Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.: Air Bags › Frontal › Driver Side › Inflator Module
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. reported this defect to federal regulators on Jan 30, 2018 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 162,782. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2006-2013 Audi A3, 2007-2009 A4 Cabriolet and S4 Cabriolet, 2008 RS4 Cabriolet, 2009-2012 Q5, and 2010-2012 Audi A5 Cabriolet and S5 Cabriolet vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to explode.
The risk
In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could explode with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator with an alternative inflator, free of charge. The recall began February 23, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69R6. Note: This recall partially supersedes recall 16V-078.
23 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 Audi A3 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 Audi A3 | 43 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 2012 Audi A5 Cabriolet | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 Audi Q5 | 168 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| 2012 Audi S5 Cabriolet | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 Audi A3 | 43 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 2011 Audi A5 Cabriolet | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 Audi Q5 | 143 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
| 2011 Audi S5 Cabriolet | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 Audi A3 | 50 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 2010 Audi A5 Cabriolet | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 Audi Q5 | 100 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| 2010 Audi S5 Cabriolet | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Audi A3 | 47 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 2009 Audi A4 Cabriolet | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Audi Q5 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 2009 Audi S4 Cabriolet | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 Audi A3 | 43 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 2008 Audi A4 Cabriolet | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 Audi RS 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 Audi A3 | 52 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 Audi A4 Cabriolet | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 Audi A3 | 123 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
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 18V082000.
Full record for the 2013 Audi A3 → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →