That sort of stuff is going to be overlooked I would reckon, you changed the wheel, VW know nothing about it so it is your problem not theirs. You can't blame them if that is the way they go as they aren't mind readers and they have to document and prove every bag replaced to the authorities with a complete audit trail. Again back to what I can ask questions about Mazda only replaced the inflator and used the existing bag. If I was in your position I would be either getting rid of the air bag assembly and replacing it, accept the risk or put the original wheel back on. it won't matter if you can identify it via the part number, the sad fact is that it won't be part of the VIN range therefore there is no way that VW can do it and include it in the audit trail. This is going to bite everyone who has replaced a wheel unfortunately and present some real problems.
1997 Golf CL, 2011 Caddy Life TDI, 2007 Golf TDI, 1996 Vento GL (red), 2008 Skoda Octavia TDI
1996 Vento GL (white) - RIP
I would expect VW to do their due dilligence and take their time investigating the situation.
'07 Transporter 1.9 TDI
'01 Beetle 2.0
Investigate what situation, do you mean ask every VW owner if they have changed the steering wheel, where it came from, the VIN number of the car it came out of? Not much chance of that I don't think. They need an auditable paper trail tied back to a car still registered and on the road and they will need to be able to back that up if needed. Even if a VIN could be provided if that VIN is a write off/no longer registered they will not be able to use it.
No, the situation regarding which vehicles may be affected.
'07 Transporter 1.9 TDI
'01 Beetle 2.0
Yes, the fat lady is yet to sing on the final list and my apologies for misinterpreting what you wrote.
My comments regarding vehicles with non standard wheels should be noted though as it is a problem that VW cannot deal with on any level and be damned if I would be wanting to drive around with a potential bomb in my face. I am told that there is a court case over this in Australia, here it is Takata airbags: BMW, Nissan added to class action over defective safety devices - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) VW are not involved but it adds to the pressure to make sure that they have a complete record of air bags replaced and if a car is called in with a non standard wheel there could be issues but that is purely conjecture on my part. It was being mooted at one time that if a car owner did not respond to the recall the registration would be cancelled but I don't know if that is the case or not. Interesting times ahead for cars which have been modified.
2011 Skoda Octavia vRS TDI DSG wagon|Revo Stage 1|Race Blue|Leather|Dynamic Xenons w 6000K|9w7 BT|THA475 Amp+active sub|Whiteline ALK|RVC|
2009 R36 wagon|Biscay Blue|RVC|Tailgate|ECU and DSG tune|LED DRL/Indicators|3D colour cluster|Quad LED tail rings|Climatronics upgrade|Dynaudio retrofit|B7 RLine Flat Steering Wheel|3AA CCM|TPMS Direct|B7 Adaptive Cruise with Front Assist|Discover Media retrofit|PLA 2.0|Lane Assist|BCM retrofit|High Beam Assist|DQ500
And how do you propose that VW deal with the auditing and compliance they will have to do? This is now out of every manufacturers hands and they just can't do what they want they have legal obligations and accounting requirements. A dealer would never fit a non standard wheel genuine or not (he would be selling an ADR non compliant vehicle) so you can forget that one and even of they did the same issues would arise. The whole exercise revolves around accountability to the ACCC at the end of the day and not what VW or you want to do.
I had my Nissan Navara done ,Its not the Air Bag as such but the Trigger Mechanism , Mine was in the centre of the dash ,So changing your steering wheel might not effect your recall ,
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