Porsche recalls 40,000 Taycans over potential airbag issue

Porsche has been forced to recall more than 40,000 Taycans due to an electrical issue that could disable the airbags.

The defect, which affects 40,421 Porsche Taycan EVs across the globe, is related to a major wiring harness that has been reported as getting damaged when the driver’s or passenger’s seat is moved in a “longitudinal adjustment”.

This then inadvertently disables the car’s airbags and seatbelt tensioners, reports German trade journal KFZ-Betrieb, although it hasn't been confirmed which airbags are affected.

Porsche’s recall has instructed owners to visit one of its dealerships to get the issue remedied, adding that engineers will use textile fabric tape “to further secure the harness under the seat and help prevent potential for harness damage during seat adjustment”.

The Taycans affected are those produced between 10 July 2019 and 18 May 2021.

Autocar has contacted Porsche for more information regarding the recall. It's not currently known how many cars in the UK are affected.

This isn't the first time the Taycan has been hit by a major recall. Last July, 43,000 examples of the saloon and the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo estate were brought back in over a software issue.

The glitch within the power inverter caused the electric motor to randomly shut down in 0.3% of cases. In the UK, the notice applied to 4495 cars. 

Porsche said that as a result of the issue, it would intensify some of its pre-production testing processes, confirming that the upcoming Macan EV won't be susceptible to the same issue.