2013 Volkswagen Passat

Issue: 
On certain vehicles, long-term exposure to high absolute humidity and temperature, combined with high temperature cycling, may eventually degrade the propellant contained in the driver-front airbag. This could cause the airbag to deploy with more force than normal. If the airbag inflator ruptures, fragments could be propelled toward vehicle occupants or cause damage to the airbag assembly, preventing its proper function. 
 
Safety Risk: 
If the vehicle is involved in a crash requiring an airbag deployment, the airbag inflator could rupture and create a risk of injury. 
 
Corrective Action: 
Volkswagen will notify owners by mail and advise you to take your vehicle to a dealership to replace the driver-front airbag. 
Note: The Canadian climate results in the propellant degrading slowly. This recall is being conducted as a precaution to address future risk. It is expected that all airbag inflators will be replaced before their function would be affected.

Issue: 
On certain vehicles, the warning label for the engine block heater cable is written in English only. As a result, a French user may not receive important safety information about how to use the engine block heater. A label that is not provided in both official languages could create confusion.
 
Safety Risk: 
User confusion could increase the risk of injury when trying to use the block heater.
 
Corrective Actions: 
The company will mail each owner a new label for the block heater cable. If you would like help installing the label, you can contact a dealer for assistance.

Issue: 
Certain vehicles were built with headlights that may allow horizontal adjustment. This is not allowed under Canadian regulations. 

Safety Risk: 
Headlights that are not properly adjusted could cause reduced visibility or glare for oncoming drivers, and could increase the risk of a crash.

Corrective Actions: 
The company will notify owners by mail and instruct them to take their vehicle to a dealer to inspect the headlights. A blocking cap will be installed on the horizontal adjusters as necessary.

On certain early production vehicles, modifications may have been made prior to sale that could make the vehicles non-compliant with regulatory requirements. Correction: Volkswagen will repurchase the affected vehicles and remove them from the market.

On certain vehicles, long-term exposure to high absolute humidity and temperature, combined with high temperature cycling, could eventually degrade the propellant contained in the driver frontal airbag. This could cause the airbag to deploy with more force than normal. As a result, if the vehicle were involved in a collision that warrants airbag deployment, fragments could be propelled toward vehicle occupants, and the airbag assembly could be damaged, preventing proper function. These issues could increase the risk of injury. Correction: Dealers will replace the driver frontal airbag inflator. Note: Canadian climate results in the propellant degrading slowly. The recall is being conducted as a precaution to address future risk, and is expected to replace airbag inflators before their function would be affected. Additional Note: This recall supersedes the Volkswagen brand vehicles subject to recall 2016-064 (Volkswagen Recall 69M9). Volkswagen vehicles completed under the previous 2016-064 recall require repair under this recall, as the previous recall remedy was an interim repair. Interim repair parts must be replaced with final repair parts.