Fuel rail fault prompts Audi recall

Audi has issued a recall notice for almost 300 vehicles fitted with its 3.0-litre supercharged TFSI V6 engine, to replace faulty fuel delivery rails that could fail under extreme conditions.

The faulty component relates only to 3.0-litre supercharged V6 versions of the S4, A5 coupe and cabriolet, A6 and A7 large sedans, Q5 and Q7 SUVs built between April 2011 and April 2012.

Failure of the fuel rail can cause a smell of petrol inside the vehicle's cabin or a fire, if the leak is left unchecked.

According to the recall notice, “there is a potential of a small fuel leakage causing a fuel smell from the vehicle and in extreme worst case situations, if the fuel leak comes in contact with an ignition source, there is a potential for fire.”

There are presently no reported injuries or fires as a result of the fault.

Owners of the 297 effected vehicles will be contacted by post and are requested to bring their vehicles into a dealership to have the fuel injection system inspected and replaced, along with the thermostat.

The recall is part of a larger Volkswagen Group issue, effecting 93,500 vehicles globally, including 80,000 Audis, 13,500 Porsches and several hundred Volkswagen vehicles all with a similar 3.0-litre V6 powerplant.

Of those other vehicles, only the large SUV Porsche Cayenne hybrid (2011-2012) and luxury sedan Porsche Panamera S hybrid (2011-2012) are available in Australia, but the German luxury brand is yet to issue a similar recall in Australia.