the main dealer replaced the wiring harness and the complete rear light section. upon examination the connector pins at the bulb holder were completely burnt away.

suely this unit is not fit for purpose and peugeot have issued a service advice on what to do if this happens, which would indicate that they are aware of the fault.

have there been any cases where peugeot have refunded the cost of this replcement ?

Its always interesting to get to the bottom of a problem and your advise on the column elekie doc is invaluable.

But what a situation to ask customers to pay for complete rear lamps and bulb holders and wiring harnesses just because the design engineers did not carry out a simple check to ensure the connector pins were specified correctly.

Quite the reverse was true in my Mk1 Honda Accord which had aircraft standard connectors set in epoxy for strength.

Have manufacturers have a resonsibilty to replace defective items such as the ones detailed in this thread?

Sadly this is a known issue on 207s (and the 407). I've even seen it on some newer 308s - the earth wire is woefully inadequate and burns out and causes the damage. I've seen it on at least a dozen 207s.

For future reference there is a repair guide here:

www.407owners.com/docs/rearlightbulbsold.pdf

But this is a design fault that Peugeot should be footing the bill for.

Main dealers will not entertain any cheap/work-around fix .It is not a fire risk,as the current consumption is very low,under 5 amps per side,and that is with all bulbs illuminated at the same time.Also a job like this is good for business and parts sales.Don't quite know how they can charge £50 + for a connector and wires that can be bought for less than a fiver.Burnt/overheated connectors on rear lights on French and italian cars goes back years,so nothing has changed.Similar problems can be found on the old Bmw e46 models and MB c-class W 204 models.Interestingly the replacement parts are cheaper than Peugeot.