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NHTSA campaign 16V403000

2016 Volkswagen Golf / GTI and 2 other Volkswagen models: fuel system, gasoline recall

A fuel leak, in the presence of an ignition source, can result in a vehicle fire.

critical55 vehicles affected80% reported repaired

What was reported

Source: manufacturer filing, 49 CFR Part 573
ProblemVolkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2016 Jetta vehicles manufactured October 31, 2015, to January 21, 2016, 2016 Passat vehicles, equipped with 1.8T engines manufactured November 13, 2015, to December 9, 2015, and 2016 Golf vehicles manufactured November 5, 2015, to November 11, 2015. In the affected vehicles, the fuel rail may detach from the cylinder head and result in a fuel leak.RiskA fuel leak, in the presence of an ignition source, can result in a vehicle fire.FixVolkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the cylinder heads, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 15F7.

Reported to NHTSA Jun 6, 2016 by Volkswagen Group of America, Inc, owners notified Sep 16, 2016.

Which vehicles are covered

Source: NHTSA campaign 16V403000

Vehicles built Oct 31, 2015 to Jan 21, 2016 — a VIN outside that window is not part of this campaign even if the year, make and model match.

Model yearClassSafety SignalRecalls on file
2016 Volkswagen Golf / GTIMidsize HatchbackF14
2016 Volkswagen JettaCompact SedanF4
2016 Volkswagen PassatMidsize SedanF5

Those are the model years inside WhichTrim's range, 2016 onward. The campaign may cover others outside it, and the only thing that settles whether one specific vehicle is included is its VIN.

How much of it has been fixed

Source: manufacturer quarterly report, 49 CFR 573.7
Reported repaired80%

of the campaign

The final figure: the six quarters of reporting that 49 cfr 573.7 requires have closed.

This is the manufacturer's own cumulative count of vehicles it has inspected and repaired, divided by the vehicles the campaign covers. It files that count with NHTSA every quarter for six consecutive quarters, starting from the quarter in which owners were told a remedy was ready, and then the obligation ends — so a figure on an older campaign is where the count stopped, not where it stands today.

It rarely reaches 100%, and not because the work was not done. The same report asks manufacturers to count vehicles they could not reach at all — exported, stolen, scrapped, or simply never located — and those stay in the denominator. A low number means a lot of these vehicles are still out there unrepaired; it does not tell you which ones.

The federal paperwork

Source: nhtsa.gov

Filed documents

NHTSA has not published the scanned filings for this campaign, or has not published them yet. The campaign record itself is on their site.

Check one specific vehicle

A recall applies to a build range, so year, make and model cannot settle it. NHTSA checks a VIN against the manufacturer's own list and tells you whether the repair is still outstanding on that vehicle.

NHTSA VIN recall lookup →

Campaign 16V403000 · the manufacturer calls it 15F7

Common questions

Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR Part 573

Does this recall repair cost anything?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to remedy a safety defect or a compliance failure at no charge, for vehicles up to 15 years old measured from the date of first sale. A dealer that asks you to pay for a recall repair is in the wrong.

How do I know whether my vehicle is included?

By VIN, not by model year. This campaign covers vehicles built Oct 31, 2015 to Jan 21, 2016. The manufacturer files a build range with NHTSA and only vehicles inside it are covered, so two identical-looking cars from the same year can differ. NHTSA's own lookup checks a VIN against the manufacturer's list.

What if the repair is not available yet?

It happens, and often. Manufacturers must notify owners when a defect is found even if the parts or the software are not ready, then notify them a second time once the remedy exists. The remedy filed here reads as still under development.

What did the manufacturer say was wrong?

The problem, risk and fix quoted on this page are the manufacturer's own words as filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR Part 573. WhichTrim does not paraphrase them.

Who started this recall?

NHTSA's record credits the manufacturer. A recall can begin with the manufacturer's own testing, with a defect investigation, or with a compliance test against a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.