Front Passenger Airbag Recall

[D's Avant]

Received a letter from AOA announcing a recall for the front passenger airbag.

No parts or eta on a fix, so just a notification. Now both of our cars are under this airbag mess, my C6 and my wife's BMW E46 330i.

[skylinrcr01]

Hooray for Takata! That's what happens when you have one manufacture make essentialy every unit of something though, if it fails, it fails spectacularly and on a huge scale.

[JPJ2007]

I can only assume it'll leak to the rest of us. I guess I'll wait....

[hilmar2k]

Yup, I got the same letter yesterday.

[Saifxnyc]

I as well received that letter stating the passenger airbag is faulty

[JPJ2007]

Talk about timing. Interesting it's only the passenger side. I suppose the dimensions difference between the steering wheel and the passenger are the reason. The pass. I would assume is a standard size. Still should be multi stage though.

[2003svtjrc]

I especially like how they say do not have any passengers in the front seat until it can be fixed


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[c@@kieMonsta]

Does it affect C6.5's? I got the same letter for my '07 B7.

[Eurotuned_A4]

I especially like how they say do not have any passengers in the front seat until it can be fixed


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Seriously. My pregnant wife refers to my car a a death trap now and wont ride in it......

My buddies CRV was held at Honda for 8 months waiting to get the airbags taken care of and they were given a loaner for the entire time. When I get my car into the dealer for 75k mile service in the next few weeks I'm going to ask for one as well.

[Dutch_A6]

I received the notice last week on my 07, same deal "we'll send another letter when the parts are in"...........

[SinCityA6]

I have not received any notification as of yet (09 C6.5). So my understanding of the recall is an issue with the ignitor potentially blowing shrapnel into the face of the passeneger occupant when the airbag deploys causing injury, etc. Not sure what the frequency of this occurance is but I am going to continue to drive the car and pray I dont get into an accident where the airbags deploy.

[grain370]

Well I got the recall letter as well... Joy... Gives you a sense of security doesn't it? Lol


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[Dutch_A6]

"we recommend you not have anyone in the passenger seat until this issue is resolved" great advice............

[Gerarddm]

Audi dealer told me today not to expect a fix until next year in the Pacific Northwest. They said the priority is evidently hot and humid areas of the country first, then working into less prioritized areas. Also, Audi does not have any where near as many suspect vehicles as, say, Honda ( which has millions ).

Query: if one were to simply remove the fuse for the passenger airbag, would that prevent inadvertent detonation? Or, does this thing simply go off spontaneously due to the chemicals breaking down?

[JPJ2007]

IIRC the recall is due to manufacturing process that causes shards of metal to come out WITH the air bag. Not that it will just go off.


Edit: I removed the photos/link of the damage they do. Just google Airbag recall and click images.
It was too much so I'll leave it out.
People are getting pretty messed up by this issue.


Edit2: I called and my dealer said they have no idea and know nothing about the timeline for repairs. It's 100°F and humidity of 90% in the summer here, gotta be closer to the top.
I emailed AoA so we'll see what I get back from them.

[JPJ2007]

Well I just got a call from Audi of America.

She said that Takata has partnered with the NHTSA and has created a priority list for manufactures and vehicles. She said unfortunately Audi was placed extremely low on the list and that there is no answer or information for a time line. They are working on making headway on the other manufacturers and then they will return to lower priority manufacturers like Audi.
She said she understands the answer isn't satisfactory but it's unfortunately where it all stands and there is nothing else that can be done. She said no one should be sitting in the passenger seat until the repair and as soon as they are given further information from the government the owners will quickly receive an additional letter.

I'm going to unhook the power connector for my passenger air bag once I find exactly where it's at.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Audizine mobile app

[D's Avant]

Well I just got a call from Audi of America.

She said that Takata has partnered with the NHTSA and has created a priority list for manufactures and vehicles. She said unfortunately Audi was placed extremely low on the list and that there is no answer or information for a time line. They are working on making headway on the other manufacturers and then they will return to lower priority manufacturers like Audi.
She said she understands the answer isn't satisfactory but it's unfortunately where it all stands and there is nothing else that can be done. She said no one should be sitting in the passenger seat until the repair and as soon as they are given further information from the government the owners will quickly receive an additional letter.

I'm going to unhook the power connector for my passenger air bag once I find exactly where it's at.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Audizine mobile app

Agree we may want to explore other options to disconnect the passenger airbag while not affecting the operation of the other good airbags.

Wonder if there is some way to trick the sensor in the passenger seat that triggers the "passenger airbag is off" signal.

I know on my much older B5 Avant if the airbag light was on the other airbags would not work. I would be concerned if you disconnect the passenger airbag it would stop all of the airbags from deploying during an accident.

If Audi is so low in the list, there may (MAY) be less of a risk of flying shrapnel with our cars. Can you really believe anything from Audi/VW nowadays... I drive an Audi for several reasons and safety is on the top of that list.

It maybe time to move onto something else.

[JPJ2007]

If the light for the air bag is on that says "Pass Air Bag Off" then only it's off and the rest still work. It uses the seat weight sensor for turning the
air bag on and off. My dog is about 65lbs and when going somewhere it will turn on and off depending how he's sitting in the seat.

I wouldn't leave Audi because of this, unlike the diesel drama this wasn't their fault and it involves many other manufacturers.
Luckily they didn't purchase a standard airbag for the driver steering wheel like they did the passenger...

Edit: Here's the list of vehicles recalled for this exact same issue. Crazy to look at....

http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/new...icle-1.2602999

[jumpinj]

Any status updates on this? Dodge already fixed my pickup this summer.

TK Holdings (takata) plans on filing for chapter 11 and there is a process to file a claim for future monetary loss before this happens.
The notice I got in the mail states you have this right whether or not you have thus far suffered no loss, injury or death on account of your airbag; however, such claims may be deemed to have accrued before the debtors filed bankruptcy.
Deadline to file claim is set as Dec 27 2017. Has anyone completed this process?

My thoughts: I know quite a bit of buyers check Carfax and whether recalls were completed before considering purchasing a car. I certainly can't in good conscious not inform a potential buyer of this issue. BL: Selling a family wagon in which no family members can sit in the passenger seat; more importantly, that has no fix, should be considered a monetary loss, correct?

[JPJ2007]

CALL YOUR LOCAL AUDI DEALER

I randomly called a few weeks ago because I hadn't heard from my dealer who took my information a year ago... I was told the parts were available and in stock so I scheduled to have it done the next business day.

Be prepared, It's a 3hour job and if your dealer is like mine, it'll sit for another hour and a half after it's done for the "Free" 30min Car wash that they have and it's just an on lot automatic car wash.
I was absolutely livid when I watched my dash cam and found it sat for an hour and a half... WHILE I WAS WAITING.
I left and had to put down my dog (I learned half way through the repair) so I'm a little biased at being mad at them for letting my car sit for a fucking hour and a half while I waited and asked for updates... Aside from that, they fixed it for free.

[Kevin1]

Get a loaner and skip the wait.

[JPJ2007]

Wasn't even an option for me. Best of luck if your dealer is better.

[Kevin1]

My understanding was that Audi requires its dealers to provide loaner cars. My dealer has provided me with a free loaner with every service visit since I purchased my first Audi in 2004. After getting loaners for 13 years of service visits I did not realize it is apparently a dealer optional service. Are you sure about this? First world problems! LOL

[jumpinj]

I didn't call that long ago, but I will call again. Glad to hear there is a fix....

tried to schedule service online via VIN and got this message:

"RECALL REPAIR IS NOT YET AVAILABLE. Audi will provide formal notification once the recall repair is available."

Maybe someone whose dealership fixed this issue could share their name. I would like to call them.