OCU asks PSA to also compensate owners of diesel vehicles with AdBlue system in Spain

MADRID, 27 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) has asked the car manufacturer PSA to treat all European consumers equally and extend to Spain the agreement reached in Italy to compensate owners of diesel vehicles with a defective AdBlue system.

The Italian competition authority has reached an agreement with PSA over AdBlue, so that the manufacturer has agreed to compensate owners of diesel vehicles with a defective AdBlue system.

In May, the OCU filed a complaint with the General Directorate of Consumer Affairs to investigate the matter, but to date has received no response.

In recent years, the AdBlue system has become mandatory in diesel vehicles to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions and comply with Euro 6 regulations.

Diesel cars sold from 2018 onwards have a special tank that must be filled with AdBlue fluid every 10,000 or 15,000 kilometers. About 2,000 km before the tank is empty, the driver receives an alert. In this way, the on-board computer reports that the car cannot start if the AdBlue is not refilled in time.

Unfortunately, many consumers have found that their on-board computer repeatedly incorrectly warns them that the car needs to be repaired before it can be used. The suggested solution is to replace the AdBlue tank, a repair that can cost up to 1,200 euros, at the expense of the owner. Another drawback is that spare parts are usually not available and delivery times are very imprecise. In this way, consumers risk being left without a vehicle for weeks.

Last May, OCU launched a campaign to inform and defend those affected to which more than 3,500 consumers responded.

At the beginning of October, the Italian competition authority reached an agreement with the PSA group, which agreed to pay compensation of up to 100% of the cost of replacement parts for the AdBlue system, depending on age and mileage. vehicle. But the same does not happen in Spain, where the manufacturer denies any defect in its conversations with OCU through Euroconsumers.

Therefore, OCU considers this discrimination to be "unacceptable." The problem is the same for a significant proportion of the PSA group's diesel vehicles, according to the organization, which believes that owners harmed by its AdBlue system should be able to receive the same compensation, whether Spanish or Italian.

OCU and the rest of the organizations of the Euroconsumers group have demanded that the PSA group extend this agreement to Spanish, Belgian and Portuguese consumers.