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Press Releases
Whistleblower reveals car giant's cover-up to Watchdog
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Car manufacturer Renault is tonight accused by one of its own staff of deliberately downplaying a serious design fault that causes the bonnet of some cars to open while they are on the road.
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In an interview for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One's Watchdog – to be broadcast at 7.30pm – the company's former PR manager Graeme Holt reveals he left Renault because of their handling of the issue.
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"I think it's been disgraceful quite frankly," he told the programme. "It doesn't get more serious than putting your customers' lives in danger."
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Watchdog first revealed the problem with the bonnet of the mark II version of the Renault Clio last April.
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Since then, the programme has heard of over 1,000 cases of bonnets suddenly opening while on the road – usually at high speeds, and often on busy motorways. Many cars have been written off, but so far there have been no fatalities.
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Renault has always denied this is a safety issue and blamed accidents on customers failing to properly close and maintain their bonnet.
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But Graeme Holt, who worked at the company for 12 years, says that's not true. He says Renault themselves quickly established that the cause of the problem is a part that can corrode over time.
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"I absolutely think this a design fault," he told Watchdog, "because it's only something that affects this particular car."
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Up to half a million Clio IIs – maufactured between 1998 and 2005 – are thought to be on the road.
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Earlier this month, following pressure from Watchdog, Renault began writing to owners of the affected model suggesting they visit a Renault dealer to check their bonnet catch was being maintained properly.
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But experts have told the programme that asking customers to take responsibility for maintaining a flawed part is wrong. And that Renault should be doing more to protect the public.
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This week, David Burrowes MP, Chair of the Government's Road Safety Group, tabled a motion in the House of Commons urging further action.
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Tonight's Watchdog also reveals that the Clio II is still on sale, rebranded as the Clio Campus. It has the same bonnet catch, and over time is likely to develop the same fault.
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Watchdog producer Michelle Heeley says: "Every week we hear of more accidents caused by this particular Clio bonnet. What Graeme Holt is telling us is very disturbing, and raises serious questions about the way Renault is dealing with this issue."
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Watchdog, Wednesday 28 March 2007, 7.30pm, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One
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EDA
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