Has your Peugeot caught fire whilst under warranty?

Hi, not sure if this will help much but this problem has been shown on Watchdog in the UK

The info below is taken from their website.

Chris.

Watchdog discovered that certain models of Peugeot 307s have a potentially serious fire risk, which some owners have been unaware of.

Several viewers have been driving their cars when they noticed smoke billowing from the bonnet and in some cases, it actually catching fire. The cause is that the ignition key becomes stiff and stays in the starter on position. This can cause the starter motor to overheat.

A recall campaign was launched by Peugeot in 2002. However, not all owners appear to have received the notification letter. For those that did, the letter made no mention of the potential fire risk. In fact, in an internal Peugeot document obtained by Watchdog, this recall was actually classed as a "non-safety" recall.

Peugeot regrets the events that have occurred and fully understands the concerns of customers. Peugeot confirms the existence of a recall campaign concerning the malfunctioning of the steering lock ignition switch on some

In the instance when the part did malfunction, drivers were alerted by warning signs such as the key not returning from the 'starter' position to the 'drive' position, an abnormal noise or an unusual smell. Therefore, as there were indicative signs of a problem occurring the failure was progressive.

Should any viewer be concerned then they can contact the dedicated Peugeot helpline on 0118 945 8484 or visit their nearest Peugeot dealer.

Chris,

Thanks for your message, yes I am aware of the ignition lock failing problem, my car has been subject to many recalls, BSI updates usually.

My car was never recalled for the ignition problem, however was manufactured at the end of September or very beginning of October (I did make a note in an old diary so I will check later), but then saying that the ignition key has not stuck in the start position, so I may be suffering from a different problem.

But in anycase, the original question remains, after a fire has taken place how has Peugeot dealt with the issue, ie under Warranty or has it been put into the Insurance companies hands.

I have many groups of people telling me Peugeot should cover it under warranty (including a competing Peugeot dealer), the only people saying the insurance should cover it is this cars Peugeot dealer, I guess Peugeot have told them what to say, I need to know how Peugeot have handled previous car fires, then I can move forward and either kick Peugeot into action or the insurance company based on this information.

It might be worth asking the insurance company to show you the relevant clause of the contract between you and them, the policy. I'd really like to know who they are to ensure that potential customers realise that if buying a new car they will not be fully insured by these clowns.

Name and shame.

Neil,

So sorry to hear about your problems. I hope that the following may help.

I cannot assist directly as I have a 206 which didn't catch fire, however, I have had vast experience with dealing with Peugeot UK, and the way they 'hide' behind the dealers. I would advise you to try the following:

Let me explain first with an example:

A cambelt breaks under warranty, this failure causes damage to the top end of the engine. There is usually no doubt that this would be covered under warranty - note also that the cost of this is fairly low.

Ok, look at your problem, something fails (wiring for example), this caused damage to the rest of the car (fire), probably now a write off

- but this time the cost is high.

SO these two examples are kind of the same, the only reason Peugeot are not repairing is 'cos of the cost.

What you need to do is be sneeky, find someone with a Pug, anything will do. You need to contact Peugeot with the 'pretend' case of cambelt failure and get in writing that the total cost of the repair is covered, - record the conversation if necessary (but inform them that you are doing so).

This letter/recording can then be used as evidence that in the case of a part failing and causing damage the whole cost would be covered.

Then contact WatchDog (they would love this), contact Auto Express also and go and see a solicitor who has experience of this type of case. It is worth spending £50 on a letter.

Martin

I spoke to them on Monday, and this time instead of getting through to what I term as a Monkey (someone given a repetitive job, with little or no training promoted DIRECTly to answering the phone LINEs and then asked to use their brain - a dangerious thing) I spoke to someone who did know what he was banging on about, further more he double checked what he said with his manager, so credit to that man, he has also been calling me regularly and helping out, so the company involved doesn't really deserve to be shamed apart from promoting their monkeys into jobs they can't handle.

Basically now the insurance people have clarified things:

They do not cover electrical or mechanical failures, however should such a failure cause a fire for example they will cover the cost of that fire damage repair but not the cost of replacing the failed part which caused it.

Which reads much better than what I was told the morning after 'We do not cover electrical or mechanical faults, including those which caused a fire' which as you might understand caused me a heck of a lot of stress.

Cheers all, Neil...

So I'm not the only person which says they hide behind their dealers, it is amazing isn't it, why are they so scared, why don't they proactively deal with issues.

Yep, you've hit the nail on the head!

Yep.

A solicitor has already been set into action, the dealer will be getting a call, then a faxed letter later today - its a shame it really has to come to this, it is their own doing.

I'm still hoping to find a 307 owner who's car burnt down and had their car replaced - I need to know who paid the bill, ie Peugeot or their Insurance. Based on that I can use that as reference for my situation.

Regards Neil....

An interesting link here - this guy had his replaced after 4 weeks of arguing

I did have a dig around car survey, its a pitty all the postings are anon. unlike here where you can contact people who have previously posted, all of them who I e-mailed for further information kindly replied.

Anyway, I may have received some very good news, but this has yet to be confirmed.

I might actually sleep tonight, it has been a stressful week!

Cheers All.

Hi, As an alternative way out I suggest that you write directly to Peugeot CEO (Mr Folz) in their headquarters in Paris (Avenue de la Grande Armée 75000 France); I experienced this when bargaining on the price of my new Peugeot: it works. Good luck! "Martin" a écrit dans le message de news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com...

Hello,

WOW, JM Folz answered personnaly to you ? I always thought that CEOs were hidden behind their secretaries... I don't know Mr Folz, I've heard he works a lot (and gives the good directions, according to sales figures, thanks), but I wouldn't mind he answers all mail he receives. The address of Peugeot France HQs is, indeed : Automobiles Peugeot, BP 01 16, 75761 Paris cedex 16, France Phone : +33 1 40 66 55 11 Fax : +33 1 40 66 54 14

Ok, it was almost good :-)

Regards, G.T snipped-for-privacy@worldonline.fr

I may well give him a call tomorrow, that would wind Peugeot UK up.

Actually I had a shock on Wednesday evening, the dealer called me to say things were starting to happen and that Peugeot was starting to become proactive at helping sort this incident out.

Today more detail has come through on what is on offer, and to give Peugeot credit, they are now dealing with this issue properely.

It would have been nice if they had been a bit nicer to me the day after the fire, it would have saved me having such a stressful weekend, but thankfully they have come round.

They may have saved loosing me as a customer, I've got to admit out of all the car dealers I've been to see over the weekend and this week, none of the cars I saw excited me.

Tomorrow I'll make my decision as to if I am going to stay a Peugeot person, or if I am going to move to one of the German makes.

Well done Peugeot, deal with all customers proactively and you may save yourself a lot of bad feeling.

Cheers all, will let you know what I do.

Neil...

I'm staying a Peugeot person after all, luckily this issue has come to a close, points to Peugeot they got it right in the end and were surprisingly helpful.

I was sad to see my old friendly 307 for the last time today, always a shame to see a fantastic bit of kit in such a sorry state after all the hard work looking after it and keeping it in a good state of repair.

Thank you all on these groups for your ideas, suggestions and help, much appreciated. Happy motoring.

Regards Neil....

Hello,

Glad to read that. So you called Peugeot France, and they decided to replace your car ?

You're welcome !

Regards, G.T snipped-for-privacy@worldonline.fr

Hi Neil

my dad got a Peugeot 3008 crossover new. around 6 month old it burst into f lames out side his home. fire brigade and insurance said it is an electrica l fault but they cant say what component was responsible. Peugeot told him and i quote " we sell hundreds of thousands of cars each week. of course th ey cant all be perfect" they refuse to acknowledge any responsibility. infa ct they have blocked him from all their Facebook pages due to him posting h is story along with a picture of the car. he has bought nothing but Peugeot since the 90s but know he wouldn't take one if it was free. we all except things go wrong. but the after care is shocking. i would advise anyone to a void them.

Hi,

This is my first time posting on a forum. I'm hoping to connect with the person that sent the last message on here from snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com.

My story is almost identical to your dad's. I would love to know what happened next. I didn't take things any further once being told the same from Peugeot. Any help would be great. Hope this reaches you

Thanks