By Christopher Jensen
Federal regulators are investigating whether Volkswagen’s 2015 recall of almost 416,000 vehicles for an airbag defect fixed the problem and covered enough vehicles, according to a report posted Friday on the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The recall came after NHTSA investigators insisted on it.
The problem was a failure of an electrical component in the steering system called the clock spring. That would deactivate the driver’s airbag as well as controls on the steering wheel such as the horn.
The 2015 action involved the 2010-14 CC; 2010-13 Eos; 2011-2014 Golf; 2011-14 GTI; 2012-14 Jetta SportWagen; 2011 -14 Jetta sedan; 2010 Passat and Passat Wagon; 2012-14 Passat sedan and 2011-14 Tiguan.
Since that recall NHTSA says it has received 90 complaints from owners about the problem.
Some said they had the recall and the airbag warning light came on again, indicating another failure, but Volkswagen refused a second repair.
Others said the clock spring failed, but their vehicle wasn’t included in the recall and Volkswagen refused to cover a $500 repair because the vehicle was out of warranty.
Neither accidents nor injuries were reported.
The NHTSA “recall query” made public Friday will investigate whether Volkswagen should recall more vehicles, find a new remedy or both.
In 2015 Volkswagen said its remedy for the problem would be to develop a cover to protect the clock spring.
Volkswagen’s August 2015 recall came after an investigation started earlier that year by NHTSA. It was prompted by nine owners complaining of airbag warning lights illuminating.
However, Volkswagen knew about the problem for years.
It first learned of a possible defect in December 2011, according to a chronology by the automaker that was included with its 2015 recall report to the agency.
In May 2012 Volkswagen’s safety committee had examined the issue and concluded that the clock-spring failure rate was low and “there was no impact on vehicle safety.”
But in January 2013 it was making a manufacturing change aimed at the issue.
Then, in March 2015 NHTSA began its investigation after receiving nine complaints from owners.
Volkswagen then began a “risk assessment.” The automaker concluded no recall was needed, but NHTSA insisted, according to the chronology.
The agency requires automakers to provide chronologies with each recall.
