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New Zealand police are to continue driving 400 Holden Commodores affected by a major safety recall despite fears the vehicles could catch fire.
Holden has recalled 88,000 VE Commodores and WM Statesmans, including 5000 in New Zealand, as a precautionary measure to prevent what it says is the "very, very small" risk of a fuel leak occurring.
Holden says there is the potential for a leak to occur and cause a fire if, over time, a fuel line rubs against a clip on an adjacent hose in the engine compartment.
But the company says the risk is very slight and has urged drivers to get their car to a dealer as soon as possible to have any possibly faulty parts replaced.
Police spokeswoman Jane Archibald told the Herald that 400 Holden VE Commodore sedans used by police nationwide would need to have the affected part replaced. Police would continue to drive the cars but a memo had been sent to all staff advising them of the problem and telling them to stop using the vehicle if they smelled fuel.
Mechanical work carried out by Holden would begin within days and was expected to be completed within two to three weeks.
She said police services would not be put out by the recall because the part was one which could be replaced "reasonably quickly".
Police in smaller stations would need to take their cars to Holden dealers but Holden mechanics would visit the larger stations and carry out repairs on site.
Holden spokeswoman Brodie McClellan said concerns were raised over the vehicles after reports relating to 20 cars in which the "smell of fuel" was reported.
"We're just urging people to take their vehicle into a Holden dealer as soon as possible and get the part fixed."
Out of 88,000 vehicles, only 20 had problems with the smell of fuel, Miss McClellan said. "So the risk is very, very small but obviously we have to err on the side of caution.
"We've had no reported instances of any fires or anything like that - no injuries, no property damage."
The recall affects all V6 VE Commodores and WM Statesman and Caprice long-wheelbase models built by the company since the new-generation model was launched in mid-2006 after a A$1 billion ($1.14 billion) development programme.
