Skoda recalls 370,000 cars in Germany over steering bolt fault
Skoda is recalling around 1.7 million cars worldwide because a bolt in the steering can break, including about 370,000 vehicles in Germany. The details appear in the recall database of the Federal Motor Transport Authority (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt, KBA).
The recall covers four of Skoda's most common models: the Kodiaq, Karoq, Octavia and Superb, built between November 2015 and August 2026. According to the KBA, the bolt that holds the steering gear can corrode and snap, which can lead to the steering failing. In the worst case the car can no longer be steered, and the risk is greatest when parking or manoeuvring slowly. Workshops will replace the bolt with a corrosion resistant one.
Skoda is the latest Volkswagen group brand to be hit. Last week Volkswagen, Audi and Seat recalled several million cars worldwide over the same problem, around four million across the group. Skoda did not comment at first. Volkswagen has said owners of affected cars can keep driving until their workshop appointment because there is no acute danger.
What you should do: if you drive a Kodiaq, Karoq, Octavia or Superb built in these years, contact a Skoda dealer or workshop with your vehicle identification number (VIN), which you find in your vehicle registration document, to check whether your car is included and to book the repair. Look out for a letter about the recall. Until the repair is done, take extra care when parking and at low speeds, and have the car checked straight away if the steering behaves unusually.