Volkswagen bulletin V4016012043146_4
What it saysWhat is and what is not a leaking suspension strut. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Volkswagen filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Nov 18, 2025, received Dec 5, 2025, about the suspension. It names 62 model years (2016–2025). A service bulletin 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.
Get the next Volkswagen bulletin for your model by email Weekly, only when something new is filed. Nothing else; one-click unsubscribe.
What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationWhat is and what is not a leaking suspension strut.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| V4016012043146_4 | Service bulletin | Nov 18, 2025 | 11026184 |
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 themand 22 more on this site: 2022 Volkswagen Passat, 2020 Volkswagen Passat, 2019 Volkswagen Passat, 2018 Volkswagen Passat, 2017 Volkswagen Passat, 2016 Volkswagen Passat, 2025 Volkswagen Taos, 2024 Volkswagen Taos, 2023 Volkswagen Taos, 2022 Volkswagen Taos, 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan, 2024 Volkswagen Tiguan, 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan, 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan, 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan, 2020 Volkswagen Tiguan, 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan, 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan, 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan, 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan, 2017 Volkswagen Touareg, 2016 Volkswagen Touareg.
A vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
Email me new Volkswagen bulletins for one of these models
A weekly email, sent only in a week when Volkswagen files something new with NHTSA for the model you pick — service bulletins, campaigns, warranty extensions, over-the-air notices, every model year. Nothing else is sent; one-click unsubscribe in every message. Separate from recall alerts.
What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 62 model years this bulletin names have filed 7,311 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 5 of them name Suspension — 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.
Hello, We have owned this vehicle since new. Today it has 28,945 miles. We started hearing a clunking sound from the front left side. We subsequently stopped and verified the suspension and discovered the broken front right suspension spring. Very disappointing to know that a suspension spring would brake at such low mileage.
2019 Volkswagen Beetle · Suspension · filed with NHTSA Apr 11, 2026 · ODI 11730601
I purchased a brand new 2018 VW Tiguan from a car dealership in my town. Two weeks later they called me and asked me to bring it back in to have it inspected for a possible recall. After an hour of sitting around waiting for them to check I finally went to their desk and asked what was going on.
2018 Volkswagen Tiguan · Suspension · filed with NHTSA May 28, 2018 · ODI 11098240
I started to hear clanking noise on left front side (drivers side) while driving. I removed the left front tire. Upon looking inside the wheel housing I observed that spring on the suspension strut was broken and lower part of spring the was no longer inside the lower spring seat.
2017 Volkswagen Beetle · Suspension · filed with NHTSA Sep 18, 2024 · ODI 11615315
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 suspension
Source: same model, same component group5 other manufacturer communications filed against these Volkswagen models under the same component group (suspension), newest first.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| V4418012043620_9 | Service bulletin | Dec 3, 2025 | Alignment Submission Form |
| V4616012043146_3 | Service bulletin | Jul 14, 2025 | How to identify and when to replace a leaking strut |
| V4019012028353_12 | Service bulletin | Mar 10, 2025 | Front suspension noisy, spring rubs on strut perch. |
| Circular 40S9 | Service bulletin | Jun 7, 2023 | During strut assembly, an issue may have caused a deformation of the strut mount. If the strut mount is deformed, it can lead to improper to… |
| Dealer 40S9 | Service bulletin | Jun 6, 2023 | Dealer Letter to announce Service Action 40S9 / Suspension Strut Mountings |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Volkswagen, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Volkswagen V4016012043146_4 a recall?
No. A service bulletin 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 V4016012043146_4 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 V4016012043146_4 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 62 model years: 2023 Volkswagen Arteon, 2022 Volkswagen Arteon, 2021 Volkswagen Arteon, 2020 Volkswagen Arteon, 2019 Volkswagen Arteon, 2025 Volkswagen Atlas and more. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.