(October 20, 2014) HERNDON, Va. — Volkswagen of America on Friday notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that it will be issuing a voluntary safety recall affecting the trailing arms on the torsion beam rear suspension of certain 2011-2013 model year Volkswagen Jetta, and certain 2012-2013 model year Volkswagen Beetle and Beetle Convertible vehicles.

The recall affects approximately 400,602 model year 2011-2013 Volkswagen Jetta, and 41,663 model year 2012-2013 Volkswagen Beetle and Beetle Convertible vehicles.

In isolated cases, it is possible that a rear or a side-rear collision could lead to damage of the rear suspension trailing arms. If the damage is not detected and is then not repaired, this can later cause the trailing arm to fracture suddenly, resulting in a loss of vehicle stability. Potentially, this could lead to a crash.

To address the issue, authorized Volkswagen dealers will inspect the rear suspension of vehicles that have been involved in rear or side-rear collisions to determine whether the trailing arms have been damaged. On cars that do not have damaged trailing arms, the authorized Volkswagen dealer will fit a sheetmetal inlay on the rear trailing arms.

This will emit a distinctive sound if the car is later involved in a rear-end collision, which will be a signal for the owner to take the car to an authorized Volkswagen dealership for inspection. These actions will be performed free of charge to the customer.

No accidents or injuries related to this issue have been reported. Volkswagen will notify all owners of affected vehicles and will instruct them to arrange for an appointment with an authorized Volkswagen dealer.