VW/Audi are under the gun with a massive recall potentially affecting up to 224,704 vehicles for a failure of the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).
NHTSA ordered the recall because the tire pressure monitoring system may not detect an air pressure loss in the required 20-minute time window when deflation occurs among all four tires simultaneously. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems.
While the pressure in all four tires is bleeding off simultaneously is a rarity, you pretty much have to run over a spike strip or similar road hazard to make that happen, it’s still something the vehicle must be able to warn the driver about.
Wide range of vehicles affected
Models included in the recall are the 2019 Tiguan LWB, Golf Sportswagen A7, Golf Alltrack, Golf R GP, Audi Q3, and Audi A3 Cabriolet, as well as the 2019-2020 Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas, Golf A7, and Audi A3, plus the 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport and 2021 Atlas FL vehicles.
The repair is straightforward and comparatively inexpensive. To address the issue, VW and Audi dealers will update the TPMS software, free of charge. The VW/Audi internal code numbers for this recall are (Audi) 45J7, and (VW) 45J6 and 45J8. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on or around December 30, 2022.
Audi infotainment/camera system recall
In addition to the TPMS, Audi is recalling an additional 6,076 vehicles because the infotainment system may break itself while the car is turned off, and that means the rearview camera won’t work the next time the owner tries to drive.
NHTSA says you can drive without your tunes, but the rearview camera must work, so a recall is happening under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, “Rear Visibility.”
Models affected include the 2021 Audi A8, A6 Allroad, and E-TRON Quattro, as well as pretty much the whole 2022 Audi lineup. This recall will be more expensive for the company. As you might expect, Audi dealers will have to completely replace the main infotainment unit free of charge to the owners.
Audi’s internal code number for this recall is 91Ei. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed Dec. 25, 2022.
In the meantime, affected owners may contact Volkswagen’s customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi’s customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or visit www.safercar.gov.
