NHTSA campaign 16V078000

Audi and Volkswagen Recall 16V-078: Driver's Frontal Air Bag Inflator May Rupture

  • Recall influenced by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation

NHTSA recall 16V078000 was reported by Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. on February 10, 2016, with 659,493 vehicles potentially affected (per NHTSA). NHTSA's record lists the Volkswagen Passat, Volkswagen CC, Volkswagen Golf and more for model years 2007–2014. Owners were notified on March 10, 2017, per NHTSA.

Updated daily from NHTSA's recall files

Is my vehicle included?

This page lists, by model year, the vehicles NHTSA's recall record names for campaign 16V078000 in the model years try.vin imports (1995 and later); NHTSA's own record can list more. A model year on the list doesn't mean every vehicle of that year is included, and some may already have been repaired.

To see whether a specific vehicle is included and still needs the repair, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.

Key facts

NHTSA campaign
16V078000 (also written 16V-078 or 16V078)
Filed by
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Report received
Potentially affected
659,493 vehicles (per NHTSA)
Component
Air Bags — Frontal — Driver Side — Inflator Module
Owners notified

Repair completion: 58.54% (latest rate the manufacturer reported to NHTSA; dataset updated October 21, 2026)

NHTSA cautions against comparing completion rates across recalls or manufacturers. How try.vin reads them.

Vehicles listed for this recall

NHTSA's recall record lists these vehicles for recall 16V078000. try.vin imports model years 1995 and later, so NHTSA's own list can be longer. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to it. Build dates are NHTSA's range for a model year (per NHTSA); a vehicle built in that range is not necessarily included.

Audi

All Audi recalls

Volkswagen

All Volkswagen recalls

NHTSA's recall notice

As NHTSA's recall record states it for campaign 16V078000.

Defect description

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Golf, 2007-2010 Passat sedans and wagon, 2012-2014 Passat sedan and Eos, 2009-2014 CC, 2009-2012 Audi Q5, 2010-2012 S5 Cabriolet and 2010-2012 Audi A5 Cabriolet vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.

Safety consequence

In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Manufacturer remedy

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflators, free of charge. Volkswagen issued an interim notification to owners on April 12, 2016, and will send a second notification when parts are available. Volkswagen will notify owners again once parts are available. Volkswagen owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Audi owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834.

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Sources

Official NHTSA notice for recall 16V078000

Campaign details come from NHTSA's recall files, which try.vin imports once a day. The plain-language subject and the completion rate come from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Recalls Data dataset. How try.vin reads recall data.