The Recall Desk
Our severity:SevereNHTSA·15V483000·Announced 2015-08-04

Volkswagen Recalls Vehicles Due to Air Bag Clock Spring Defect

Volkswagen is recalling specific 2010-2014 models because debris may damage the air bag clock spring, preventing the driver's air bag from deploying in a crash.

What this means for you

Our assessment, not the agency’s: severity 4/5 (Severe).

The hazard poses a serious risk of illness, injury, or structural failure. Stop using the product immediately and contact the manufacturer for a refund or repair.

Our severity reasoning: The recall involves a structural vehicle defect where the driver's air bag may fail to deploy in a crash, increasing the risk of injury, which aligns with the 'Severe' criteria for significant injury risk or structural defects.

Plain-English summary

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Volkswagen CC, Passat, Eos, Golf, GTI, Jetta, Jetta Sportwagen, and Tiguan vehicles. The recall affects approximately 415,825 vehicles. The defect involves debris that may contaminate the air bag clock spring, a spiral-wound flat cable that keeps the air bag powered while the steering wheel is turned. This contamination may tear the cable, resulting in a loss of electrical connection to the driver's frontal air bag.

If the electrical connection is lost, the driver's frontal air bag will not deploy in the event of a vehicle crash, which increases the risk of injury. No specific injuries or deaths are reported in the source text, but the hazard is a failure of a safety system during a collision.

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 air bag light is on and the 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. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987 or the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236.

The recalled product

Product
VOLKSWAGEN GTI, JETTA, PASSAT, GOLF
Brand
VOLKSWAGEN
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Category
Vehicle — Air Bag / Safety System
Hazard
Affected units
415,825

Is your product affected?

Check your packaging against the codes below. If any of them match, the product is part of this recall.

Model numbers (7)

  • GTI
  • JETTA
  • PASSAT
  • GOLF
  • CC
  • EOS
  • TIGUAN

Distribution

Distributed nationwide across the United States.

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