Volkswagen of America,inc: Fuel System, Gasoline › Storage › Tank Assembly
Volkswagen of America,inc reported this defect to federal regulators on May 3, 2001 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 70,000. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. SULFUR IN FUEL INTERACTS WITH CERTAIN ADDITIVES FOUND IN WIDELY AVAILABLE GASOLINE CAUSING SULFUR TO BECOME DEPOSITED ON THE CONTACT POINTS OF THREE FUEL SENDING UNITS MOUNTED INSIDE THE FUEL TANK. THIS COULD CAUSE THE FUEL GAUGE TO READ FULL WHILE THE FUEL TANK MAY NOT IN FACT BE FULL OR COULD BE EMPTY.
The risk
RUNNING OUT OF FUEL WITHOUT WARNING WHILE THE FUEL GAUGE INDICATES THAT THERE IS SUFFICIENT FUEL IN THE TANK LEAD TO SAFETY PROBLEMS.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL REMOVE THE EXISTING FUEL LEVEL SENDING UNITS AND REPLACE THEM WITH FUEL LEVEL SENDING UNITS USING A NEW ALLOY COMPOSED OF GOLD, SILVER, AND A SMALL AMOUNT OF NICKEL, WHICH WILL NOT CHEMICALLY REACT WITH SULFUR. VW/AUDI WILL ALSO CALL BACK VEHICLES THAT WERE REPAIRED UNDER A PREVIOUS RECALL LAST JUNE IN ORDER TO INSTALL THE UPDATED FUEL SENDING UNITS NHTSA 00V137/AUDI LB). OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN MAY 1, 2001. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT AUDI AT 1-866-892-2834.
6 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 Audi A6 | 113 | 7 | 7 | 11 |
| 2001 Volkswagen Passat | 430 | 4 | 14 | 14 |
| 2000 Audi A6 | 148 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| 2000 Volkswagen Passat | 507 | 5 | 25 | 11 |
| 1999 Audi A6 | 217 | 9 | 23 | 12 |
| 1998 Audi A6 | 130 | 10 | 7 | 6 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 01V157000.
Full record for the 2001 Audi A6 → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →