed to be returned to their original by replacing heater resistors – as well as blower motors and pollen filters when required.
But they were forced to re-investigate after a four-month study and a Sun investigation found the repaired vehicles were still bursting into flames.
More than 234,000 Zafira B cars were part of the second recall in May.
The study authored by top forensic engineers CBB commissioned by The Sun, said the company's claim that the fuse was the problem was wrong.
Instead, it found a design fault meant the blower motor in the heating system rusted prematurely and as began to stick, pulled more current to create the conditions for a fire.
The research, led by Phil Hoyes, who conducts probes for insurance giants, the police and the NHS, was disputed by Vauzhall and the DVSA.
But despite the recall, motorists are still being caught by the damaging fires.
Sharing the photos of the burnt out shell of his car, Mr Fisher wrote on Facebook: “This was my car 3 minutes after I noticed smoke coming from the dashboard.
“If you have a Vauxhall Zafira, don't wait for the recall notice, contact your local dealer now so this doesn't happen to you.
“Luckily I had just started my journey, if I'd been travelling at speed with nowhere to stop, God knows what could have happened.”
Mr Fisher, a driver manager at rail firm Southeastern, said he was lucky that his dogs and three-year-old granddaughter, who often travel in the car with him, were not there at the time.
RELATED STORIES
He urged other people to share the message to ensure other Vauxhall Zafira drivers were not caught out by the problem.
Mr Fisher has since slammed the customer service of Vauxhall, taking to Twitter to criticise his experience with them.
He wrote: “Won't even provide courtesy car while this being sorted. Appalling customer care”.
The Sun has previously revealed the shock families have experienced when their vehicle caught fire with mum Maz Rayner having to haul her baby and toddler out of their seats as flames consumed their family car.
Husband Terry, 33, of Cromer, Norfolk said at the time: "This kind of deceit makes me feel furious.
"I contacted Vauxhall and was told me fire was a one-off.
"I would never buy a Vauxhall again. They put my family at risk."
Described by the car maker as "preventative action", the latest recall will involve "improving the overall robustness of the system" as opposed to simply replacing the resistor and its fuse, which the firm started doing last year.
Figures released last month by London Fire Brigade (LFB) show it has attended 120 Zafira fires since 2013, including 14 this year.
Announcing the latest recall in May, a Vauxhall spokesman said: "While the current action achieves the objective of returning vehicles to their original condition, after extensive investigations we have decided to go further and improve the overall robustness of the system.
"We will therefore be initiating a second recall to replace the current soldered fuse resistor with a wax fuse resistor so reducing the opportunity for manipulation.
"When the recalls are complete, all vehicles will have a new wax fuse resistor, a new blower motor and a new moulding at the base of the windscreen to address water ingress."