In the US, Volkswagen is recalling over 260,000 small cars due to a fuel leak that might potentially spark a fire from a pump inside the fuel tank.
The vehicles in question are a variety of 2015–2020 model year Volkswagen Golf, Golf GTI, Golf Sportwagen, Jetta, and Audi A3 vehicles. Not all of those vehicles’ model years are included, and only front-wheel drive—not all-wheel drive—versions are covered. VW’s premium brand is Audi, and these are all quite similar cars.
Fuel may build up in the system intended to capture gasoline vapors due to a seal around a suction pump near the gas tank that was not correctly built. Fuel may then seep out of the vehicle from that point on. A fire may ignite if gasoline comes into touch with a spark or another source of ignition. According to VW, there haven’t been any fires as a result of this issue yet.
Starting in mid-April, owners of vehicles covered by the recall will receive letters from Volkswagen. Owners will be told to bring their car to a dealership so that the dealership would replace the pump for free.
Documents in Volkswagen’s recall filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that some of these vehicles were also part of a 2016 recall for the same problem; however, the replacement fuel pump fitted at the time did not completely cure the issue.
Owners of cars can find out if their particular vehicle is involved by visiting the Safecar.gov website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Additionally, owners can contact Audi customer support at 800-253-2834 or Volkswagen customer service at 800-893-5298.
