Groups Urge U.S. to Recall 200,000 Audis
The federal government was asked Wednesday to recall 200,000 Audi 5000S cars that several consumer groups and the New York attorney general said can become “runaway” vehicles due to sudden acceleration when being shifted out of park.
The recall petition was filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration by the Washington-based private Center for Auto Safety, New York Atty. Gen. Robert Abrams, the New York Public Interest Research Group and a group of Audi accident victims.
It covers all 1978-86 automatic transmission Audi 5000S vehicles.
“Given the pressing safety problem posed by runaway Audis, NHTSA should immediately open a formal investigation and announce its action to the public by issuing a consumer alert,” the petition said.
‘Clear Threat’ Claimed
“Even if the agency . . . is unable to determine the cause of runaway acceleration, NHTSA should find a defect based on performance alone, given the astoundingly high accident involvement rate of these vehicles and the clear threat to public safety.”
The groups said nearly 400 accidents linked to the problem have been reported to the safety agency, the Center for Auto Safety, or the manufacturer, Volkswagen of America Inc. The accident rate is close to 1 for every 500 of the cars sold in the United States, the petition said.
The petition states that Volkswagen has recalled some 1978-83 Audi 5000 cars twice in response to the alleged defect, but neither recall resolved the problem. It added that the safety agency’s continuing preliminary investigation of the problem, covering 1984-85 Audis, is “clearly inadequate to protect the public.”
Volkswagen spokesman Thomas McDonald in Detroit said the company has investigated every reported incident of unwanted acceleration and “we’ve been unable to identify any technical flaws in the vehicle.”
GM Recalls Models
He said the company is cooperating with the safety agency in its preliminary investigation of the problem, but that Volkswagen believes the reported problems have been due to driver error, not a safety defect.
Meanwhile, General Motors Corp. said Wednesday in Detroit that it is recalling about 136,000 1985-model Buick Somerset, Oldsmobile Calais and Pontiac Grand Am models equipped with 2.5-liter engines to replace the throttle return assembly spring.
GM said that if both springs in the throttle assembly were to fail, the gas pedal might not return to the idle position, causing the car to maintain its speed.
In another development, American Honda Motor Co. Inc. announced Wednesday that it is recalling 17,300 of its 1986 Honda Civic models to repair a portion of the drive shaft.
The safety defect involves the left side drive shaft, which could crack under high stress caused by rapid acceleration or deceleration, Honda said. The recall affects about 1.3% of all 1986 Civic models, including the 1300 Hatchback, 1500 Hatchback, 1500 Sedan, 1500 Wagovan and the 1500 CRX.
