Audi A4, S4, TT Added to List of Takata-Related Inflator Replacements


Volkswagen is following up on a recall from January to add three further models in a repair related to the massive Takata airbag inflator safety action. The recall involves non-azide driver-side frontal inflators and affects more than 62,800 cars from VW’s Audi luxury sub-brand, including the A4 and S4 sedans and TT coupe. The recall for these vehicles comes despite the inflators containing a moisture-inhibiting agent thought to make them safer.
Related: More on the Takata Airbag Recall
Affected are model-year 2000-01 TT coupes and roadsters, and 2000-02 A4 and S4 sedans equipped with the aforementioned non-azide driver-side inflators. Due to a manufacturing error, these inflators may absorb moisture, the problem at the heart of the Takata crisis. Takata’s faulty inflators employed ammonium nitrate, a chemical that can break down and deploy with too much force after years of exposure to heat and humidity, rupturing the inflator hardware and sending metal shrapnel into the cabin during an airbag deployment. The problematic inflators lacked desiccant, a moisture-inhibiting agent.
VW said it is currently not aware of any inflator ruptures in the field or in parts collected from Audi field vehicles and analyzed in test environments, but it’s taking this action as a precautionary measure.
Dealers will replace the airbag inflator with an alternative one for free. VW will begin notifying owners Aug. 20, but if you have further questions, you can call the automaker at 800-253-2834, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s vehicle-safety hotline at 888-327-4236 or visit its website to check their vehicle identification number and learn more.
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