Volkswagen has issued a recall for 114,478 cars because their airbag inflators can explode due to heat and humidity, sending hot metal fragments flying into a car’s cabin.
Recalled cars include the:
- 2017-2019 Volkswagen Beetle
- 2017-2019 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible
- 2006-2007, 2012-2014, and 2017 Volkswagen Passat
Airbags function thanks to airbag inflators — small capsules of chemicals that combine in the event of an accident, producing a rapidly expanding gas that squirts out of a nozzle and fills the airbag in a fraction of a second.
The now-defunct Takata airbag company made the airbag inflators in question. These have a different chemistry and a different problem than the millions recalled in the ongoing Takata airbag recall.
These, VW explains, contain a desiccant chemical to help keep components dry. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) believes some desiccant-equipped inflators may explode rather than release gas out the nozzle “due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high-temperature cycling.”
In paperwork filed with NHTSA, Volkswagen says it believes the inflators are currently safe. The company knows of no accidents or injuries related to the problem. However, it acknowledges that government safety officials are concerned they will become unsafe over time.
So, dealers will replace the inflators with a different model. Recall repairs are always free.
Automakers recall many cars to fix safety defects, sometimes more than once. Automakers try to reach every owner to ask them to bring the vehicle in for repair, but they rarely get them all. Millions of cars on American roads need free recall repairs. Check the easy VIN tool at our recall center to determine if your car is one of them.
