Citroen C3, Fiat Grande Panda, Opel Frontera 2025 recall: steering wire fire risk explained

Stellantis is recalling about 20,000 Citroen C3, C3 Aircross, Fiat Grande Panda and Opel Frontera in France after a power steering wiring harness was found routed between two screws, with a fire risk in the worst case.

Author: Yulia Ivanchik

00:34 09-08-2026

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About 20,000 Stellantis vehicles in France have been pulled into a service campaign over a part hidden behind the dashboard. On the Citroen C3, C3 Aircross, Fiat Grande Panda and Opel Frontera, the power steering wiring harness runs between two screws. Vibration can wear through the insulation, which can lead to a short circuit, loss of power steering assistance and, in the worst case, a fire inside the cabin.

For the owner, the first risk shows up before any fire: if the power assistance fails, the steering wheel does not lock, but the effort needed to turn it increases sharply. That can be especially unpleasant during a low-speed manoeuvre.

The campaign covers C3 units built between 21 February and 21 May 2025, C3 Aircross built between 24 February and 21 May 2025, Grande Panda built between 14 August 2024 and 14 April 2025, and Frontera built between 11 March and 21 May 2025. The campaigns carry the codes GW9, F60B and KV9.

Dealers are rerouting the harness and reinforcing its protection. The work is free and, according to French media, takes about an hour and a half. Owners can check their specific car by VIN.

There is a wider context, too: all four models share the related Stellantis Smart Car architecture. When a single component becomes common to several cars, a defect quickly stops being a single model's problem. These same models were previously recalled over a braking issue on right-hand-drive versions.

One more thing worth noting: the August coverage does not mean the fault was only just discovered. France's RappelConso database published official recall notices on this defect back on 27 March 2026. This is more a fresh round of owner notification than a suddenly-uncovered August risk.

Official campaign details: RappelConso listing SR/00905/26 (first published 27 March 2026, updated 15 July 2026), risks officially logged as injury and fire, recommended action for owners is to contact their brand's dealer.