Owners of faulty Peugeot, Citroën and Opel cars can now make claims
Drivers can make claims on Stellantis website
It is one of numerous setbacks the car manufacturer has faced in recent years
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Car manufacturer group Stellantis has opened compensation claims for drivers who have had to repair faulty engines. The move is being seen as a bid to win back the trust of motorists.
The group has been embroiled in an extensive scandal after an issue was discovered with the timing belts in several vehicles manufactured between 2012 and 2022.
Multiple models from Peugeot, Citroën, DS, and Opel cars manufactured in this time had such engines installed.
Compensation claims are now open for drivers in France and Spain, and are due to open up to the rest of Europe later this month.
The claims can be made via a section of the Stellantis website here. However, note that compensation only covers the cost of repair work carried out between June 1, 2022 and March 18, 2024 on faulty engines of affected models. It is not for all owners of vehicles with potentially faulty engines.
Which vehicles are eligible for compensation?
Engines of vehicles affected by the problem include:
- PureTech 1.0 litre engines produced between June 2012 and June 2022
- PureTech naturally-aspirated 1.2 litre engines produced between June 2012 and June 2022
- Turbocharged versions of both of these produced between April 2014 and June 2022
Vehicles manufactured since June 2022 have had the issue resolved, Stellantis said.
Vehicles from all four brands listed above owned by the group may have had the above engines installed during this time.
You can check if your vehicle has one of the potentially-affected engines by consulting your car’s information manual.
Compensation is only available retroactively to those who had to pay to fix the issue, and is not being given in a pre-emptive manner.
To be eligible, owners must prove they paid out for repair works linked to excessive oil consumption and/or premature deterioration of the engine’s timing belt, which must comply with the manufacturer's maintenance plan.
The work must have been carried out by a professional, while diagnosis and repair must have been carried out by an approved network.
Stellantis said it aims to respond to all compensation claims within one and a half months, but will give priority to collective actions.
Vehicle owners who have not had to fix a faulty engine may be covered by an extended warranty, launched in March 2024.
It covers some of the affected PureTech engines for ten years (or 175,000 kilometres).
The group has also introduced a Check+ certificate for older models from the four brands.
Cars with the certificate have undergone the recommended repairs and maintenance work, with 100 check points looked over, including the timing belt.
It applies to used vehicles sold through Spoticar or an approved dealership network.
Not the first compensation issue for Stellantis
This is not the only setback the group has recently suffered.
Prior to Christmas, it promised compensation to drivers whose vehicles were affected by faulty AdBlue software in newer vehicles.
Read more: Drivers in France promised compensation over AdBlue software error
In October 2024, a recall of thousands of Stellantis vehicles across Europe was made due to an issue with steering columns.
Read more: Mass car recalls in France: which brands and models are impacted and why?
