Thousands of new Volkswagens recalled after major fault which could increase risk of accidents causing ‘serious injury, death’

Thousands of new Volkswagens have been recalled after a dangerous defect was discovered – with a warning it could increase the risk of an accident causing “serious injury or even death”. Over 5000 Volkswagen Golf, Tiguan and Tayron models are affected by the recall, which was issued by the federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts on Tuesday. A software issue related to the power steering motor system is behind the notice. “Due to a software issue, under certain driving conditions the power steering motor system may not operate as intended. This may result in a sudden increased steering effort while driving,” the recall notice states. “A sudden increase in steering effort could increase the risk of an accident-causing serious injury or death to vehicle occupants and other road users.” Volkswagen is urging owners of affected vehicles to contact their preferred dealership to schedule an appointment as soon as possible to have the software update carried out, free of charge. The recall has affected 5116 Volkswagen models from 2025-26.