Volkswagen AG faces nationwide protests in China after car owners expressed dissatisfaction over the German company's handling of a recall to fix a possible suspension defect.

The automaker will recall 581,090 New Sagitar and Beetle vehicles in its biggest market to fix metal plates to the rear torsion crank axle, which will stabilize the vehicles and emit warning noises in case of cracks, it said this month. The axle is safe and installing the metal inlays is like "providing a double assurance", Soh Weiming, Volkswagen China's executive president, said on Friday.

Unconvinced car owners, however, protested on Sunday at Volkswagen dealerships in major cities such as Shanghai and Shenzhen. Some held banners condemning Volkswagen for being "unconscionable" and others distributed flyers describing their fear of driving the cars. A poster circulating on Tencent Holdings Ltd's QQ social media service urged New Sagitar owners to stage another round of protests in 100 cities on Nov 9.