The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2016 TT roadster, A3 cabriolet, A3 sedan and A3 e-tron, 2016-2017 TT coupe, 2017 A4 sedan and Q7 and 2015-2017 Q3 vehicles. The affected vehicles may have been programmed with new software that inadvertently makes the side marker lights inoperative in conjunction with the parking lights or the headlights. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
The risk
If the side marker lights do not illuminate, the vehicle may be less visible at night, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Audi will notify owners, and dealers will upload revised software to correct the issue, free of charge. This recall began November 2016. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 97CB.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Audi A3 Cabriolet | 2016 |
| Audi A4 allroad | 2017 |
| Audi Q3 | 2015, 2016, 2017 |
| Audi Q7 | 2017 |
| Audi TT Roadster | 2016, 2017 |
Components: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE | EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audi A3 Cabriolet | 2016 | 36 | 3 |
| Audi A4 allroad | 2017 | 31 | 5 |
| Audi Q3 | 2015 | 24 | 2 |
| Audi Q3 | 2016 | 28 | 3 |
| Audi Q3 | 2017 | 8 | 3 |
| Audi Q7 | 2017 | 320 | 7 |
| Audi TT Roadster | 2016 | 3 | 2 |
| Audi TT Roadster | 2017 | 0 | 2 |
Other exterior lighting recalls in 2016
38 of the 919 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2016 concerned the exterior lighting; Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. filed 321 campaigns in all.
| 16V924000 22 Dec 2016 | C & M Trailers Inc. |
| 16V912000 20 Dec 2016 | C & M Trailers Inc. |
| 16V872000 5 Dec 2016 | PACCAR Incorporated |
| 16V869000 2 Dec 2016 | Thor Motor Coach |
| 16V808000 7 Nov 2016 | Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. |
| 16V759000 20 Oct 2016 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 16V760000 20 Oct 2016 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 16V753000 18 Oct 2016 | Mazda North American Operations |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2016