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The Takata Airbag Saga Continues With Nearly 30,000 Audi Vehicles From the 1990s

Merged with Key Safety Systems to create Joyson Safety Systems, the Takata Corporation was responsible for one of the largest recalls in automotive history. A series of high-profile deaths and injuries associated with defective airbag inflators led to the Japanese corporation’s downfall.
Older Audi A4 7 photos
Photo: Audi
Older Audi A4Older Audi A4Older Audi A4Older Audi A8Older Audi A8Older Audi A8
The saga continues with the Volkswagen Group of America, which filed a report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. More specifically, Audi is calling back 28,624 vehicles that were produced in the 1990s with NADI airbag inflators that do not contain PSAN propellant.

Recall number 22V-471 serves as an amendment for 20V-056, correcting a clerical error that was made in entering the affected model years for the Audi A8 into the portal. The German automaker has confirmed that all of the affected owners have been notified of the recall in December 2021.

22V-471 lists 1,976 examples of the A8 from the 1998 model year and 26,648 examples of the A4 from the 1997 and 1998 model years. The non-azide driver inflators feature a manufacturing issue that leads to the absorption of moisture, causing the airbag inflator to explode or the airbag cushion to underinflate in the event of deployment as a result of a crash.

20V-056 from September 2021 comprises 106,857 vehicles. The list begins with the 2000 to 2021 Audi TT Roadster (16 units) and 2000 Audi TT Coupe (6,677 units). The remainder includes the 1999 Audi A8 (4,058 units), 1998 to 2000 Audi A6 (30,587 units), and 1999 to 2000 Audi A4 (65,519 units).

1% of vehicles are believed to exhibit the aforementioned condition.

At this point, the four-ringed automaker from Ingolstadt isn’t aware of any cases worldwide involving non-azide driver inflators where the airbag didn’t perform as designed, neither inflator ruptures, nor cases of underinflation. The part numbers for the recalled airbags are 4B0.951.403 and 4B0.951.403 A. Based on Takata Corporation’s production records, all inflators produced from August 21st, 1999, have received an improved sealing.
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 Download: Takata recalls for older Audi models (PDF)

About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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