Airbag Scandal: Now It’s Volkswagen’s Turn

While Citroën has opted for transparency with its customers, Volkswagen has discreetly launched a wave of recalls related to airbags.

The first letters have arrived this week at the homes of Volkswagen owners equipped with Takata airbags. The German manufacturer was one of the first to react back in 2017 by recalling more than 4 million vehicles, but only the Chinese market was affected.

To recall, Takata had long concealed a defect in the association of chemical components. This flaw was brought to light in 2014 by U.S. authorities. Today, several hundred vehicles have been identified as at risk, and nearly 20 manufacturers are compelled to carry out exchanges… at their own expense! Takata indeed went bankrupt in June 2017, unable to bear the financial burden of the recalls.

Is the risk new?

The Volkswagen letter, of which we obtained a copy, mentions that “The company TAKATA has informed us that on your vehicle, in the event of an accident with deployment of the front airbag, the casing containing the propellant gas for this airbag may burst.” The wording is more than clumsy and uncomfortable knowing that Takata disappeared in 2017 and that Volkswagen was already aware of the problem in 2014! And the issue is significant as highlighted in this letter: “In the event of an accident with deployment of the front airbag, the occupants of the vehicle could suffer fatal injuries.” So as it is said and written, at Volkswagen if this happens they can always claim they warned the customers…

And in conclusion: “As a precautionary measure for safety reasons, the restoration of the front airbag of your vehicle is imperative.”

It is understood that such a recall operation cannot be organized in a few days as the airbags will not be restored but completely replaced! But what a waste of time and risks taken before taking the problem seriously. Two short hours of immobilization for the vehicle, but hundreds of millions of euros in costs for the manufacturer forced to take the operation entirely on its shoulders. Models produced between 2006 and 2017, including Up!, Passat, Fox, Polo, and Crafter, are indeed involved, which explains more than anything this delay.

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