The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen ) is recalling certain 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport, Jetta, Jetta GLI and Tiguan and Audi Q5 and SQ5 and 2021 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. Parts of the front seat frame and backrest adjuster may not have been welded properly.
The risk
In the event of a rear-end crash, the backrest adjustment could break, possibly reducing the amount of occupant restraint, thus increasing risk of injury.
The remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front seats, and, as necessary, replace the seatback frames, free of charge. The recall began September 11, 2020. Volkswagen owners may contact their customer service at 1-888-241-2289. Audi owners may contact their customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 72L1, 72K8, and 72K9.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Audi Q5 | 2020 |
| Audi SQ5 | 2020 |
| Volkswagen Atlas | 2021 |
| Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport | 2020 |
| Volkswagen Jetta | 2020 |
| Volkswagen Tiguan | 2020 |
Components: SEATS
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audi Q5 | 2020 | 25 | 6 |
| Audi SQ5 | 2020 | 8 | 4 |
| Volkswagen Atlas | 2021 | 480 | 17 |
| Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport | 2020 | 107 | 11 |
| Volkswagen Jetta | 2020 | 54 | 6 |
| Volkswagen Tiguan | 2020 | 141 | 3 |
Other seats recalls in 2020
20 of the 782 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2020 concerned the seats; Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. filed 321 campaigns in all.
| 20V794000 17 Dec 2020 | Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC |
| 20V735000 25 Nov 2020 | General Motors LLC |
| 20V673000 30 Oct 2020 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 20V644000 19 Oct 2020 | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
| 20V633000 14 Oct 2020 | Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing |
| 20V558000 14 Sept 2020 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 20V537000 3 Sept 2020 | General Motors LLC |
| 20V477000 14 Aug 2020 | Forest River, Inc. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2020