A spokesman for Audi, a unit of Volkswagen, said the recall affected models A4, A5, A5 Cabriolet and Q5 built between April 2011 and May 2015.

He said a few customers had reported a smell of burning in their cars but there had been no fires or other damage.

German online trade publication Kfz-Rueckrufe.de first reported the recall.

Copyright Reuters, 2017