Auburn Hills, Mich.—July 10, 2017—In an action expected to begin this July, Volkswagen said it will recall Audi vehicles to address a possible safety issue. A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration letter dated for July 6 said that the recall would include 24,754 Q3 vehicles from the 2016 and 2017 model years, all of which were estimated to have the defect.
The Defect
This recall concerns a defect that could go against Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108, which pertains to “lamps, reflective devices, and assoc. equipment,” as an NHTSA report said. Specifically, the affected vehicles may contain a software error that prevents the brake lights from turning on when the parking brake is in use.
Though the source stressed that the brake system itself was unaffected, it did note that the lack of brake lights could be a hazard. It also did not list any specific signs for owners to look out for.
Timeline of Events
- March to November, 2016: This period included several events, such as the company’s first discovery of the issue, leading to the time when the company developed the improved software to resolve the problem.
- February to May, 2017: After the previous efforts, the manufacturer took a closer look at the particular compliance problem to determine the right way to respond.
- June, 2017: The above deliberation finally led to the decision that the vehicle issue did actually constitute a non-compliance concern in response to the FMVSS, with June 19 listed as the “Date of Determination” in the Part 573 Safety Recall Report.
The Resolution
Though the report didn’t include a specific date, it did state that the recall was “anticipated” for July 17. The repair effort will include a software update, using the program developed and put into use last year.
