About 20,000 right-hand-drive Citroen C3 Picassos have to be recalled due to a design fault in the conversion of left- to right-hand drive. A section of the braking system runs under the passenger's foot area, covered only by a piece of felt. This leads to the possibility of the passenger activating the brakes accidentally by stepping on it.
BBC's motoring engineer in charge of the examination, Mark Brown, drew attention to the problem, as people in the car "wouldn't know what's going on." Tim Shallcross of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, urged the investigation of the problem, adding: "If the driver's control of the car can be compromised, they must take action to modify all cars, via a recall if necessary."
The free-of-charge repair of the affected cars will include a fit-in of a brake isolator.
Gábor Vajda - 23 May 2011