Volkswagen recalls 291 Amarok bakkies

Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA) has initiated a product safety recall covering 291 Amarok double-cab bakkies sold in South Africa due to a manufacturing fault in the side-curtain airbag assembly.

Read: VW warning deepens German automakers’ gloom as workers protest

In a regulatory statement issued on 5 October 2026, the National Consumer Commission (NCC) confirmed that the nationwide recall affects vehicles sold between 2 June 2026 and 15 September 2026.

Airbag defect and safety risks

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According to technical findings submitted to the regulator by VWGA, contact with an internal trim component can impede the deployment of the side-curtain airbag during a side-impact or frontal collision.

The obstruction poses two primary safety hazards to occupants:

Incomplete deployment: The side-curtain airbag may fail to fully inflate, reducing head and neck protection for the driver and front passenger.
Projectile debris risk: Sharp-edged plastic components attached to the guide element could separate or remain trapped within the airbag upon deployment, creating an injury risk.

Shared assembly line 

The current-generation Volkswagen Amarok is manufactured alongside the Ford Ranger at Ford’s Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria.

Five weeks before Volkswagen’s filing, the NCC issued an almost identical safety notice affecting 2 275 Ford Ranger double-cab bakkies assembled at the same facility because of the same side-curtain airbag deployment defect.

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The regulator has urged owners of affected Volkswagen Amarok units to book their vehicles in at an authorised Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles dealership.

Technicians will inspect and, where necessary, replace the affected side-curtain airbag components at no cost to vehicle owners.

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