Opel recall for missing warning

OPEL Australia has issued a recall notice affecting 3047 cars, due to the omission of a warning in the owner’s manual.

With Opel no longer trading in Australia after General Motors' German division pulled out of the country in 2013, Holden is managing the recall.

The cars affected are the 2012-13 Opel Astra, 2012-13 Opel Corsa, 2012-13 Opel Insignia mid-sizer and 2013 Opel Zafira people-mover.

Holden’s national manager of product communications Kate Lonsdale told GoAuto that the issue relates to the owner’s manual and the omission of a warning regarding the improper use of a child restraint anchor point.

“The vehicles are not being recalled - there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the cars themselves,” she said. “It’s a product safety recall because the manual doesn’t meet an ADR.”“There’s a part in manual – a reminder that only child restraints may be attached to the anchorage points and that is missing, so the manuals are being reprinted and sent to all affected owners.

“There is a government requirement that we need to state that child restraint anchorages are not to have any other weight put on them apart from the child restraint and we haven’t included that in the manual.”

Ms Lonsdale said owners don’t need to take their cars to dealers and that updated manuals would arrive in the mail.

“Updated owner’s manuals will be sent to the vehicle owners by registered mail and this will be free of charge and there will be no other further action required from the customers.”

Opel entered the Australian market in 2012 with the Corsa, Astra and Insignia but stopped trading less than 12 months later, citing slow sales and a competitive market.

GM’s Australian arm announced in May that it would add Opel-sourced cars to its line-up in 2015 wearing Holden badges, with the Astra VXR, Insignia VXR, Astra GTC and the Cascada convertible set to arrive mid-year.