WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (Amy R. Connolly) — Volkswagen has launched a massive recall in the United States due to faulty driver’s side airbags that may not deploy in a crash.
The recall of some 420,000 vehicles in the United States and 41,000 in Canada is for eight models including the Golf and GTI (2011 to 2014), Passat and Tiguan (2010 to 2014) and Jetta (2010 to 2013).
Volkswagen said a spring in the steering wheel assembly can rip a cable that controls the electrical connection to the front air bags. This will not allow the airbag to deploy correctly.
In March, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation after receiving nine reports of cable failure, which also disables some steering-wheel-located functions. No crashes or injuries have been reported. Volkswagen has not given details about a timeline for the repairs.
