AUDI A3 and Volkswagen Golf drivers could find one of the security features of their vehicles compromised if they have had the windscreens replaced. The first batch of about 150 windscreens for the A3 and Golf supplied by Pilkington to Auto Windscreens, met European specification, but blacked out the clear area required to see the VIN number.

Only the UK and USA have a clear patch on the black edging of the windscreen to allow the VIN to be viewed on the dashboard. Auto Windscreens admits the problem, which has now been rectified, but says it is possible that some of the older stock could still be at centres around the country.