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.