Australia's Department of Infrastructure has published a recall concerning the 2019 through 2023 Volkswagen Passat, Arteon, and Golf. As it happens, the heat shield between the brake master cylinder and exhaust manifold may have been incorrectly fitted. Volkswagen Australia claims that said condition resulted from a manufacturing issue.
An estimated 5,997 vehicles are recalled, but as opposed to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States of America, the Department of Infrastructure doesn't publish the suspect build window. On the other hand, the Australian Public Service department has uploaded the 17-character VINs to its vehicle recall portal.
Due to the aforementioned heat shield, the connection to the brake fluid reservoir could melt, which may lead to a brake fluid leak. Coming into contact with the hot exhaust manifold may result in a fire. Volkswagen Australia urges Passat, Arteon, and Golf owners to get in touch with their preferred retails to schedule a service appointment ASAP.
Alternatively, owners can inquire about recall number REC-005873 by phone at 1800 504 076. As you're well aware, all three suspect models are based on the Volkswagen Group's MQB platform for transverse applications. The MQB rolled out in 2012 with the seventh-generation Golf. Updated in 2016, then again in 2019, the Modularer Querbaukasten underpins pretty much every internal combustion-engined Volkswagen model from the Golf to the Atlas.
The China-exclusive Audi Q6 sports the highly modular platform as well, and at 5.1 meters in length, it's – without a shadow of a doubt – the longest vehicle based on the Modular Transverse Matrix. Turning our attention back to the recalled vehicles, it should be noted that the Passat is on its way out in Australia. The wagon-only B9 isn't coming to the Land Down Under because VW is focusing on stronger-selling sport utility vehicles.
Photo: Volkswagen
The B8 generation continues to be listed on Volkswagen Australia's website in wagon and Alltrack flavors. Volkswagen dubs the wagon Variant in Germany, whereas Alltrack is best described as the all-road version of the Variant. Prospective customers are presented with two choices in terms of maximum output, namely the 2.0-liter 162 TSI (217 hp) and 2.0-liter 206 TSI (276 hp). Both come standard with the DSG dual-clutch transmission. The Alltrack is – obviously enough – fitted with 4MOTION by default.
Being a front-biased platform designed by the Volkswagen Group, it shouldn't come as a surprise that said AWD system uses Haldex coupling. Longitudinal models (think Touareg) level up to Torsen, which stands for torque-sensing AWD. Moving over to the Arteon, the Volkswagen Group has axed this model as well. Twinned with the Passat, the Arteon is available in stock with a starting driveaway price of 71,395 kangaroo bucks for a 2023 model. Converted at current exchange rates, that means about 46,995 freedom eagles.
The poor-selling Golf, which has recently been treated to a mid-cycle refresh in Europe, soldiers on as a five-door hatchback or wagon. The entry-level spec is 39,190 Aussie dollars before on-roads, whereas the range-topping R starts at 70,590.
Last year, Volkswagen Australia reported 43,821 deliveries in Australia. This, in turn, means that Volkswagen is the 11th largest automaker in Australia by sales volume. It slots right between Isuzu (45,341) and Nissan (39,376). That said, the Golf-sized T-Roc was the most popular VeeDub in this part of the world thanks to 8,983 deliveries.
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. Full profile
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