Volkswagen and BMW have issued voluntary recalls, safety agency says
A federal safety agency announced Monday that two German automakers had issued voluntary vehicle recalls in November.
BMW is recalling more than 76,000 sedans and SUVs to fix an issue with the passenger-side airbags, while Volkswagen is recalling about 66,000 vehicles to fix a pair of issues, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.
The BMW recall affects 3-Series and 5-Series models from 2006 and 2007 (325i, 325xi, 330i, 330xi, 328i, 328xi, 335i, 335xi, 525i, 525xi, 530i, 530xi, 550i), the 2006 760i sedan, the 750i, 750Li, and 760Li sedans from 2006 and 2007 and the 2006 X5. A total of 76,565 vehicles are affected.
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All models could potentially have a defective mat in the front passenger seat that could fail to tell the vehicle’s airbag system if and how to deploy in a crash. If that were to happen, the airbag may not deploy at all, leading to injuries for the passenger, the safety agency said.
No accidents or injuries have been reported as a result of the defect, said Dave Buchko, a BMW spokesman. The recalls are an expansion of a larger recall in 2008 for the same issue. That recall affected roughly 200,000 vehicles, Buchko said.
BMW will begin notifying affected owners in January and again in March when the new parts are available at dealers. All service will be done free of charge.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen has issued a pair of voluntary recalls. The first is for its 2009-2011 Tiguan compact crossover SUV. The company said 62,155 vehicles are affected.
The housing for a fuse for the exterior lights could melt, causing the lights to stop working, increasing the likelihood of a crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.
Another 3,837 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid sedans from 2013 and 2014 have also been recalled.
Fluid used in the cars’ transmissions may be corrosive and result in an electrical short and failure of the transmission. This sudden loss of power could increase the likelihood of a crash, the safety agency said.
The issue appears to be worse in hot and humid weather, and when the cars are driven in heavy stop-and-go-traffic, according to Volkswagen.
No accidents or injuries have been reported for either issue, Volkswagen said in a statement. The automaker will notify owners of both vehicles and begin the free repairs this month.
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