- Vehicles
- 226
- Built between
- Jun 2010 – May 2015
- Models
- 3
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 20 December 2019
- Repaired
- 65%
- Unrepaired
- 69
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between June 2010 and May 2015. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2011-2013 Audi A3Built July 2010 to July 2012
- 2011-2014 Volkswagen GolfBuilt June 2010 to October 2013
- 2012-2015 Volkswagen PassatBuilt July 2011 to May 2015
Repair progress
69 of 226 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q1 2021.
65% repaired — 147 of 226 reported
- Owners not reachable
- 10
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 2012-2015 Passat, 2011-2014 Golf A6, and 2011-2013 Audi A3 diesel vehicles, thought to have been previously repaired under one of the Takata air bag recalls. The driver's side air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high 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
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's side air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began December 20, 2019.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtJune 2010 to May 2015
- Recall reported to NHTSA4 December 2019
- Owners notified20 December 2019
- Latest repair reportQ1 2021 — 65% 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 December 2019.
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 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 69R6, 69Q8, 69Q9, and 69Y5.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- 69R6,69Q8,69Q9,69Y5
- Recalling manufacturer
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
- Recall initiated by
- MFR
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.