VW Atlas Recalled, Owners Told Not to Let Passengers Ride in Front

More than 140,000 2018–2021 Volkswagen Atlas and 2020 Atlas Cross Sport (pictured above) SUVs are being recalled because the front passenger airbag may not work.On vehicles with a passenger occupant detection system integrated into a heated front seat, the system may inaccurately shut off the passenger airbag.A notice from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) warns owners not to allow anyone to ride in the front passenger seat until a fix is made to the vehicle.

Volkswagen of America is recalling 143,053 of its 2018–2021 Atlas and 2020 Atlas Cross Sport SUVs to fix a defect in the passenger-side front airbag system. The occupant detection system in the affected vehicles could erroneously fail to detect a passenger is present and deactivate the airbag. It would then not deploy in the event of an accident.

Interior of 2021 Volkswagen Atlas.

Volkswagen

As the NHTSA recall report describes the issue, the vehicle’s passenger occupant detection system, called Body Sense, is connected with the seat’s heating system by a wire under the front passenger seat. A contact fault in this wire could cause the front passenger airbag to switch off. It would then not deploy in the event of a crash. The problem is not occurring in newer Atlas vehicles because a new cable with a shield was introduced to production in October 2022, the report says.

The NHTSA report says an instrument panel light with an error message and an audible warning should alert owners if the airbag switches off. The safety agency says owners should not carry front-seat passengers until the problem can be fixed.

The 2021 Atlas has been recalled twice before for unrelated airbag problems, once in November 2021 for a water leak issue that could cause unwanted airbag deployment and once in March 2022 for a front side airbag that could experience delay when deploying.

VW will notify dealers and Atlas owners about the current recall by May 26. In the meantime, Atlas owners can check whether their vehicle is affected on the NHTSA recalls website.

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Laura Sky Brown has been involved in automotive media for a very long time, and she sees it as her calling to guard the legacy and help ensure the continued high quality of Car and Driver. She was one of the first staffers at Automobile Magazine in the ’80s and has worked for many other car magazines and websites as a writer, editor, and copy editor ever since. It has been her privilege to edit many of the greats of automotive journalism over the years, including the ones who currently write for C/D.