Defective airbags, unrelated to the inflators made by Takata, have struck again, leading to a recall of certain Audis announced by the Volkswagen Group of America.
The NHTSA revealed that the A4 Sedan and Allroad, S4 Sedan, A5 Coupe, Cabriolet and Sportback, and S5 Coupe, Cabriolet and Sportback, from the 2017-2018 and 2018 model years, have a software glitch that could cause the passenger airbag to malfunction.
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The passenger occupant detection system could deactivate the component, made by Luxembourg-based IEE S.A., due to the self-diagnosis connecting cable said to be too sensitive if it senses partial surface oxidation of the electrical shielding inside the cable harness. Should this happen, the warning light in the instrument panel will “tell” drivers that the airbag is malfunctioning, although in the event of an accident, serious injury or perhaps death could occur.
A total of 144,092 cars are affected, and all of them are estimated to suffer from this defect. Audi will notify both owners and dealers on or before September 15, as that’s when the recall is expected to begin. The fix will consist of installing new software with adjusted diagnostic thresholds, and those who have already repaired their cars will be reimbursed as part of the warranty.
Strangely enough, Audi hasn’t corrected this fault in the assembly process of the cars, as this is said to be “under evaluation”. However, there are no field reports for vehicles made after July 31, 2018.
