Volkswagen Air Bags: Frontal

Volkswagen is recalling about 415,825 vehicles over a problem with the air bags. A loss of electrical connection to the driver's frontal air bag will prevent the air bag from deploying in the event of a vehicle crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Campaign
15V483000
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Reported
4 August 2015
Vehicles
415,825
Built between
Jul 2009 – Apr 2014
Models
7
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
15 January 2016
Repaired
76%
Unrepaired
89,493

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between July 2009 and April 2014. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2010-2014 Volkswagen CCBuilt July 2009 to April 2014
  • 2010-2013 Volkswagen EOSBuilt October 2009 to February 2013
  • 2011-2014 Volkswagen GolfBuilt May 2010 to September 2013
  • 2011-2014 Volkswagen GTIBuilt May 2010 to September 2013
  • 2011-2014 Volkswagen JettaBuilt June 2010 to February 2014
  • 2010, 2012-2014 Volkswagen PassatBuilt October 2009 to January 2014
  • 2011-2014 Volkswagen TiguanBuilt May 2010 to February 2014

Repair progress

89,493 of 415,825 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q2 2017.

76% repaired — 317,595 of 415,825 reported

Owners not reachable
8,337
Scrapped or exported
400

Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.

What the defect is

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Volkswagen CC, and Passat, 2010-2013 Eos, 2011-2014 Golf, GTI, Jetta, and Tiguan, and 2012-2014 Jetta Sportwagen vehicles. In the affected vehicles, debris may contaminate the air bag clock spring, a spiral wound, flat cable that keeps the air bag powered while the steering wheel is being turned. This contamination may tear the cable and result in a loss of electrical connection to the driver's frontal air bag.

What could happen

A loss of electrical connection to the driver's frontal air bag will prevent the air bag from deploying in the event of a vehicle crash, increasing the risk of injury.

What gets fixed

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install a protective cover over the steering wheel clock spring if the air bag light is off. If the airbag light is on and the steering wheel clock spring requires replacement, dealers will install a new steering wheel clock spring. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on January 15, 2016.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJuly 2009 to April 2014
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA4 August 2015
  3. Owners notified15 January 2016
  4. Latest repair reportQ2 2017 — 76% repaired

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 4 August 2015.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
69L2
Recalling manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Recall initiated by
ODI

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand