Important News from Your Texas Accident Lawyer
Volkswagen recalls over 150,000 Audis & VWs for Fuel Line Fire Hazard
Posted on Oct 07, 2011
Volkswagen announced a recall of 168,000:
** 2009 to 2012 Jettas,
** 2009 to 2012 Jetta Sportwagens,
** 2010 to 2012 Golf models, and
** 2010 to 2012 Audi A3s.
The VW recall relates to a fuel injection pulse that could coincide with the natural frequency of fuel injector line number 2. The coinciding pulse could cause that fuel injector line to crack and leak fuel because of the amount of stress concentrated on that single line.
The fuel injector line defect prompting the VW recall exists in the Volkswagen and Audi models equipped with the TDI engine. The TDI engine defect could crack the injector line to leak fuel, and poses a potential fire hazard to the cars' owners and passengers. A fire from such a fuel leak could result in severe injuries and fatalities.
Mark Gillies, a Volkswagen - Audi spokesman, said that the company did not have knowledge of any fires from the TDI engine defect, but that it had knowledge of a "handful of vehicles" that had suffered leakage from the defect.
Volkswagen - Audi had started investigating the TDI engine defect early in 2010 based upon received reports of fuel leaks. But the company's own pressure testing in the laboratory did not discover any problems. It was not until late this summer that Volkswagen discovered the possibility that the TDI engine's injection pulse might coincide with the injector line's natural frequency to place additional stress upon the fuel line that could crack it open.
Volkswagen characterizes the recall as a voluntary one. But under federal NHTSA regulations, an automaker that discovers a safety problem must notify the agency within 5 days of its discovery and plans for a recall. Failure to do so results in civil penalties.
Volkswagen says it will replace the fuel injector lines in some models affected by the VW recall. It will install dampers to cut the coinciding vibrations in all of the recalled models.
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