— Eleven years ago Volkswagen recalled hundreds of thousands of vehicles due to front driver airbag failures.
VW determined debris such as long human hair could enter the steering wheel hub, cause contamination and failure of the clock spring.
This left drivers of these vehicles without frontal airbags.
- 2010-2014 Volkswagen CC
- 2010-2014 Volkswagen Eos
- 2010-2014 Volkswagen GTI
- 2010-2014 Volkswagen Golf
- 2010-2014 Volkswagen Jetta
- 2010-2014 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen
- 2010-2014 Volkswagen Passat
- 2010-2014 Volkswagen Tiguan
Simple human hair was causing the flat ribbon to tear which destroyed the electrical connection to the front driver airbag and any steering wheel mounted controls.
It doesn't take much for the internal flat cable to break because the clock spring is designed so the cable easily breaks so the steering wheel keeps moving.
Volkswagen drivers complained about seeing illuminated airbag warning lights indicating the airbags would not deploy. Drivers also heard noise from the steering wheels and steering columns when turning the steering wheels.
However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a recall investigation in November 2017, known officially as a recall query. VW owners continued to complain about clock spring failures, including on vehicles that were supposed to be repaired.
But many clock spring complaints were filed by owners of Volkswagen vehicles that were not included in the 2015 recall.
NHTSA upgraded its investigation in 2018 and determined the recall should have included additional vehicles because those vehicles were equipped with a common steering wheel clock spring.
NHTSA has finally closed its nine-year investigation after Volkswagen released clock spring warranty extensions, including a 15-year unlimited mileage warranty for vehicles included in the recall. Then a separate clock spring warranty extension was issued for vehicles not included in the recall.
However, safety regulators say they will continue to keep their eyes open for Volkswagen clock spring complaints.
