German carmaker Volkswagen recalled on Friday close to half a million cars in The United States and Canada to ensure that air bags will deploy properly.
Citing a company spokesman, Reuters reported that 420,000 of the vehicles will be pulled out from the U.S. while 41,300 will come from Canada. The report added that cars delivered to other markets will be checked as well. The wire agency said Volkswagen found that the airbags in those vehicles may not work properly under certain conditions due to debris that interferes with the mechanism.
Citing a filing with the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, USA Today reported that a spring in the steering wheel assembly can become fouled and damage the electrical connection to the front air bags, preventing those from deploying in a crash. A warning light will flash if the airbag may not work.
It said the following models are included in the recall: 2010 to 2014 Volkswagen CC, Passat, and Tiguan; 2010 to 2013 Eos and Jetta; 2011 to 2014 Golf and GTI; and 2011 to 2013 Jetta Sportwagen. The newspaper said Volkswagen is working on solving the issue and added that the company has not received reports of injuries or deaths related to the issue.
USA Today noted that Volkswage's airbag problem does not appear to be connected to recalls initiated by 11 automakers covering millions of vehicles worldwide for using Takata airbags, which have been linked to a number of serious and even fatal accidents.
Reuters noted that the recall comes as Volkswagen's sales have slowed down in the United States. Although the German carmaker has overtaken Japan's Toyota as the leader in the auto industry, Volkswagen's sales in the United States have dropped by 10 percent to 367,000 even as competitors are enjoying higher sales due to the market recovery.
