Flawed Fuel Tank Flanges Could Trigger Massive Recalls

Fuel tank flanges that may crack, leak and cause a fire could prompt at least eight carmakers to recall millions of vehicles.

Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen have called back more than half a million crossover vehicles since September to fix the problem.

The plastic flanges, which seal access ports for in-tank fuel pumps and vapor management components, were made by Continental Automotive Systems Inc. Conti tells the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that eight more carmakers could be affected: Ford, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Daimler, General Motors, Lamborghini, Jaguar Land Rover, McLaren and Volvo.

Conti also supplied the flanges to five fuel tank suppliers: Kautex Textron, Magna, Plastic Omnium, TI Automotive and Yapp USA Automotive Systems

Volvo tells AP its flanges were mistakenly included in Conti’s list and are not affected by the problem.

Conti says it doesn’t know why the parts fail or exactly which vehicles are at risk. It suspects the flanges can be degraded by certain cleaning agents used by some but not all carmakers during the assembly process. A company spokesperson tells the Associated Press it will be up to the carmakers to determine whether their vehicles are affected and to conduct their own recalls if necessary.