- Vehicles
- 237,947
- Built between
- Jul 2004 – Mar 2011
- Models
- 7
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 29 June 2018
- Repaired
- 41%
- Unrepaired
- 133,876
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between July 2004 and March 2011. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2005-2008 Audi A4Built November 2004 to May 2008
- 2007-2009 Audi A4 CabrioletBuilt June 2006 to March 2009
- 2005-2011 Audi A6Built July 2004 to March 2011
- 2007-2008 Audi RS 4Built March 2006 to May 2008
- 2004 Audi RS4Built September 2007 to February 2008
- 2005-2009 Audi S4Built January 2005 to November 2008
- 2007-2011 Audi S6Built July 2006 to January 2011
Repair progress
133,876 of 237,947 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q3 2019.
41% repaired — 98,266 of 237,947 reported
- Owners not reachable
- 44
- Scrapped or exported
- 5,761
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 2005-2008 Audi A4 Sedan, A4 Avant, S4 Avant and S4 Sedan, 2007-2008 RS4 Sedan, 2004 RS4 Cabriolet, 2007-2009 A4 Cabriolet and S4 Cabriolet, 2005-2011 A6 Sedan, 2006-2011 A6 Avant, and 2007-2011 S6 Sedan vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
What could happen
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
What gets fixed
Audi has notified owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag with an alternate remedy part, free of charge. The recall began June 29, 2018.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtJuly 2004 to March 2011
- Recall reported to NHTSA22 June 2018
- Owners notified29 June 2018
- Latest repair reportQ3 2019 — 41% 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 22 June 2018.
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 Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69R7. Note: This recall supersedes recalls 16V382, 17V032 and 18V004 and includes vehicles that may have had their air bag previously replaced under one of those campaigns.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- 69R7
- 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.