Opel Australia recall: Every Astra, Corsa, Insignia and Zafira sold in Australia affected

Every Opel model sold so far in Australia has been issued with a recall notice over a problem with the owners’ manuals issued by the German arm of General Motors.

The recall notice â€" published on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s recalls.gov.au website â€" states that Opel Astra, Opel Corsa, Opel Insignia and Opel Zafira models sold in Australia were handed over to customers and dealers with instruction manuals that didn’t contain “some specific information required for Australia, such as Child Restraint Loading precautions”.

According to the site, the “absence of requisite warnings in relation the Child Restraint Anchor in the owner’s manual may lead to incorrect loading of the Child Restraint Anchor by the consumer”.

The recall affects 2068 Astra models, 369 Corsa models, 610 Insignia models and 66 Zafira models imported by Opel Australia. According to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries sales registrations data report VFACTS, that means every single Opel model sold in Australia so far is affected, including a few hundred not yet sold.

VFACTS indicates that 1910 Astras, 356 Corsas, 501 Insignias and 37 Zafiras have been sold in Australia since the brand launched in 2012 and subsequently shut its doors in 2013 before handing over remaining stock to Holden dealerships. The Zafira people-mover was never officially launched on sale.

General Motors Holden is acting on behalf of Opel in this case, and, according to the notice, will “send a corrected owner’s handbook to all affected customers by registered mail”.

The recall is the latest in a spate of issues surrounding General Motors vehicles in 2014, with more than 20 million cars recalled in the US by GM so far this year, not to mention numerous recalls issued for Holden vehicles manufactured in Australia.