VW recalls over 430 Touaregs and Porsche Cayennes in Ireland

Volkswagen Group is recalling more than 430 high-end SUVs in Ireland as part of a global recall of about 800,000 vehicles because of potential problems with foot pedals that could become loose. The recall affects Volkswagen Touaregs and Porsche Cayennes.

Globally, the callback affects 409,477 Cayennes and 391,000 Touaregs from model years 2011 to 2016. A clip could be loose on the bearing bracket for the pedals on the cars, which are sister models and share some components. The carmaker found the potential defect during internal checks and said owners will be contacted by a dealer.

The fix will take less than half an hour at dealerships. VW Group Ireland said it would be contacting customers in the coming weeks.

Audi's sister model Q7 isn't affected by the recall, a spokesman said. The Cayennne, the Touareg, and the Q7 from sister brand Audi, share technology as well as some parts, and all three are manufactured at Volkswagen's factory in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Emissions scandal

Meanwhile, the embattled German car giant faces more pressure over its emissions scandal. A federal judge on Thursday gave VW Group and US regulators until April 21st to agree on a fix for the nearly 600,000 diesel vehicles fitted with software designed to cheat emissions tests.

VW and regulators said that progress has been made in negotiations, but issues remain and no settlement has been reached. The judge, who is overseeing more than 500 civil lawsuits, said “a concrete and detailed proposal for getting the polluting cars fixed or off the road” must be made by April 21st or else he may move forward with a trial.

A settlement could involve fixing some or all of the vehicles, or payments to consumers through buybacks and other options.

The judge did not elaborate, but one issue is whether the Environmental Protection Agency would accept a fix that does not completely address excess on-road emissions. Earlier this month, a California official said the state may allow partially repaired VW diesel cars to continue operating on its roads because a full fix may be impossible. The cars have "defeat devices" that enable them to pass laboratory emissions tests despite exceeding federal standards by up to 40 times when on the road.

– Additional reporting: Bloomberg