VW Clock Spring Recall May Have Failed

April 23, 2018

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has expanded an investigation into the 2015 clock spring recall of 420,000 Volkswagen vehicles that could experience driver-side air bag failures. The expanded investigation includes more than 1.2 million of the following VW models.

April 23, 2018—A Volkswagen clock spring recall may have failed to do its job as owners continue to complain even after the vehicles were allegedly repaired, according to Car Complaints.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has expanded an investigation into the 2015 clock spring recall of 420,000 VW vehicles that could experience driver-side air bag failures.

The expanded investigation includes more than 1.2 million of the following VW models:

2010-2014 Volkswagen CC
2010-2014 Volkswagen Passat
2010-2014 Volkswagen Eos
2010-2014 Volkswagen Golf
2010-2014 Volkswagen GTI
2010-2014 Volkswagen Tiguan
2010-2014 Volkswagen Jetta
2010-2014 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen

Volkswagen had ordered the 2015 recall after a federal investigation into 30,000 model year 2012 Volkswagen Passat and CC vehicles with clock spring failures caused by hair and other debris that entered the steering wheel hubs.

The steering wheel clock spring is a spiral-wound flat cable that keeps the airbag powered while the steering wheel is turned. But the debris can cause a displacement of the guide loops inside the springs and the out-of-position guide loops cause tension to tear the cables.

Owners reported noise coming from the steering columns, airbag warning lights illuminating on the dashboards and failures of the steering-mounted controls.