Audi and Skoda cars now part of VW recall

Cars from Audi and Skoda, the sister brands to Volkswagen, are poised to be added to the recall of almost 26,000 Volkswagen vehicles in Australia announced overnight.

Audi is expected to announce this afternoon that 6267 cars will be recalled, comprising A1 and A3 models powered by 1.4-litre and 1.8-litre engines with seven-speed DSG automatic gearboxes, built between July 2008 to July 2011. Concerned owners can contact Audi on the customer service number: 1800 502 834. 

A batch of about 1746 Skoda vehicles made from 2009 to 2011 with DSG gearboxes will likely be added to the recall of Volkswagen cars. An official announcement from Skoda is due this afternoon. With a further 2800 diesel cars being inspected for injector faults, the latest fix brings the tally of recalled Volkswagen Group vehicles to nearly 37,000 in Australia.

Volkswagen had been criticised by the peak consumer body in Australia, the ACCC, and the Australian Automobile Association for being too slow to react to customer concerns over a wide range of mechanical defects. After recalls in North America and China for unrelated issues with DSG gearboxes, Volkswagen finally issued a recall in Australia after a fortnight of unprecedented pressure from disgruntled customers.

The vehicles affected were built between June 2008 and September 2011 and include the Golf hatchback, the Jetta sedan, the Polo hatchback, the Passat sedan and wagon and the Caddy van. The automatic DSG gearbox will be inspected and if needed repaired on that batch of vehicles.

The recall follows years of customer complaints that reached new levels in the past two weeks after the Victorian coroner’s inquest into the 2011 death of a Volkswagen driver was announced -- even though the findings were yet to be handed down and the car in that incident was not deemed to have suffered a mechanical fault.

Complaints highlighted in the past fortnight included engines that conked out, high oil use, and gearbox reliability issues. Several customers reported having their engines and/or gearboxes replaced while others complained about the  $5000 to $10,000 expense of fixing these parts once the warranty had expired.

However Volkswagen is still yet to issue an official recall for vehicles that some customers claim decelerate suddenly. The company says anyone experiencing that fault or any others to contact their local Volkswagen dealer.  Volkswagen Australia has set up a dedicated customer service line to answer customer queries -- 1800 504 076.