Incident: Front Airbag Malfunction in Audi Vehicles, 2013-15 Models

Published Date: 2014-11-05

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident involving Audi vehicles happened in the 2013-15 model years [31853]. 2. Article Published on 2014-11-05 08:00:00+00:00. 3. The software failure incident likely occurred between 2013 and 2015.
System 1. Front airbag system in Audi A4 and S4 sedans and Allroad station wagons from the 2013-15 model years [31853].
Responsible Organization 1. Audi - The software problem causing the front airbag malfunction in Audi A4 and S4 sedans and Allroad station wagons was discovered by Audi during routine testing and ongoing field observations [31853].
Impacted Organization 1. Audi - Almost 102,000 A4 and S4 sedans and Allroad station wagons from the 2013-15 model years were recalled due to a software problem affecting the front airbag [31853].
Software Causes 1. The software problem in Audi vehicles could cause the front airbag to malfunction, specifically in scenarios where the vehicle is involved in a side-impact crash followed by a secondary front-end impact [31853].
Non-software Causes 1. The front airbag malfunction in Audi A4 and S4 sedans and Allroad station wagons was caused by a software problem that could lead to the front airbags not working in a secondary front-end impact [31853].
Impacts 1. The software problem in Audi vehicles could cause the front airbag to malfunction, potentially leading to a situation where the front airbags might not work in a secondary front-end impact, even after the side airbags deploy properly [31853].
Preventions 1. Implementing thorough software testing procedures during the development phase could have potentially prevented the software problem that caused the front airbag malfunction in Audi vehicles [31853]. 2. Conducting more extensive field observations and testing to detect potential issues before they manifest in real-world scenarios could have helped prevent the software failure incident in the Audi vehicles [31853].
Fixes 1. Updating the software to address the malfunction causing the front airbag issue in Audi A4 and S4 sedans and Allroad station wagons from the 2013-15 model years [31853].
References 1. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website [31853] 2. Safety agency’s website [31853]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization, multiple_organization (a) The software failure incident related to the malfunctioning front airbag in Audi vehicles has happened within the same organization. Audi is recalling almost 102,000 A4 and S4 sedans and Allroad station wagons due to a software problem that could cause the front airbag to malfunction [31853]. (b) The software failure incident related to a stalling problem in Honda motorcycles is being investigated by regulators to determine if there should be a recall of about 20,000 motorcycles [31853]. This indicates a similar incident has happened with another organization, in this case, Honda.
Phase (Design/Operation) design (a) The software failure incident mentioned in the article is related to the design phase. Audi is recalling vehicles due to a software problem that could cause the front airbag to malfunction. The issue was discovered during routine testing and ongoing field observations, indicating a problem introduced during the system development phase [31853].
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system (a) within_system: The software problem causing the front airbag malfunction in Audi vehicles was identified by the automaker during routine testing and ongoing field observations [31853]. This indicates that the failure originated from within the system itself. (b) outside_system: There is no specific mention in the provided article about the software failure incident being caused by contributing factors originating from outside the system.
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions (a) The software failure incident related to the Audi recall of almost 102,000 A4 and S4 sedans and Allroad station wagons from the 2013-15 model years was due to a software problem that could cause the front airbag to malfunction. This issue was discovered during routine testing and ongoing field observations, indicating a non-human action as the contributing factor to the failure [31853]. (b) The article does not provide specific information about the software failure incident being caused by human actions.
Dimension (Hardware/Software) hardware (a) The software failure incident mentioned in the article is due to a hardware-related issue. Audi is recalling vehicles because of a software problem that could cause the front airbag to malfunction in certain crash scenarios [31853]. (b) The software failure incident is specifically attributed to a software problem in the vehicles, indicating that the contributing factors originate in the software itself [31853].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) non-malicious (a) The software failure incident mentioned in the article is non-malicious. Audi is recalling almost 102,000 A4 and S4 sedans and Allroad station wagons due to a software problem that could cause the front airbag to malfunction. The issue was discovered during routine testing and ongoing field observations, and there were no reported accidents or injuries related to the problem [31853].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) unknown (a) The software failure incident related to the Audi recall of almost 102,000 A4 and S4 sedans and Allroad station wagons from the 2013-15 model years was not due to poor decisions but rather discovered during routine testing and ongoing field observations [31853].
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) development_incompetence (a) The software failure incident related to the Audi recall of almost 102,000 A4 and S4 sedans and Allroad station wagons was due to a software problem that could cause the front airbag to malfunction. This issue was discovered during routine testing and ongoing field observations by Audi, indicating a failure due to development incompetence [31853]. (b) The article does not provide specific information indicating that the software failure incident was accidental.
Duration temporary The software failure incident mentioned in Article 31853 is temporary. The article states that Audi is recalling vehicles due to a software problem that could cause the front airbag to malfunction in specific circumstances, such as a secondary front-end impact after a side-impact crash. This indicates that the software issue is triggered by certain circumstances rather than being a permanent failure [31853].
Behaviour crash, value, other (a) crash: The software problem in Audi vehicles could cause the front airbag to malfunction, specifically in a scenario where the vehicle is involved in a secondary front-end impact, leading to the front airbags not working [31853]. (b) omission: There is no specific mention of the software failure incident being related to the system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s) in the provided articles. (c) timing: The articles do not indicate that the software failure incident was related to the system performing its intended functions correctly, but too late or too early. (d) value: The software problem in Audi vehicles could lead to the front airbags not working in a specific scenario, which can be considered as the system performing its intended functions incorrectly [31853]. (e) byzantine: There is no mention of the software failure incident being related to the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions in the provided articles. (f) other: The software problem in Audi vehicles causing the front airbag malfunction due to a secondary front-end impact not triggering the front airbags to work properly can be considered as a specific behavior not entirely fitting into the options provided [31853].

IoT System Layer

Layer Option Rationale
Perception sensor (a) The software problem in Audi vehicles causing the front airbag malfunction was related to the sensor layer of the cyber physical system. The issue was specifically with the front airbags not working properly in a secondary front-end impact after the side airbags deployed correctly in a side-impact crash [31853].
Communication link_level The software failure incident reported in Article 31853 was related to the communication layer of the cyber physical system that failed. The article mentions that Audi is recalling vehicles due to a software problem that could cause the front airbag to malfunction in certain crash scenarios. This issue indicates a failure at the communication layer where the software is not properly coordinating the deployment of airbags based on the type of impact the vehicle experiences. This failure is more aligned with the link_level failure category, where issues are introduced by the physical layer of the communication system.
Application TRUE The software failure incident reported in Article 31853 was related to a software problem in Audi vehicles that could cause the front airbag to malfunction. This issue was discovered during routine testing and ongoing field observations by Audi, indicating that the failure was related to the application layer of the cyber physical system, as it was caused by a software problem introduced in the system [31853].

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence no_consequence (a) death: People lost their lives due to the software failure (b) harm: People were physically harmed due to the software failure (c) basic: People's access to food or shelter was impacted because of the software failure (d) property: People's material goods, money, or data was impacted due to the software failure (e) delay: People had to postpone an activity due to the software failure (f) non-human: Non-human entities were impacted due to the software failure (g) no_consequence: There were no real observed consequences of the software failure (h) theoretical_consequence: There were potential consequences discussed of the software failure that did not occur (i) other: Was there consequence(s) of the software failure not described in the (a to h) options? What is the other consequence(s)? The articles do not mention any consequences such as death, harm, basic needs impact, property loss, or non-human impact due to the software failure incident. There were no observed real consequences mentioned, and no theoretical consequences discussed. Therefore, the consequence of the software failure incident in the articles is 'no_consequence' [31853].
Domain transportation (a) The software failure incident reported in Article 31853 is related to the transportation industry. Audi is recalling vehicles due to a software problem that could cause the front airbag to malfunction in certain models of A4 and S4 sedans and Allroad station wagons [31853].

Sources

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