Volkswagen Air Bags

Volkswagen is recalling about 8,500 vehicles over a problem with the air bags. If the airbag harness wire is damaged, the passiverestraint system will become inoperative.

Campaign
91V215000
Manufacturer
VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA,INC
Reported
13 December 1991
Vehicles
8,500
Built between
Aug 1989 – Jul 1990
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
22 May 1992
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between August 1989 and July 1990. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1990 Volkswagen CabrioletBuilt August 1989 to July 1990

What the defect is

The airbag harness wire may have been improperly routed through an opening in the dashboard crossmember and could be pinched and chafed between two panels eventually resulting in damage to the wire.

What could happen

If the airbag harness wire is damaged, the passiverestraint system will become inoperative. The dashboard warning light willilluminate, but the passive restraint will not function until the wire isrepaired.

What gets fixed

SECURE WIRE TO THE CROSSMEMBER WITH A CLIP.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtAugust 1989 to July 1990
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA13 December 1991
  3. Owners notified22 May 1992

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 13 December 1991.

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.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
VOLKSWAGEN 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

System: airbag passive retraint.vehicle description: passenger cars equipped with airbag passive restraints.

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