Top ten cars recalled in last 20 years!

We have all heard about Toyota's recall of well over ‘a few million' cars last year and it has inspired me to write about the largest car recalls within the UK.

Between 1995 and 1997, 246, 803 new Ford Mondeo's were recalled to replace ‘chaffing' seatbelts and to enclose a protective cover to stop future wear.

In 1993, until 1997 Fiat recalled 248,486 Punto's due to 8 years of exposure to road salt which damaged the pipes and could have caused brake failure.  Each car recalled had pipes replaced and anti-corrosive treatments added.

Ford recalled 250,696 new Ford Escorts and Orions because their steering shaft failed. The problem was solved by fitting a tolerance ring to the steering column.

In 1998 and until 2002, the Peugeot 206 was recalled due to a serious brake pedal failure problem. Following as fewer accidents as possible, Peugeot recalled 4 years' worth of 206's to replace the brake pins affected.

The BMW 3 Series was largely affected by the lower steering shaft being easily affected by corrosion, leading to possible failure. During 1991 and 1998, 285,722 cars were recalled and all models were fitted with modified shafts.

Volkwagen recalled 286,228 MK2 Jetta and Golf models between 1983 and 1989 due to the heater exchange malfunctioning, if not replaced the exchanger could rupture resulting in boiling coolant leaking into the passenger and driver cabin. The cars were fixed by fitting a non-return valve.

From 2003 and until 2007, the Vauxhall Corsa, Combo and Tigra were all recalled due to moisture seeping into the ABS control box, which could have led to the cars bursting into flames. A massive 345,634 cars were recalled and fitted with a protective cover and wax sealing the earth ends.

The Corsa van, Combo and Tigra (all 586,554) cars were recalled due to the front seats coming lose, and by fitting new seat adjusters, the problem was easily corrected.

Between 1991 and 1995, The Vauxhall Astra, Cavalier, Omega and Corsa were all recalled due to static electricity building in the cars engines. If this sparked the results could have been potentially explosive however the problem was solved on the 601, 131 cars recalled by fitting a cap with extra earthing to prevent further issues.

Lastly, the largest recall so far happened in 1991 carried on right through to 1999, where 636,066 Vauxhall Astra's were recalled out of ‘customer care'. Brake fluid was found to be contaminated by water in the engine and so the British car manufacturers offered a free brake check, and changed the bonnet detailing in the process slightly in order to stop any future problems.