VW and Audi fix 224,700 recalled cars with software updates

Volkswagen and its luxury brand Audi are recalling 224,704 new cars and SUVs over faulty tire pressure monitors, NHTSA said Monday. It can be fixed as easily as taking the car to the dealer for an update.

The Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) may not read the correct tire pressure. Especially when all four tires are deflating at the same time and at the same rate, such as when driving on spikey roads. According to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards requirements, this is a failure because the sudden loss of air in all four tires at the same time can increase the risk of a crash.

Still, if the rare condition “less than 4 tires” occurs at the same time, the driver should receive an error or warning light in the instrument cluster.

The recall affects the following vehicles:

2019-2020 Audi A3 Sedan and 2019 Audi A3 Cabriolet

2019 Audi Q3

2019 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack and Sportswagen

2019 Volkswagen Tiguan

2019-2020 Volkswagen Jetta and Jetta GLI

2019-2020 Volkswagen Golf A7, GTI, R

2019-2021 Volkswagen Atlas

2020-2021 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport

With more gauges and electronic sensors, connected cars are relatively easy and cheap to fix with software updates. Many newer cars, especially electric vehicles, have over-the-air software updates that don’t even require a trip to the dealer.

The visit to the service center required for this recall is free of charge to the owner.

Owners may receive notice by mail no later than December 30, 2022. For more information, contact Volkswagen Customer Service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi Customer Service at 1-800-253-2834. Visit VW recall site.