NHTSA recall 18V082000
A recall listed here may apply to a vehicle of this year, make and model. Only the manufacturer can say whether it applies to one vehicle: check the VIN with the official lookups.
| Published by | NHTSA (United States) |
|---|---|
| Campaign number | 18V082000 |
| Manufacturer's number | 69R6 |
| Manufacturer | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
| Reported | 2018-01-30 |
| Owners notified | 2018-02-23 |
| Component | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| Units potentially affected | 162782 |
| Report | Quarterly report 11, for 2020 quarter 3 |
|---|---|
| Filed with NHTSA | 2020-10-29 |
| Vehicles in the campaign | 162782 |
| Reported remedied | 122309 (75%) |
| Reported unreachable | 3609 |
| Reported removed | 7732 |
These are the manufacturer's totals for the whole campaign at the end of 2020 quarter 3, as filed with NHTSA. They do not say whether one vehicle has been remedied: check the VIN with the official lookups. The reports are from data as of 2026-10-19.
What is wrong
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2006-2013 Audi A3, 2007-2009 A4 Cabriolet and S4 Cabriolet, 2008 RS4 Cabriolet, 2009-2012 Q5, and 2010-2012 Audi A5 Cabriolet and S5 Cabriolet vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to explode.
What can happen
In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could explode with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator with an alternative inflator, free of charge. The recall began February 23, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69R6. Note: This recall partially supersedes recall 16V-078.
Notes
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
| 2006 AUDI A3 | Built 2005-05-30 to 2012-08-30. |
|---|---|
| 2007 AUDI A3 | Built 2005-05-30 to 2012-08-30. |
| 2008 AUDI A3 | Built 2005-05-30 to 2012-08-30. |
| 2009 AUDI A3 | Built 2005-05-30 to 2012-08-30. |
| 2010 AUDI A3 | Built 2005-05-30 to 2012-08-30. |
| 2011 AUDI A3 | Built 2005-05-30 to 2012-08-30. |
| 2012 AUDI A3 | Built 2005-05-30 to 2012-08-30. |
| 2013 AUDI A3 | Built 2005-05-30 to 2012-08-30. |
| 2007 AUDI A4 CABRIOLET | Built 2006-06-26 to 2006-06-26. |
| 2008 AUDI A4 CABRIOLET | Built 2006-06-26 to 2006-06-26. |
| 2009 AUDI A4 CABRIOLET | Built 2006-06-26 to 2006-06-26. |
| 2010 AUDI A5 CABRIOLET | Built 2009-06-04 to 2012-03-06. |
| 2011 AUDI A5 CABRIOLET | Built 2009-06-04 to 2012-03-06. |
| 2012 AUDI A5 CABRIOLET | Built 2009-06-04 to 2012-03-06. |
| 2009 AUDI Q5 | Built 2008-11-15 to 2012-10-22. |
| 2010 AUDI Q5 | Built 2008-11-15 to 2012-10-22. |
| 2011 AUDI Q5 | Built 2008-11-15 to 2012-10-22. |
| 2012 AUDI Q5 | Built 2008-11-15 to 2012-10-22. |
| 2008 AUDI RS 4 | Built 2007-09-05 to 2008-02-05. |
| 2009 AUDI S4 CABRIOLET | Built 2006-06-26 to 2008-11-05. |
| 2010 AUDI S5 CABRIOLET | Built 2009-06-08 to 2012-03-01. |
| 2011 AUDI S5 CABRIOLET | Built 2009-06-08 to 2012-03-01. |
| 2012 AUDI S5 CABRIOLET | Built 2009-06-08 to 2012-03-01. |
A vehicle with no link is not in this site's catalog, which covers cars, multipurpose vehicles and trucks by model year. The campaign is from data as of 2026-10-19.
Investigated as EA15001
This recall followed 1 NHTSA investigation. An investigation is NHTSA looking into a possible defect. It is not a finding that a defect exists, and it does not say that any one vehicle is affected.
| EA15001 | Engineering analysis, opened 2015-02-24. Air Bag Inflator Rupture. AIR BAGS:FRONTAL; AIR BAGS. |
|---|
From NHTSA's investigation file, as of 2026-10-19. The JSON has NHTSA's summary of each.
Bulletins for the same vehicles and component
| Campaign Parts B | 2018-04-16. Service bulletin. Takata Parts request update. |
|---|---|
| Campaign Parts B | 2018-04-16. Service bulletin. Effective immediately, the part 8P0-898-201 can be used on all vehicles. |
| 69N1 and 69N2 - | 2018-02-05. Service bulletin. This communication informs the dealers of details on the Takata parts allocation. |
A bulletin is the manufacturer's note to its dealers. It is not part of this recall.