Opel widens car steering safety alert

Car maker Opel has widened its safety warning to Irish customers about steering problems with new Adam and Corsa models to include those registered since February.

About 43 vehicles in Ireland bought since May are already affected, but that number is now set to increase. Opel were unable to give an exact figure as to how many more Irish customers were affected. The car maker said it discovered the fault during routine testing at the vehicles’ production plant and, as far as it was aware, no accident or injury had been caused by the problem. Last month, Opel — owned by US auto giant General Motors — issued an alert throughout Europe concerning new Adam and Corsa cars.

According to the company, the issue is with a part used in the steering column that did not meet company standards. In a statement last night, the company said: “Following on-site investigations at a supplier, Opel is expanding its safety check for Corsa and Adam vehicles back to those registered since February 2014. This is in addition to the vehicles registered since May 2014 that have already been communicated.