Which Breakfast star's in our Meriva car?

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Watchdog met up with Lisa Butcher, who bought her Meriva second hand in 2008. Lisa told us:

"I've got four year old twins, and I wanted a nice family friendly car to take the kids out and about it and I wanted something that was reliable".

The Meriva comes with power steering - essential for parking and manoeuvring around town. Which is brilliant if it works, but terrifying if it doesn't, as Lisa explained:

"I was driving with my children in the back, and I was just approaching a roundabout and suddenly I couldn't steer the car. It just went really stiff. Luckily, I was going quite slowly so I managed to steer it around and force it into a parking space which I found almost impossible."

A problem with the electrics had caused Lisa's power steering to fail. It can happen at any time and without warning and it has left Lisa scared to drive her car. She said:

"It has to be a safety issue. Because you don't know it's going to happen, so how can you plan for that? If you're not expecting it there's going to be a delay, and that delay could kill you".

Near misses and uncertainty have also become part of Craig Sheeran's daily routine. He bought his Meriva brand new in 2006 but over the past 12 months the power steering has failed more than a hundred times. Craig told us:

"It makes me extremely nervous to drive the car. Even now, after 8 months of it happening continuously, it still shocks me when it goes. It upsets you a bit because it could happen anywhere".

Watchdog have heard of more than 100 cars manufactured between 2003 and 2008 that all suffer from the same problem. But Vauxhall have let these cars stay on the road. We wanted to find out what dangers their drivers face each time they get behind the wheel so we asked car expert Mark Brown to take Craig's Meriva on a test drive. Within minutes of him setting off the power steering had failed and Mark observed:

"The steering's gone really, really hard and it's almost impossible to turn the steering". During the hour long test drive, the power steering failed an incredible seven times.

We decided to see how Sian Williams found driving a Meriva when the fault occurs. Sian took a test at Thruxton race track with two Meriva owners, Juley Felton and Carole Leslie as spectators. As the fault is intermittent, our expert Mark Brown programmed it to happen on a Meriva. He just needed to flick the switch and the power steering would fail. As Sian started her first manoeuvre, she had no idea when the fault would occur, when it did she said:

"That was horrible, that was the power steering going and I tell you what, you notice it instantly".

Sian caught up with Juley and Carole to discuss how it feels driving the Merivas with the power steering fault when you don't know it's coming. Juley told us:

"I have a three year old in the back and I can be going along a dual carriageway, at, say, 50 miles an hour and come to a roundabout and suddenly it will just veer off and then I'm struggling with him in the back".

Safety issues like these are investigated by VOSA - the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency. The can force a manufacturer to recall any car with a safety defect - something that's likely to cause significant risk of injury. We asked them if they'd received any complaints about the power steering in Merivas. They told us they had, but said that as their tests had shown the car could still be driven when the steering failed, they saw no reason to take any action. We asked our expert Mark Brown what he thought:

"They're right, you can still drive the car, but the amount of effort you have to put in to steering the car, particularly if you are taken by surprise when the steering does fail, has to increase the risk of an accident. It could be very dangerous, potentially. Even as an experienced driver I found it took me by surprise. I found it lengthened the time and the distance you needed to steer the car. And in certain circumstances that could be quite serious".

VOSA's decision is surprising because it also sets the rules for MOTs, and when it comes to power steering, those rules are very clear. Mark Brown again:

"If the car is found to have defective steering or steering that malfunctions, then it could fail its MOT, which would mean it's unroadworthy".

If VOSA had decided this was a safety defect, it would have been up to Vauxhall - the manufacturer - to deal with it and issue a recall. Instead, VOSA suggested that it is the owner's responsibility to ensure their car is roadworthy. And they should seek the advice of a qualified mechanic should any component fail to function. We caught up with Meriva owner Craig Sheeran again who did just that. And even though his car was out of warranty, Vauxhall helped him pay for a new steering column. Craig told us:

"Which I thought was very generous of them and put my faith back in to Vauxhall, and then the very next day I pick up the car and it's gone again".

Vauxhall later told Craig the car needed further repairs - but they couldn't guarantee these would make the power steering problem go away. Can Vauxhall give that guarantee to any Meriva owners?

Vauxhall statement to Watchdog on Meriva steering:

Vauxhall takes any product issues which may impact the behaviour of the vehicle very seriously. The Meriva electric power steering system is designed to be fail-safe in line with the EEC Directive that a vehicle must be able to steer in the event of a power steering failure.

The number of incidences of loss of power assistance on the Meriva is low. We would ask customers who experience loss of power assistance to contact their local Vauxhall dealer who has been briefed and trained to diagnosis and carry out the repair. This will be done free of charge.

For additional convenience, including contact details for the Vauxhall dealer network, the Vauxhall customer assistance centre (freephone 0800 026 4970) is available to help.

A VOSA spokesperson said:

"Road safety is our number one priority. We take all complaints very seriously and work closely with manufacturers to make sure the appropriate course of action is taken. In cases where there is clear evidence that a vehicle has a safety defect, due to a feature of design or construction, which is liable to cause significant risk of injury or death, then VOSA will work with the manufacturer to ensure a recall is launched."

Watchdog Viewers' Response:

Thank you for highlighting this problem, we have this problem quite frequently on our 05 plate Meriva, we knew about this problem as it has been mentioned on motoring forums before, fortunately for us it only happens at low speeds for us, and turning of the engine and resterting seems to help. Vauxhall just ignore the problem or try to force you to pay huge amounts of money to fix it, so we haven't had ours done yet. Maybe now Vauxhall will listen and I'm disgusted with VOSA as the car is not driveable when this problem happens.

Joanna Medley

Just watched the piece on the Meriva and I am totally shocked. If that was to happen on a tight bend on a national speed limit, it would only take a split second for the car to veer onto the wrong side of the road.

I am in the market for a new car and the Meriva was on my list. Not only will I not be buying one, it has put me off all Vauxhalls.

Tom Boyle, Penicuik, Scotland

Hi, we had a vauxhall meriva a few years ago, we too had problems with the power steering shutting off a few times, but we also had trouble with the engine cutting off. It happened several times at roundabouts and the engine used to cut off even when doing 60 mph along a duel carridgeway, we would have to stop and restart the engine.....dangerous stuff

Sarah Petrie, Milton Keynes

My 70 year old mother has a Meriva 55 plate and has encountered the same problem you mentioned. Since it started to happen she refuses to drive it. She has had various quotes for replacement of the steering column but cannot afford it especially when the garages said there was no guarentees that it would solve the problem.

M P Barton

We have a meriva 04 plate and have always had problems with the power steering. We just turn off the end and restart and it works! This happens intermittently.

Jane and Mike Frewing

The power steering on my mum's Vauxhall failed when she was trying to get out of the driveway to take me to school. After attempting to turn the wheel myself, I must disagree with the opinion that the car is drivable once the steering fails. It could have been incredibly dangerous if the car was travelling at speed when this happened.

Dominic

Had the same issue with my Meriva - a 56 Reg. When I took it into Vauxhall in Sheffield just over a ago, they said it needed to have a new power steering pump fitted, which took a couple of weeks to arrive. Thankfully they fitted it under warranty but it did seem to solve the problem.

Gerard Crofton-Martin

We have had a Meriva since 2004 the power steering has supposedly been fixed 4 times all of which i have evidence for,as it is now out of warranty it is up to us to pay for it which costs £700. Vauxhall also put in a new steering column but the next week the power steering failed again. The power steering has now completely gone, and has done now for 7 months.

From a very concerned mother of two!!!

Fran Harte

I just wanted to let you know that I have had the power steering problem with my Vauxhall Meriva for a while now (which I have owned from new). I actually paid £1000 to my Vauxhall dealer to have a new steering column as that is what they recommended to fix the problem. But it did not fix the problem at all and I didnt dare go back to the garage again because I just couldnt afford another bill (they had drained all my savings).

I have got used to handling the car when the power steering goes off, I have to turn the ignition on and off again, usually when I am at a junction or I have to pull over.

I am so glad I am not the only one and you have highlighted this fault with Meriva. I do hope Vauxhall make a recall for the fault.

Sue Mitchell

i have just watched the report on the meriva with great interest. i am the owner of a 2006 model. several weeks ago,without warning, the vehicle's power steering failed whilst i was negotiating a roundabout. at the time my 7 year old and 2 year old daughters and my 10 month old son were passengers. i managed to negotiate the roundabout with difficulty but the experience left me shaken wondering what on earth had happened.

claire kemp

I can't believe that the Meriva still has problems with the power steering. We bought one in 2004 and within six months I had returned it to Vauxhall and demanded a new car. Our car did the opposite to your article, it would go very light and turning the steering wheel slightly would make the car over steer and the final straw was nearly going through a hedge with the children in the car. They changed the steering column twice but it made no difference. Six months later we received a new car, which thankfully was ok.

Moira Metcalf

Had the same problem as shown tonight. Took car to a local garage who could not do anything. Was advised to go to a Vauxhall garage which I did. Car was hooked up to a diagnostic machine to recalibrate. This cost £40. The steering problem seems to have disappeared but we now have a contsant rattle on the steering column! Not sure if this is now another problem which requires attention by Vauxhall?

I have a 53 2004 reg meriva ,I have had power steering turn off a few times ,it was very scary. This needs sorting out by vauxhall before a bad accident happens not after.

Mrs S O'Neill SOUTH EAST LONDON

thank you for pointing this out the fault on the power steering i was looking into getting this fixed at my local garage at my exspense i will contact vauxhall i thought i was the only one many thanks

ian in walton

After watching Watchdog tonight I finally don't feel like I'm going mad... I thought I was the only Meriva driver with such a troublesome steering problem!

I have a 2007 Design Model and for the first year my car was fine! But then the problems started, with the power steering failing on a daily basis and sometimes I really do lose count as to how many times a day it can fail!

Back in May and after losing all faith in the safety of my car I took my car into my nearest Vauxhall dealer, explaining to them the problem and my concerns.. To my dismay and sheer disappointment I was sent away with them saying we can't find anything wrong and I quote 'Your car is safe to drive' to which my husband asked 'if the steering were to fail and we were to end up in a ditch or worse still in a terrible accident would they still say it was safe to drive'... Vauxhall's response was 'I can't comment, but in our opinion it is safe and we can't find anything wrong'...

Surely something has to be done, I have lost all faith in my car and its safety. I too have a young child and I fear for us both... I also feel that now this problem has been highlighted on national TV and it is clear that VOSA will not take this issue seriously there are going to be lots of people stuck with dangerous Vauxhall Meriva's that no one wants to buy! I may sound melodramatic but will it take someone being seriously hurt for VOSA and Vauxhall to do something about this?????

A very disgruntled Meriva owner

Only two weeks ago I nearly crashed my Meriva with my 3 & 4 year old in the car (The power steering failed at a roundabout). I was advised not to drive the car, and I had the whole power steering unit replaced costing £755.00. Not something I expected on a car with only 32,000 miles bought second hand from a vauxhaul dealer. I will be ringing the help line to attempt a refund.

Thank you for the report.

Libby Brinkler (Suffolk)

I purchased my Meriva from new in July 2004. I have had problems with the steering within a few months of th epurchase. I have taken it back to the Dealer many times, and each time I was told they could not find a problem with the steering. It has cut on me many times going around roundabouts. Turning left appears to be more of a major problem than turning right, although both have occurred, Thge obnly way I can get round the problem is by turning the engine off, and restarting it. Great fun when you are on a major roundabout in heavy traffic. I now intend taking my car back to the Dealer I purchased it from (yet again) and will see what they say this time. Thanls for publicising the problem.

Anonymous Watchdog Viewer

It just so happens that it happened to my wife on the day of the show, she is only 7 stone and got a real fright when it happened....the man in our local garage said straight away to get it sorted at a cost of £400, you can't even trade these in now as no one in their right mind would put their families and others at risk.

Steve/Jeanette, very worried

I've been struggling with the same problem on my Meriva. It's going to cost about quarter of the value of the car to get it fixed - pretty upsetting, especially if there is a known flaw in the design.

I'm currently on the phone holding for Vauxhall customer service....

....finally got through and told to book the car in at local dealership. If it's the same fault as described on your programme, they'll fix it free of charge - watch this space.

R Oliver.

Watchdog viewers' responses were received between the 29/09/10 and 06/10/10