Investigation PE06022: 2004–2005 Volkswagen Touareg

Status

CLOSED

Opened

Jun 19, 2006

Closed

Oct 30, 2006

Model years

2004–2005

Subject

Srs warning light illumination

Component: Air bags › Side/window

Summary

My 2004-05 (to 11/2004) touareg vehicles have a potentially faulty/loose side air bag wiring connector that can cause the wiring circuit resistance to exceed the design limit and illuminate the supplemental restraint system (srs) air bag light.on 02/2005, vw issued a technical service bulletin (tsb #69-05-02) to address this condition by replacing the connector with a direct connection.vw's testing has shown that proper deployment of the side air bag is not affected by the connector fault.however, there are a large number of warranty claims due to air bag light (abl) illumination.vw is planning to initiate a touareg service pack/ customer satisfaction campaign (csc) in december 2006.vw will replace the side air bag wiring connector with a direct connection on all remaining uncorrected vehicles built prior to 11/2004.in addition, vw reports that a small number of vehicles built in october and november 2003, may contain an incorrectly manufactured side air bag module.this also may produce abl illumination that would become evident soon after the vehicle is put into service.warranty data indicates that these modules have been corrected and no longer present a risk.vw has not received any alleged side air bag non-deployment report.action taken by the manufacturer is sufficient to resolve the issue raised by this investigation.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that no safety-related defect exists.the agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.

An NHTSA investigation looks into whether a safety defect exists. Opening one is not a finding. Outcomes can include a recall, closure without action, or further inquiry.

Model years covered

• 2005 Volkswagen Touareg75 complaints
• 2004 Volkswagen Touareg231 complaints