Vauxhall issues alert over Zafira fires

The Vauxhall Zafira B model is the only one affected

Carmaker Vauxhall is trying to contact hundreds of thousands of British drivers, over worries their Zafira models could catch fire.

More than 130 owners have reported overheating problems behind the glove-box area, some of which have resulted in fires.

Vauxhall is investigating the problem, but has not yet issued a full recall.

The affected model is the Zafira B. It is thought that 280,000 of them are currently on the road in the UK.

The alarm was raised by three different women, who say their cars burst into flames.

Among them was Sue Freemantle, from Devon, who had four children in her Zafira when a fire began behind the dashboard.

Claire Wheatley also from Devon, had to evacuate her car along with her husband when a similar incident occurred.

They and others have posted pictures of the fires on Facebook.

Air conditioning

Vauxhall has already examined 20 such cars which have been burned out, and has summoned engineers from Germany to investigate.

In a statement, it said it thought the heating and ventilation system was to blame.

It said previous repairs may have been carried out improperly, or in some cases, non-genuine parts may have caused the fires.

Affected models have manual air conditioning

The affected models have manual air-conditioning, as pictured above.

Owners who have electronic climate control have not reported any problems.

The cars, all right-hand drive, were built between 2005 and 2014.

Anyone who has concerns about their vehicle is being asked to contact their dealer.