Germany’s largest car manufacturer, Volkswagen, is recalling nearly 3 million vehicles because of possible corrosion in the steering mechanism. The German Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) announced this, explaining that a bolt in the system can corrode and impair proper steering function.
2.16 million Volkswagens of the models Golf, Golf Variant, Tiguan, Touran, and Caddy, produced between 2013 and 2024, are affected, and also 700,000 Audis, mostly Q3 models built between 2017 and 2024.
According to the usually well-informed German newspaper Handelsblatt, the total could climb to 4 million cars, including around 1 million Skodas and about 200,000 Seats (KBA mentions the Ateca and Tarraco models produced between April 2016 and September 2024).
Precautionary measure
Volkswagen has announced that it has already launched a preemptive recall action. Owners will receive a letter from the manufacturer through their dealer asking them to stop by to replace the bolt in question. Until then, VW insists it’s fine to keep driving. “We are recalling preventively; no accidents or injuries caused by the problem have been recorded.”
It’s not yet known how many vehicles are affected in Belgium. “For sure, the owners will get a recall letter so they can make a rendez-vous at the dealer for the bolt to be replaced,” says importer D’Ieteren spokesman Jean-Marc Ponteville. The repair will take about one hour and, of course, will be free of charge.
Biggest recall since Dieselgate
This is the largest recall the VW Group has to organize since the famous Dieselgate scandal in 2015, when the group had to recall more than 11 million cars worldwide.
The recall cost is yet unknown, but it comes at a very unlucky moment. The whole Volkswagen Group is struggling with declining sales and profits. The Chinese car market (Volkswagen’s biggest market in recent years) has been hit by fierce competition; Chinese brands are now also entering the European market, and Trump’s tariffs are damaging U.S. sales.
Add to this the fact that the VW Group has partly been missing out the energy transition and had to invest huge amounts of money in electrification, it’s now wonder that the top management is trying to cut costs verywhere and is considering cutting 100,000 jobs or more in Germany alone and the possbile closing of 4 German-based plants.
