Photo: Volkswagen
Back in June 2014, the Office of Defects Investigation opened preliminary 14-016 over six airbag inflator ruptures involving privately-owned vehicles produced by five automakers. The airbag inflators in question were sourced from Takata, and one of those automakers is Volkswagen.
Fast forward to January 2020, and Volkswagen was summoned by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over concerns about airbag inflator ruptures in the 2012 to 2014 model year Beetle. One week later, the federal watchdog clarified its expectation of a recall of all SDI-D inflators fitted to Beetles produced for the 2012 to 2014 model years.
The inflators in question contain phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate. Although cheaper than tetrazole, ammonium nitrate isn’t as stable. Upon deployment, ammonium nitrate-filled inflators may explode, which results in shrapnel propelled at high speeds into the face and body of the driver.
Even though Volkswagen was completely aware of the safety risks posed by Takata-supplied airbag inflators, the German automaker tried to weasel its way out of a safety recall. The Wolfsburg-based company inked a deal with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in May 2020, issuing a recall for the 2012 to 2014 Beetle coupe and convertible in December 2020. Be that as it may, someone didn’t do their job properly.
Fast forward to December 2022, and – seemingly out of the blue – the Product Safety Committee within Volkswagen Group of America decided to conduct a safety recall of the 2015 to 2016 Beetle coupe and convertible. How is that even possible? Documents filed with the NHTSA don’t explain which party holds the blame for this negligence, but we do know the part numbers for the affected airbag modules. These are 5C5.880.201.M, 5C5.880.201.N, 5C5.880.201.P, and 5C5.880.201.Q.
The document attached below reads 37,558 potentially affected vehicles, of which 100 percent are believed to feature ammonium nitrate-filled airbag inflators manufactured by Takata. The supplier filed for bankruptcy in June 2017. It was then snatched by the peeps at Key Safety Systems, who renamed their company Joyson Safety Systems after purchasing Takata. Headquartered in Auburn Hills, the American company is actually controlled by China’s Joyson Group and Hong Kong’s PAG Capital.
Volkswagen gingerly highlights that driver-side airbag inflators may explode due to propellant degradation caused by long-term exposure to high temperature cycling, high temperatures, and high humidity. On the upside, Volkswagen isn’t aware of any filed claims or warranty reports relating to this issue. If automakers were to be more transparent regarding which company supplies what for a given vehicle, chances are that some owners would’ve forced Volkswagen’s hand quite a bit earlier.
The subject airbag inflators are no longer in production, which explains why the remedy airbag inflators carry different part numbers. 5C5.880.201.AD and 5C5880201AE do not contain ammonium nitrate. Affected coupes were manufactured in the period between June 20th, 2014 and July 29th, 2016. As for the soft-topped Beetle, build dates range between June 30th, 2014 and July 28th, 2016 according to Volkswagen.
Authorized dealers in the U.S. will be informed of this recall on or before February 17th, 2023. The cut-off date applies to known owners as well.
The inflators in question contain phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate. Although cheaper than tetrazole, ammonium nitrate isn’t as stable. Upon deployment, ammonium nitrate-filled inflators may explode, which results in shrapnel propelled at high speeds into the face and body of the driver.
Even though Volkswagen was completely aware of the safety risks posed by Takata-supplied airbag inflators, the German automaker tried to weasel its way out of a safety recall. The Wolfsburg-based company inked a deal with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in May 2020, issuing a recall for the 2012 to 2014 Beetle coupe and convertible in December 2020. Be that as it may, someone didn’t do their job properly.
Fast forward to December 2022, and – seemingly out of the blue – the Product Safety Committee within Volkswagen Group of America decided to conduct a safety recall of the 2015 to 2016 Beetle coupe and convertible. How is that even possible? Documents filed with the NHTSA don’t explain which party holds the blame for this negligence, but we do know the part numbers for the affected airbag modules. These are 5C5.880.201.M, 5C5.880.201.N, 5C5.880.201.P, and 5C5.880.201.Q.
The document attached below reads 37,558 potentially affected vehicles, of which 100 percent are believed to feature ammonium nitrate-filled airbag inflators manufactured by Takata. The supplier filed for bankruptcy in June 2017. It was then snatched by the peeps at Key Safety Systems, who renamed their company Joyson Safety Systems after purchasing Takata. Headquartered in Auburn Hills, the American company is actually controlled by China’s Joyson Group and Hong Kong’s PAG Capital.
Volkswagen gingerly highlights that driver-side airbag inflators may explode due to propellant degradation caused by long-term exposure to high temperature cycling, high temperatures, and high humidity. On the upside, Volkswagen isn’t aware of any filed claims or warranty reports relating to this issue. If automakers were to be more transparent regarding which company supplies what for a given vehicle, chances are that some owners would’ve forced Volkswagen’s hand quite a bit earlier.
The subject airbag inflators are no longer in production, which explains why the remedy airbag inflators carry different part numbers. 5C5.880.201.AD and 5C5880201AE do not contain ammonium nitrate. Affected coupes were manufactured in the period between June 20th, 2014 and July 29th, 2016. As for the soft-topped Beetle, build dates range between June 30th, 2014 and July 28th, 2016 according to Volkswagen.
Authorized dealers in the U.S. will be informed of this recall on or before February 17th, 2023. The cut-off date applies to known owners as well.
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