Volkswagen and Audi bulletin SM 04-2025 VWGoA
What it saysThis special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed if it meets the criteria provided. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Volkswagen and Audi filed this with NHTSA as a manufacturer communication dated May 29, 2025, received Jun 3, 2025, about the service brakes. It names 21 model years across Volkswagen and Audi (2016–2023). A manufacturer communication is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
One page for every brand it was filed under. Each brand’s bulletins: Volkswagen · Audi.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationThis special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed if it meets the criteria provided.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SM 04-2025 VWGoA | Other | May 29, 2025 | 11018927 |
What the document itself lists
Parts the bulletin names
| Part number | Description | Qty | Find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5Q0-698-451-AD | — | — | |
| 5Q0-698-451-Q | — | — |
Read by machine from the document NHTSA serves (1 page), read Sep 30, 2026. A part number is shown only where it matches Volkswagen and Audi’s own catalogue shape, an operation only with its code and time, and a description only where the reader got it whole; anything it could not settle is left out, and the PDF is the record. Times are the manufacturer’s warranty allowances, not a quote. Listings and prices on eBay Motors are the seller’s.
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The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themVolkswagen 8 model years
Audi 13 model years
A vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 21 model years this bulletin names have filed 1,634 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 112 of them name Service Brakes — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
During moderate braking, the ABS system was violently pulsing the brakes on the left front wheel. This occured on about one dozen braking events over a 5-7 mile distance. Afterwards upon inspection, the left front brake smelled and radiated intense amounts of heat. There were no Warning Lights displayed at any time during or after.
2018 Volkswagen Golf / GTI · Service Brakes · filed with NHTSA Apr 2, 2025 · ODI 11652252
I was making my final trip of my move from Minneapolis to the Denver area and was on traveling West in the right lane. The truck ahead was moving from the right lane to the left to give room to a car stopped on the right shoulder. There was another car in the left lane so I couldn’t move to the left.
2019 Volkswagen Golf / GTI · Service Brakes · filed with NHTSA Feb 21, 2024 · ODI 11573196
The brake system on this car is not vented properly and thus overheats under heavy braking, resulting in excessive wear, melting of electronics, and potentially catastrophic failure which could result in injury or death.
2018 Audi TT Roadster · Service Brakes · filed with NHTSA May 7, 2018 · ODI 11092282
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the service brakes
Source: same model, same component group48 other manufacturer communications filed against these Volkswagen and Audi models under the same component group (service brakes), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Volkswagen list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| TSB_2079459_2 | Service bulletin | Sep 14, 2026 | This bulletin provides information when the DTC U300100 is logged I n the electromechanical brake servo. |
| V4622022067177_5 | Service bulletin | Aug 27, 2026 | Repair or Replace Information |
| V4619022015173_35 | Service bulletin | Aug 27, 2026 | Brake rotor resurfacing |
| V4619012010245_33 | Service bulletin | Aug 27, 2026 | Resurfacing Rotors during Perfect Delivery Inspection |
| TSB_2077435_3 | Service bulletin | Aug 21, 2026 | This bulletin provides information when there are cracks on the friction ring surface on ceramic brake discs. |
| TSB_2069904_3 | Service bulletin | Aug 21, 2026 | This bulletin provides information for all models regarding brake sounds. |
| TSB_2069078_4 | Service bulletin | Aug 21, 2026 | This bulletin provides information on the zirconium insercts in the brake piston (ceramic brakes only). |
| TSB_2067132_4 | Service bulletin | Aug 21, 2026 | This bulletin provides information when there is corrosion on the friction survace of steel brake discs. |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Volkswagen and Audi, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Volkswagen and Audi SM 04-2025 VWGoA a recall?
No. A manufacturer communication is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the SM 04-2025 VWGoA repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way. Every Volkswagen warranty extension on file lists the ones Volkswagen has filed.
Which vehicles does SM 04-2025 VWGoA cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 21 model years across 2 brands (Volkswagen and Audi): 2020 Audi A3, 2019 Audi A3, 2018 Audi A3, 2017 Audi A3, 2016 Audi A3, 2023 Audi TT and more. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.