March 2025
Letter to Stellantis - Ineffective compensation mechanism for technical problems with AdBlue tanks in certain diesel vehicles manufactured by Stellantis
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Owners of Citroën and Peugeot diesel cars were told to pay around €1,000 to replace faulty AdBlue tanks that could stop their engines from starting, even though the defect was not their fault. First detected through Euroconsumers’ cross-border complaints tracker CICLE, the issue led to compensation in Italy thanks to Altroconsumo, and then, after pressure from Euroconsumers’ members and BEUC, to EU-wide commitments from Stellantis in December 2024. With €6 million in damages and discounts now being paid out through a new platform, Euroconsumers is closely monitoring the process to make sure compensation reaches consumers quickly, fairly and effectively.
A faulty tank, a fight for equal redress
Diesel cars need regular top-ups of AdBlue to keep emissions within EU limits. If the system fails, cars can fall out of compliance and even be immobilised. That is exactly what happened to thousands of Citroën and Peugeot owners across Europe.
What this means in practice for drivers?
Drivers saw warning lights for low AdBlue levels even when their tanks were full, sometimes automatically preventing the engine from starting. When they contacted Citroën, they were told to replace the entire tank system at their own expense, at a cost of around €1,000, for a fault that was not their responsibility.
Spotting the problem early
In 2022, Euroconsumers’ CICLE tool, an innovative cross-border complaints tracker that detects similar problems emerging in different countries, picked up a growing number of complaints about the issue. Euroconsumers’ members in Italy, Spain and Belgium alerted the authorities that consumers were being charged to fix a defect that was not theirs to pay for.
From Italy to the whole EU
Italian consumers were the first to win redress. Following action by Altroconsumo, the Italian authorities required Stellantis to compensate affected car owners. But consumers in other countries facing the exact same problem were left out.
In Belgium, Test-Achats/Test-Aankoop’s request for compensation was first ignored, and Stellantis then refused to match the Italian redress, prompting the threat of class litigation. Based on monitoring reports from Test-Achats, OCU and Altroconsumo, BEUC took the issue to the European Commission and the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network, calling for an EU-wide investigation.
In December 2024, the Commission secured clear commitments from Stellantis to compensate all affected consumers anywhere in the EU, ending unequal treatment across Member States. In total, consumers are set to receive €6 million in damages and discounts.
Keeping a close eye on compensation
On 16 January 2025, Stellantis launched a compensation platform covering both AdBlue claims and problems with the PureTech 1.2 engine, whose timing belt wore out too quickly. Consumers in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Belgium can submit claims, although no specific timeline has yet been given for AdBlue compensation.
Euroconsumers’ members have reason to stay vigilant. In May 2024, Altroconsumo had to report Stellantis again to the national authority for failing to meet earlier commitments, including errors in calculating payments and cases of non-payment. The new platform has also had teething problems, from access issues at launch to confusing communication combining PureTech and AdBlue claims. Test-Achats and Altroconsumo provide online forms for consumers to report any delays or obstacles.
Our call
Getting a company to commit to compensation is only the first step. Euroconsumers and its members will continue to monitor the compensation scheme closely to ensure Stellantis delivers on the Commission’s demands and that money gets back where it belongs: in consumers’ pockets.
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