Volkswagen has issued a recall for more than 261,000 vehicles in the U.S. due to a potential fuel leak that could lead to a higher risk of fires, as confirmed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and echoed by reports from The Detroit News, MLive, and CBS News Detroit. Affected models include certain Audi A3s, VW Golfs and GTIs, Golf Sportwagens, and VW Jettas from selected model years between 2015 and 2020, with all the involved vehicles being front-wheel drive.
The flaw centers on a defective seal in a pump within the vehicle's fuel system which could result in fuel leaking into a charcoal canister, part of the emissions control system, and if fuel leaks, it poses an increased risk of fire, according to documents released by NHTSA. Amidst rising concerns, the agency initiated an investigation after collating 79 complaints from vehicle owners regarding the issue. Volkswagen also acknowledged receiving 1,410 warranty claims related to the defect since May 2016 running through December of the last year, however, they have registered no reports of fires caused by this issue as of yet.
This is not the first occurrence of such an issue for the German automaker, which faced a similar problem back in 2016. At that time, around 110,000 cars were called back for the same defect, and concern has been raised now over the replacement pumps provided then, which now appear to be failing as well. VW is set to commence the mailing of notification letters to owners on April 12, urging them to get the faulty pumps replaced by dealers free of charge, an action designed to mitigate further risks and prevent potential fires.
Ensuring vehicle safety remains a top priority, and as such, the NHTSA has been diligent in its oversight and swift in publicizing recall notices—this time the recall touches an estimated 261,257 vehicles that now require attention, according to CBS News Detroit. Dealers are prepared to replace the suction pump at no cost ensuring owners don't face any out-of-pocket expenses in what amounts to a substantial logistical effort by the car manufacturer to correct this recurrent flaw and reinstate customer confidence in their vehicles.
