Audi and VW recall 582k vehicles in the US

AUDI and Volkswagen have announced a large-scale recall for a number of models sold in the United States, with a total of 582,822 vehicles affected over three separate recalls.

The biggest recall affects 342,867 examples of models equipped with the 2.0-litre TFSI petrol engine, due to a fault in the electric coolant pump that can be blocked with debris from the cooling system, which can result in the pump overheating, increasing the risk of a fire.

Affected models include A5 variants and Q5s from 2013-2017, A4 and Allroad variants from 2012-2015, and examples of the A6 from 2012-2105.

The recalls continued for 234,054 examples of the Q5, this time for a separate fault stemming from the sunroof drainage system that may allow water to soak into the foam surrounding the side head airbag inflator canister, which can result in the corrosion of the canister.

This means that in in the event of deployment of the side head airbag, the inflator may rupture and cause fragments to be shot into the cabin, causing serious injury.

It should be noted that in this case the supplier of the faulty airbag is Austrian parts manufacturer iSi Automotive, and not Takata, the Japanese airbag manufacturer that has been the subject of over 100 million recalls since 2008 due to various faults including similar ruptures.

The last recall is due to the improper deployment of airbags and activation of seatbelt pre-tensioners on 5901 Audi and Volkswagen models.

The improper deployment of driver frontal, passenger frontal or head airbags affects certain MY17 examples of the Audi A4, A6 and A7 as well as the Volkswagen e-Golf and Tiguan.

It is due to the parts potentially not meeting manufacturing specifications for the chemicals in the airbag that causes it to inflate.

The seatbelt pre-tensioner failure affects certain 2017 A4, A4 Allroad and Q7 as well as the newly updated Q5.

The responsible parts manufacturer in this case is German company Autoliv.

Volkswagen Australia general manager of corporate communications Paul Pottinger said the recall did not affect any Australian Volkswagen models.

Audi Australia has been contacted for clarification.