Steering System, Screwed
Modern cars are basically rolling puzzles, and it only takes one tiny piece to ruin the whole picture. For Volkswagen Group, that piece is a single bolt in the steering system, now responsible for dragging millions of cars from multiple brands into a global recall.
A new report from Germany says Volkswagen Group is gearing up to recall about four million vehicles worldwide, all because of a steering defect. The recall isn’t just a Volkswagen and Audi affair, either – it’s ballooned way past what’s already been announced in the US.
Autoblog
A Small Bolt Turns Into a Big Global Recall
According to business newspaper Handelsblatt, this could be Volkswagen Group’s biggest recall since the infamous diesel emissions mess about ten years ago. This time, it’s not just one brand in the hot seat – Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, and Seat are all getting dragged into the group-wide quality clean-up.
Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) says over two million of the affected cars are Volkswagens. Skoda clocks in with more than a million, Audi with about 700,000, and Seat rounds things out at 200,000. That’s a lot of steering wheels. An insider told Handelsblatt the recall will cost Volkswagen Group a pretty penny, thanks to the sheer number of cars caught up in the mess.
Volkswagen hasn’t released the full list of affected models yet, but admits its own quality checks found a steering issue in some of its cars. Skoda’s in the same boat, confirming it’s part of the recall. With a recall this massive, it covers several years’ worth of cars and stretches across the globe. Each region will handle the mess in its own way, depending on local rules and which cars are actually affected.
Audi
The Same Steering Issue in America
While the German report is sounding the global alarm, Volkswagen and Audi have already launched a US recall this month for what appears to be the same steering problem.
The US recall covers 208,724 vehicles, including the 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas, 2018 Tiguan, and 2019-2021 Audi Q3. The culprit? Corrosion can eat away at a bolt holding the steering rack to the subframe. If that bolt snaps, the steering rack housing could crack, and you might lose steering – especially at low speeds.
Volkswagen says only about 1% of the recalled US cars are actually expected to have the problem, and so far, no cases have popped up in North America. Dealers will swap out the bolt for a tougher, more corrosion-resistant one, and owners will get the usual recall notice.
Drew Phillips
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