Nov. 18 (UPI) — A federal agency disclosed it is investigating whether Volkswagen fixed vehicles with an airbag defect after a recall two years ago of 415,825 vehicles manufactured from 2010 to 2014.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in a report posted on its website Friday, said it has received 90 complaints from owners saying the problem persists.
The reports, which didn’t lead to any disclosed injuries, included those saying airbag warning lights came back on after supposedly being fixed. Owners said Volkswagen refused to address the warning lights a second time around.
And other owners said their vehicle wasn’t included in the recall but the clock spring failed. Volkswagen refused to cover a $500 repair because the vehicle was out of warranty.
NHTSA said a “Recall Query has been opened to assess the scope, frequency and safety-related consequences of the alleged defect in the subject vehicles.”
That includes determining whether additional vehicles should be recalled.
In the August 2015 recall, the NHTSA said contamination of the clockspring in the steering wheel “can cause it to tear” and deactivate the driver’s airbag as well as controls on the steering wheel such as the horn.
Volkswagen said the remedy was a cover to protect the clock spring.
The recall affected 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.
