CSR

Recall · 21V606000

Volkswagen Group of America recalled 27 models over seat belts

45,496

Vehicles covered

27

Models

28

Model years

August 5, 2021

Filed with NHTSA

SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER:RETRACTOR

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Volkswagen ID4, Audi A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A5 Sportback, A6 Allroad, A6 Sedan, A7, A8, E-Tron Quattro, E-Tron Sportback Quattro, Q3, Q5, Q5 Sportback, Q7, Q8, RS5 Sportback, RS5 Coupe, RS6 Avant, RS7, RSQ8, S4 Sedan, S5 Cabriolet, S5 Coupe, S5 Sportback, S6 Sedan, S7, S8, SQ5, SQ5 Sportback, SQ7, SQ8, and 2021-2022 S3 Sedan vehicles. The rear seat belt automatic locking retractors may deactivate early, which can prevent the child restraint system from securing properly. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
What it can cause
An unsecured child restraint system can increase the risk of injury during a crash.
What the dealer does
Dealers will inspect, and replace as necessary, the middle-rear seat belt assemblies, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 27, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 69CR (VW) and 69CS (Audi).
NHTSA's note
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.

The repair is free, whatever the age or mileage of the vehicle, and whether or not you are the original owner.

Which vehicles

A recall reaches a range of VINs inside these model years, not every car built in them. Yours may not be covered even if it is listed here, and the only way to find out is NHTSA's own VIN lookup.

VehicleModel yearsSafety record
Audi A420212021
Audi A520212021
Audi A5 Cabriolet2021Not published here
Audi A620212021
Audi A6 Allroad20212021
Audi A72021Not published here
Audi A82021Not published here
Audi E-Tron20212021
Audi Q320212021
Audi Q520212021
Audi Q720212021
Audi Q820212021
Audi RS Q82021Not published here
Audi RS52021Not published here
Audi RS62021Not published here
Audi RS72021Not published here
Audi S32021 to 2022Not published here
Audi S42021Not published here
Audi S52021Not published here
Audi S5 Cabriolet2021Not published here
Audi S62021Not published here
Audi S72021Not published here
Audi S82021Not published here
Audi SQ520212021
Audi SQ72021Not published here
Audi SQ82021Not published here
Volkswagen ID.420212021

How this campaign compares

At 45,496 vehicles this is a bigger campaign than 89% of the 15,193 vehicle recalls with a published size filed from 1995 up to this one. The middle campaign among them covers 487. It covers model years 2021 to 2022, and the defect was reported to NHTSA in 2021, at or before the oldest model year it covers — as current as a recall gets.

Volkswagen vehicles have been recalled over the seat belts 8 times before this, most recently in August 2021 as 21V607000. That is not evidence the earlier repair failed.

This site holds the complaint record for 14 of the 28 model years the campaign names. Their owners have filed 648 complaints with NHTSA, 13 of them before this campaign was filed. 7 of those name the seat belts, the system this recall is about — a count of complaints, not of this defect.

The vehicles on this campaign carry 41 other recalls published here, the newest being: 26V590000 (steering), 25V900000 (back over prevention), 25V201000 (electrical system), 25V120000 (power train).

Check your own car

A VIN check is the only answer for a specific vehicle, and it also shows every other open recall on it, which is usually the reason it is worth doing rather than reading one campaign.

Filed by Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. with NHTSA on August 5, 2021 as campaign 21V606000. Every word of the defect, consequence and remedy above is NHTSA's published record of that filing, not a summary of it.

Compiled and maintained by . Data last checked 2021-08-05.
Independent developer and analyst