Audi‚ Volkswagen and Porsche are recalling more than 93‚500 cars and SUVs worldwide to fix fuel-leak problems. The recalls cover the Audi A6 and VW Touareg hybrid from the 2012 model year‚ the Audi A7 from 2012 and 2013‚ and the Audi Q7‚ S4 and S5 from 2011 and 2012.
All the vehicles have three-litre V6 engines‚ according to documents posted on Tuesday by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Also‚ the documents show a separate but similar recall from Porsche covering the Cayenne and Panamera S hybrids from 2011 and 2012.
VW‚ which owns all three brands‚ says vibrations during driving‚ and production issues can cause small leaks in rare cases. VW and Audi said they weren’t aware of any fires or injuries caused by the problem. An Audi spokesman in the US said about 80‚000 of the brand’s vehicles are being recalled worldwide — about two-thirds in the US and China.
A VW spokesman in Germany said only a few hundred of its cars are involved because the recall only includes one VW model. An exact number wasn’t provided. Porsche said it would recall about 13‚500 cars worldwide. All have engines supplied by Volkswagen and Audi. About 27‚000 VW‚ Audi and Porsche vehicles are being recalled in the US‚ according to the documents.
The problem was discovered in March 2013 when customers complained of a fuel odour‚ according to the NHTSA documents. VW investigated and decided on January 12 to do a recall. VW will notify owners in March and dealers will replace the fuel injector rails and seals free of charge. According to Sameerah Bhabha, public relations manager for Audi South Africa, 180 models are affected locally. No incidents have been reported and owners will be notified.
Public relations manager for Volkswagen South Africa, Andile Dlamini confirmed that no models from the brand are affected in our market. The Touareg hybrid is not sold locally.
IgnitionLIVE is awaiting feedback from Porsche South Africa regarding the number of units affected.
-Wall Street Journal/IgnitionLIVE Reporter
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