- Greater than 140,000 2018–2021 Volkswagen Atlas and 2020 Atlas Cross Sport (pictured above) SUVs are being recalled as a result of the entrance passenger airbag might not work.
- On automobiles with a passenger occupant detection system built-in right into a heated entrance seat, the system might inaccurately shut off the passenger airbag.
- A discover from the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) warns house owners to not permit anybody to experience within the entrance passenger seat till a repair is made to the automobile.
Volkswagen of America is recalling 143,053 of its 2018–2021 Atlas and 2020 Atlas Cross Sport SUVs to repair a defect within the passenger-side entrance airbag system. The occupant detection system within the affected automobiles may erroneously fail to detect a passenger is current and deactivate the airbag. It might then not deploy within the occasion of an accident.
Inside of 2021 Volkswagen Atlas.
Because the NHTSA recall report describes the difficulty, the automobile’s passenger occupant detection system, known as Physique Sense, is linked with the seat’s heating system by a wire beneath the entrance passenger seat. A contact fault on this wire may trigger the entrance passenger airbag to change off. It might then not deploy within the occasion of a crash. The issue is just not occurring in newer Atlas automobiles as a result of a brand new cable with a defend was launched to manufacturing in October 2022, the report says.
The NHTSA report says an instrument panel mild with an error message and an audible warning ought to alert house owners if the airbag switches off. The protection company says house owners shouldn’t carry front-seat passengers till the issue might be mounted.
The 2021 Atlas has been recalled twice earlier than for unrelated airbag issues, as soon as in November 2021 for a water leak difficulty that might trigger undesirable airbag deployment and as soon as in March 2022 for a entrance aspect airbag that might expertise delay when deploying.
VW will notify sellers and Atlas house owners concerning the present recall by Might 26. Within the meantime, Atlas house owners can examine whether or not their automobile is affected on the NHTSA recollects web site.
Digital Director
Laura Sky Brown has been concerned in automotive media for a really very long time, and he or she sees it as her calling to protect the legacy and assist make sure the continued top quality of Automobile and Driver. She was one of many first staffers at Vehicle Journal within the ’80s and has labored for a lot of different automobile magazines and web sites as a author, editor, and replica editor ever since. It has been her privilege to edit lots of the greats of automotive journalism through the years, together with those who presently write for C/D.
