Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche issue recalls for fuel leaks

VW, Audi and Porsche have recalled over 80,000 vehicles due to potential fuel leaks. The recalls cover the Audi A6 and Volkswagen Touareg hybrid from 2012, the Audi A7 from 2012 and 2013, and the Audi Q7, S4 and S5 from 2011 through 2012. All the vehicles have 3-liter V-6 engines, according to documents posted Tuesday by U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The documents also show a separate recall from Porsche covering the Cayenne and Panamera S hybrids from 2011 to 2012 for a similar problem.

Volkswagen, which owns all three brands, says vibration during driving, and production issues can cause small leaks in rare cases. VW and Audi said they were not aware of any fires or injuries caused by the problem in the U.S.

An Audi spokesman in the U.S. says about 80,000 vehicles are being recalled worldwide, two-thirds of which are in the U.S. and China.

The problem was discovered in March 2013 when customers complained of fuel odor, according to the NHTSA documents. VW investigated and decided to recall the vehicles in January 2015. VW will notify owners in March and dealers will replace the fuel injector rails and seals for free.