Vauxhall Zafira 2nd FIRE recall of 235,000 cars after SUN investigation

The Vauxhall Zafira B is subject to a second recall over fire risks after an investigation by the Sun newspaper found previously fixed car fires.

Last year, Vauxhall recalled the Zafira B – 235,000 of them – ostensibly because repairs by non-Vauxhall garages to the car’s HVAC system had left them susceptible to catching fire, and hundreds did.

On the face of it, it was a highly responsible move from Vauxhall to solve a potential problem with the Zafira that wasn’t of their making. But things are now not so clear.

Vauxhall has now issued a second recall for the Zafiras affected, and this time Vauxhall will replace the original blower motor resistor and its thermal fuse with a wax fuse that can’t be mended or fiddled with. Which seems very sensible.

But dig a bit deeper, and Vauxhall say that all Zafiras will now have a new wax fuse resistor, new blower motor and a new moulding at the base of the windscreen to address water ingress. But why would they address water ingress and replace the blower motors if the problem was just the resistor?

It seems that’s because the Sun newspaper has done a proper investigation job on the Zafira fires, and hired experts to examine the Zafiras. It also discovered that Zafiras which had the original fix – and those which had never been worked on outside the Vauxhall dealer network – were still catching fire.

The Sun’s experts concluded that the Zafiras were letting water in to the blower motor causing the motor to rust, and the rust causes the motor to stick, pulling more current in order to work and creating the conditions for a fire.

Vauxhall refutes the Sun’s findings, but, as noted above, are replacing the blower motor and addressing water ingress. You draw your own conclusions.

Vauxhall say the recalls for the Zafira will start in August, and that the fire fix will be free of charge.