Citroen unintended dual controls....
Discussion
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13446522
BBC said:
A BBC Watchdog investigation showed that although the brake pedal had been switched to the right, it remained connected to a mechanism on the left passenger side.
Citroen is recalling more than 20,000 of its Picasso C3 cars in the UK because of concerns the brakes can be activated from the passenger side.
The problem arises because of the way the car is made in France then modified for right hand drive for UK export.
A BBC Watchdog investigation found the brake could still be engaged through a cable under the passenger footwell.
Citroen said although that was a remote possibility, it is offering customers a free modification to the UK vehicles.
Urgent problem
The BBC TV consumer programme was alerted to the problem by a Kent-based commercial cleaning company, Town & Country Cleaners, which has three of the Citroen vehicles in its fleet.
The firm only discovered it when one of their drivers travelling at 70mph (112kmph) on a motorway found his car suddenly screeching to a halt.
The programme has since tested two more Picasso C3s on sale at dealerships in south east England - both of which have the same flaw. The model has been on sale in the UK for the last two years.
Motor engineer expert Mark Brown, who examined the cars, found that the braking mechanism underneath the passenger floor was easy to press - as it was only covered with a thin piece of felt.
"It's potentially very dangerous indeed because the passenger wouldn't know he's the one activating the brake. The driver wouldn't know what's going on, and the people behind wouldn't know what's going on.
"I think Citroen should take a good close look at this and seriously consider recalling the vehicles, and fitting some sort of structural permanent cover to protect the breaking mechanism."
Tim Shallcross, Head of Technical Policy for the Institute of Advanced Motorists, added: "Citroen must investigate the problem as a matter of urgency. If the driver's control of the car can be compromised, they must take action to modify all cars, via a recall if necessary."
In a statement to Watchdog, Citroen said there had been no reports of the problem before the Watchdog programme, but because of a "remote possibility" it could happen, it announced a recall.
"The recall will require the fitment of an additional component to isolate the braking mechanism from the front seat passenger," the statement continued.
The company said the modification would be free at Citroen dealers.
"In the meantime, C3 Picasso owners should continue to use their cars as normal. Customers wanting further advice or information are asked to call the Citroën Contact Centre on 01753 475862, or to email cuk_contactcentre@citroen.com."
FFS BBC, it's BRAKING mechanism. (para. 10)Citroen is recalling more than 20,000 of its Picasso C3 cars in the UK because of concerns the brakes can be activated from the passenger side.
The problem arises because of the way the car is made in France then modified for right hand drive for UK export.
A BBC Watchdog investigation found the brake could still be engaged through a cable under the passenger footwell.
Citroen said although that was a remote possibility, it is offering customers a free modification to the UK vehicles.
Urgent problem
The BBC TV consumer programme was alerted to the problem by a Kent-based commercial cleaning company, Town & Country Cleaners, which has three of the Citroen vehicles in its fleet.
The firm only discovered it when one of their drivers travelling at 70mph (112kmph) on a motorway found his car suddenly screeching to a halt.
The programme has since tested two more Picasso C3s on sale at dealerships in south east England - both of which have the same flaw. The model has been on sale in the UK for the last two years.
Motor engineer expert Mark Brown, who examined the cars, found that the braking mechanism underneath the passenger floor was easy to press - as it was only covered with a thin piece of felt.
"It's potentially very dangerous indeed because the passenger wouldn't know he's the one activating the brake. The driver wouldn't know what's going on, and the people behind wouldn't know what's going on.
"I think Citroen should take a good close look at this and seriously consider recalling the vehicles, and fitting some sort of structural permanent cover to protect the breaking mechanism."
Tim Shallcross, Head of Technical Policy for the Institute of Advanced Motorists, added: "Citroen must investigate the problem as a matter of urgency. If the driver's control of the car can be compromised, they must take action to modify all cars, via a recall if necessary."
In a statement to Watchdog, Citroen said there had been no reports of the problem before the Watchdog programme, but because of a "remote possibility" it could happen, it announced a recall.
"The recall will require the fitment of an additional component to isolate the braking mechanism from the front seat passenger," the statement continued.
The company said the modification would be free at Citroen dealers.
"In the meantime, C3 Picasso owners should continue to use their cars as normal. Customers wanting further advice or information are asked to call the Citroën Contact Centre on 01753 475862, or to email cuk_contactcentre@citroen.com."
Initial reaction is FFS it’s not like it’s the accelerator, but then a little more thought and imagine what could happen on a damp road if you were to suddenly stamp on the brake mid corner. Now I am sure that all us driving gods [sic] would be able collect the ensuing mess together and look like stunt heroes who Russ Swift bows before but Mrs Miggins with her mate in the front and 3 brats in the back? I think not.
Sounds like a good reason for a recall on the face of it.
Sounds like a good reason for a recall on the face of it.
BBC said:
The firm only discovered it when one of their drivers travelling at 70mph (112kmph) on a motorway found his car suddenly screeching to a halt.
Yet in the Watchdog interview the driver said the speed dropped to around 50mph. Hardly what I'd call "screeching to a halt". Interestingly this now seems to have been removed from the BBC clip entirely.Personally, I can't abide Watchdog for its lazy, over sensationalised "journalism". That the clip had to point out which pedal was which gives us a clue as to their target audience.
Ok, granted this is a bit of an oversight from the manufacturer, but given that it wasn't picked up during vehicle testing and apparently affects C3s produced over several years but has only just come to light, it must be a pretty unusual set of circumstances for it to occur accidentally. As a story, was it really worth BBC air time and scaremongering above and beyond any other vehicle recall story?
In the meantime Mr Cleaning Company guy, rather than rushing to Watchdog and feeling unsafe whilst using the vehicle as he claims, should just tell his passenger to keep his size 12s off the end of the footwell or stick one of these in.
It used to happen in RHD Volkswagen beetles made around 1963. I borrowed an immaculate one to run someone home from a party. I approached a bend, chandged down and double-declutched and the revs refused to drop. I let up the clutch and the back weehls let go. Little damage done.
When I returned the car I apologised to the owner and he said it was always doing that. My advice was to return it to a VW dealer and he did so. There was a 'modification' they could fit.
The problem was that a false floor had been fitted on the new passenger side and a cranked rod took the pressure from the new side to the mechanism. If a passenger pressed hard enough on the floor and the throttle was wide enough it could not return.
Not the sort of thing that should happen when you are expecting to get some reward for running a woman home from a party.
When I returned the car I apologised to the owner and he said it was always doing that. My advice was to return it to a VW dealer and he did so. There was a 'modification' they could fit.
The problem was that a false floor had been fitted on the new passenger side and a cranked rod took the pressure from the new side to the mechanism. If a passenger pressed hard enough on the floor and the throttle was wide enough it could not return.
Not the sort of thing that should happen when you are expecting to get some reward for running a woman home from a party.
gtdc said:
How are they saying it actually happens? The passenger gets their foot up in the footwell and hooks up a cable?
The original mechanism (minus the pedals) is only covered by felt and the carpet on the passenger side, so it's possible (just about) to get your foot onto part of the brake lever.Again, this explanation has been removed from the clip in preference to showing us what happens when a car brakes from 10mph
gtdc said:
So a nervous passenger could find themselves wondering if their wishes were coming true...
Makes me wonder if this isn't closer to what happened to the guy that wrote to Watchdog. He claims his passenger was stretching whilst he was doing "about" 70mph on the Motorway 
Without the lever effect from the pedal, that must have been one hell of a stretch to apply the brakes hard enough to bring the car "screeching to a halt" from 70mph.
jagnet said:
Yet in the Watchdog interview the driver said the speed dropped to around 50mph. Hardly what I'd call "screeching to a halt". Interestingly this now seems to have been removed from the BBC clip entirely.
Personally, I can't abide Watchdog for its lazy, over sensationalised "journalism". That the clip had to point out which pedal was which gives us a clue as to their target audience.
Personally, I can't abide Watchdog for its lazy, over sensationalised "journalism". That the clip had to point out which pedal was which gives us a clue as to their target audience.
Haven't watched it, but "screeched to a halt" is clearly b
ks. Without the pedal you're not going to get much in the way of leverage. 
My best mate at uni had a 106 that had once been fitted with dual controls. The pedals had been removed but you could still brake from the passenger seat if you could squeeze the tip of your shoe onto the linkages. I often used to make him do emergency stops when he was just trying to slow down a bit. Never got any less funny.
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