Vauxhall now admits that they were aware of the HVAC fires back in 2009.

Vauxhall first logged a case of a fire linked to the ventilation system in its Zafira minivans in 2009, several years before a number of incidents were widely publicized and prompted two recalls, the General Motors-owned UK brand said.

In October, pressure began to mount on the automaker after a Facebook group, which currently has more than 15,000 members, began highlighting the fires with pictures published in major UK newspapers and websites.

A month later, Vauxhall said it would recall around 235,000 of its right-hand drive minivans to inspect the heating and ventilation systems and ascertain the cause of fire-related incidents. Vauxhall said at the time that the potential risk affected Zafiras built between 2005 and 2014.

But on Tuesday, the firm's customer experience director told UK lawmakers on the transport select committee that the first related Zafira fire was noted seven and a half years previously and struggled to explain why it took so long to act.

"We have the first recorded case in a Zafira B that can be clearly attributed to the heating and ventilation fire that we are talking about here on the 11th of February 2009," Peter Hope said.

"We didn't know what we were dealing with," he said.

The firm also said a fire in a car which had been recalled and repaired helped contribute to a second recall which it announced in May.

Vauxhall blames improper repair of the blower motor resistor and its thermal fuse for causing the fires and said it would fit a new resistor, blower motor and molding.

The cost of the recalls is expected to cost 40 million euros ($44 million), according to Charles Klein, an engineering executive director with General Motors, who also appeared before the committee.

GM sells the Zafira through both its Vauxhall and Opel brands in various markets.

Automotive News Europe.

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Vauxhall launches the second recall to fix the issues, hopefully once and for all this time.

Vauxhall has announced that owners of Vauxhall Zafira B models will be invited to bring their vehicles back to Vauxhall dealerships so that a preventative action can be carried out to protect the vehicles from the risk of fire.

In December last year we wrote to all 234,938 Vauxhall Zafira B owners to make them aware of an issue which could affect their vehicle.

Our investigations had found evidence of improper repair of the blower motor resistor and its thermal fuse, which is designed to protect the blower motor system.

These improper repairs, which may have been conducted without the owners’ knowledge, can lead to overheating of the system’s electrical components and the potential for a fire. Resistors should never be repaired, they should only be replaced.

Since then we have been conducting a recall programme designed to return vehicles to their original condition.

This has involved replacing the resistor in every vehicle we have inspected and the blower motor and the pollen filter in many thousands of vehicles.

All of this has been free of charge to the customer.

At the time of the recall we said we would consider additional actions we might take and we have been in constant contact with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

On May 9^th we presented a status update to DVSA and agreed the additional action we are announcing today.

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.

Again, this work will be conducted free of charge.

We will soon be writing to all customers to inform them of the second recall action and provide appropriate advice.

Subsequently we will write to customers on a staggered basis to invite them in for the second recall.  It is planned to commence sending these letters during the month of August.

Owners of vehicles which have not yet had the initial recall completed should still bring their vehicles to their dealership to have them returned to their original condition.

The Driver Vehicle Standards Agency has found the cause of a number of fires in the vauxhall Zafira 'B'

The Driver Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has acknowledged that the root cause of a small number of fires in Zafira B vehicles is improper repair of the thermal fuse of the resistor in the heating and ventilation system, undertaken outside of Vauxhall’s authorised service and maintenance processes and schedule.

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Nevertheless, the Agency has requested that the inspection and rework programme, which is already underway, be reclassified as a safety recall. This has no impact on the action being taken by Vauxhall. The rework replaces the resistor pack and other faulty components and returns the heating and ventilation system to its original design condition.

“We recognise that owners may have vehicles which have been improperly repaired without their knowledge or before they bought the vehicle,” said Rory Harvey, Chairman of Vauxhall Motors. “Safety is our priority and we have been working tirelessly in the past weeks to find the root cause and contact owners to explain the situation and our actions.   The DVSA’s acknowledgement of the root cause is an important milestone but the important thing now is to ensure that all Zafira B owners bring their vehicles in for inspection and rework.”

All 234,938 Vauxhall Zafira B owners have been contacted by letter to inform them of the issue and explain how they can remain safe pending inspection. To date, Vauxhall dealers have inspected and repaired more than 45,000 vehicles. The goal is to have all vehicles inspected within a 10 to 12 week time span.

While owners wait to be asked to arrange an appointment, Vauxhall has written to them all with the following important advice:

If you are the first owner of your Zafira B and your heating and ventilation system is functioning well, and your car has never been subject to any repair in this area, there is no risk of a fire.

If you are not the first owner or you have had repairs in this area you should set your fan speed to zero (0) on the heating and ventilation system. If necessary you should use fan speed four (4) only for the time needed to demist the windscreen. Please continue to follow this advice until your vehicle has been inspected.

When owners bring their vehicles in to a retailer, Vauxhall technicians will inspect the heating and ventilation system on each vehicle and, as a precautionary measure, replace the resistor in every

vehicle. This is because it is not always possible to detect an improperly repaired resistor without extensive examination of the part. In addition, the retailer will also test the performance of the blower motor, inspect the wiring harness and the pollen filter to ensure they have no damage and are in good condition. As a matter of extra caution, we will also install additional water protection below the windscreen scuttle panel to minimise any opportunities for water ingress following improper refitting after removal.

All of this work is being carried out free of charge.