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STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) - Germany's Porsche has recalled 22,158 Cayenne sports utility vehicles due to wiring problems, while Volkswagen says 6,500 of its Touaregs have also needed fixing.
Both vehicles, built on the same platform, had a fault that could lead to a cable fire beneath the instrument panel, but there had so far been no known accidents as a result of the problem, Porsche said on Friday.
A spring in the handbrake risked damaging wiring below, a spokesman for Porsche said, adding that the recall by the sportscar maker was voluntary and purely a precautionary measure following long-running tests.
All 22,158 Cayennes produced between its launch in October 2002 and July 2003 will have to return to the workshop, including 11,355 sold in the United States where the chunky but sprightly off-roader has proved particularly popular.
Porsche PSHG_p.DE said that all owners of the car, which like VW's Touareg has a foot-operated parking brake, had been informed and that the cable could be relocated relatively easily.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States said on its Internet site that the vehicle's main wiring harness had been incorrectly routed which could lead to the failure of electrical systems and in extreme cases a fire.
Volkswagen said that since the end of January it had informed 6,500 European owners of the same problem with its Touareg, which Europe's biggest car maker developed together with Porsche.
In the United States VW said that the problem had been spotted as early as last summer, ensuring that while 620 Touaregs were affected, most were altered before delivery and only 60 vehicles had to be returned to the workshop.
VW VOWG.DE said at the time of the U.S. recall last August that the re-routing of the cable should take about 20 minutes and could be carried out at customers' homes or offices given the small number involved
Both vehicles, built on the same platform, had a fault that could lead to a cable fire beneath the instrument panel, but there had so far been no known accidents as a result of the problem, Porsche said on Friday.
A spring in the handbrake risked damaging wiring below, a spokesman for Porsche said, adding that the recall by the sportscar maker was voluntary and purely a precautionary measure following long-running tests.
All 22,158 Cayennes produced between its launch in October 2002 and July 2003 will have to return to the workshop, including 11,355 sold in the United States where the chunky but sprightly off-roader has proved particularly popular.
Porsche PSHG_p.DE said that all owners of the car, which like VW's Touareg has a foot-operated parking brake, had been informed and that the cable could be relocated relatively easily.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States said on its Internet site that the vehicle's main wiring harness had been incorrectly routed which could lead to the failure of electrical systems and in extreme cases a fire.
Volkswagen said that since the end of January it had informed 6,500 European owners of the same problem with its Touareg, which Europe's biggest car maker developed together with Porsche.
In the United States VW said that the problem had been spotted as early as last summer, ensuring that while 620 Touaregs were affected, most were altered before delivery and only 60 vehicles had to be returned to the workshop.
VW VOWG.DE said at the time of the U.S. recall last August that the re-routing of the cable should take about 20 minutes and could be carried out at customers' homes or offices given the small number involved