VW recalls 225k vehicles for tire pressure monitoring defect

Washington – German car maker Volkswagen is recalling just under 225,000 VW and Audi branded cars in the US for a defect in their tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS).

The recall concerns a faulty system that may fail to detect, in a timely manner, if all four tires deflate at the same rate, at the same time.

The defect was identified in 2020 during testing and VW petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to rule this defect as inconsequential, on the basis that it did not pose an unreasonable safety risk.

In documents provided to the NHTSA, Volkswagen said that the TPMS system still warned drivers of unsafe tire pressure, although the timing of the warning did not comply with the timings defined by the federal safety standards.

“The behaviour does not pose an unreasonable safety risk, as every puncture (meaning a rapid tire pressure loss), as well as a diffusion (meaning a long term pressure loss on multiple tires), will be detected,” said VW.

In its final decision published in the Federal Register 24 Oct, however, the NHTSA denied the petition leading to the recall.