Last Updated: May 2014
Following up on a stop-sale order from earlier this month, Volkswagen announced a voluntary recall of 26,452 vehicles that are powered by the brand’s 1.8-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine for faulty O-rings that could cause a fluid leak. The recall includes the 2014 model year Passat, Jetta, Beetle and Beetle convertible, made between Feb. 1, 2014 and April 6, 2014.
There have been no fires, injuries, accidents or fatalities relating to this issue, which VW will be fixing free of charge. Customers will need to report to dealers to have the O-rings replaced, free of charge.
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Official press release from Volkswagen:
VOLKSWAGEN ISSUES VOLUNTARY RECALL
Apr 21, 2014
Herndon, VA (April 21, 2014) – Volkswagen considers the safety and satisfaction of its consumers and passengers as a top priority. As such, Volkswagen of America today notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that it will be issuing a voluntary safety recall affecting the automatic transmission oil cooler on certain 2014 model year Volkswagen vehicles with a 1.8T engine and torque-converter automatic transmission.
The recall affects 26,452 model year 2014 Volkswagen Jetta, Passat, Beetle and Beetle Convertible vehicles produced between February 1, 2014 and April 6, 2014. Of the 26,452 affected vehicles, 1,655 are customer cars. Due to a supplier material change during the production of the transmission oil cooler, the O-ring seals in affected vehicles are out of specification. If the O-rings do not completely seal between the oil cooler and transmission, a fluid leak may result.
To fix the issue, Volkswagen will replace the defective O-ring with a new one, at no cost to the customer. No fires, accidents, injuries or vehicle fires have been reported. Volkswagen will notify all owners of affected vehicles and will instruct them to arrange for an appointment with an authorized Volkswagen dealer.
About Volkswagen of America, Inc.
Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc., an operating unit of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (VWoA) is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. VWoA’s operations in the United States include research and development, parts and vehicle processing, parts distribution centers, sales, marketing and service offices, financial service centers, and its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Volkswagen Group is one of the world’s largest producers of passenger cars and Europe’s largest automaker. VWoA sells the Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Eos, Golf, GTI, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Passat, CC, Tiguan, and Touareg vehicles through approximately 630 independent U.S. dealers.