German car maker Audi has recalled nearly 850,000 A4 cars over faulty airbags. However, the issue is not physical but a software glitch that has invoked this recall. The software malfunction may prevent the front airbags from from deploying in case of an accident. As this is just a software malfunction, Audi says that solving the problem is a matter of minutes.
Out of the 850,000 A4 sedans, wagons and Allroad models, 250,000 units have been recalled in China, 150,000 in Germany and 100,000 in the United States. The recalled A4s are from model years 2013-15. There have been no accidents reported related to this recall till now.
It is to be noted that this recall does NOT have any links to the Takata airbags defect because of which 14 million vehicles from 11 automakers have been recalled.
Its not a major recall, since it just a software glitch. However, it seems Germans are losing out big-time on quality. I am an avid reader of various automotive forums, where I have witnessed too many complaints related to mechanical and electrical failures from German’s three big names. Even the service is worser than road-side garages. Cost-cutting across all brands(especially the 25lac+ segment) is the main reason for such recalls.