Volkswagen is recalling 260,000 small cars for fire risk

By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN

(CNN) — Volkswagen is recalling more than 260,000 compact cars in the United States because a pump located inside the gas tank could leak fuel, possibly leading to a fire.

The cars involved are various Volkswagen Golf, Golf GTI, Golf Sportwagen, Jetta and Audi A3s from the 2015 through 2020 model years. Not every model year is involved for every one of those models and only front-wheel-drive, not all-wheel-drive, versions are included. Audi is VW’s luxury brand, and these are all closely related models.

An improperly installed seal around a suction pump near the gas tank could allow fuel to accumulate in the system designed to trap gasoline vapors. From there, the fuel could leak out of the car. If the gasoline comes in contact with a spark or other ignition source, it could start a fire. Volkswagen says, so far, no fires resulted from this problem.

VW will mail letters beginning in mid-April to owners of vehicles involved in the recall. Owners will be instructed to take their vehicle to a dealership where the pump will be replaced at no charge.

Some of these models were also involved in a 2016 recall for the same problem, but the replacement fuel pump installed at the time didn’t entirely resolve the issue, according to documents in VW’s recall filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Vehicle owners can check the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Safecar.gov website to see if their specific car is involved. Owners can also call Volkswagen customer service at 800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 800-253-2834.

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