Audi recalling 1.16 million vehicles worldwide over coolant pump issue

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG's luxury unit Audi said on Tuesday that it was recalling 1.16 million vehicles worldwide because of concerns that an electric coolant pump could overheat or short-circuit from moisture within the pump and pose a fire risk.

Audi told U.S. regulators the recall covers some 2013-2017 Audi A5 Cabriolet, A5 Sedan and Audi Q5 vehicles, 2012-2015 Audi A6 vehicles and 2013-2016 Audi A4 Sedan and A4 Allroad vehicles with 2.0-liter Turbo FSI engines.

A spokesman for Audi in Germany, Udo Ruegheimer, said the recall covered 1.16 million vehicles worldwide.

Audi said the pump can become blocked with debris from the cooling system, adding that there had been no reports of injuries or crashes related to the issue.

Dealers will replace the pumps but the company did not say when parts will become available, according to a filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States.

The recall covers 342,000 vehicles in the United States, NHTSA said. The company said it did not have a breakdown by country of the remaining affected vehicles.

This is the second Audi recall related to the pump issue.

In January 2017, Audi recalled the same group of vehicles in the United States to update the software so that the power supply to the coolant pump would be deactivated if the pump became blocked with debris.

(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)