The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Atlas and 2020-2024 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The passenger occupant detection system (PODS) may experience a fault in the wiring and deactivate the front passenger air bag when the seat is occupied.
The risk
A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the PODS sensor mat and wiring harness, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 30, 2024. Owner notification letters will be mailed in phases, on October 18, 2024, December 10, 2024, December 20, 2024, and January 17, 2025. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69PZ.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Volkswagen Atlas | 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
| Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport | 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
Components: AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen Atlas | 2021 | 480 | 17 |
| Volkswagen Atlas | 2022 | 184 | 7 |
| Volkswagen Atlas | 2023 | 139 | 5 |
| Volkswagen Atlas | 2024 | 175 | 8 |
| Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport | 2020 | 107 | 11 |
| Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport | 2021 | 165 | 14 |
| Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport | 2022 | 75 | 7 |
| Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport | 2023 | 19 | 6 |
| Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport | 2024 | 101 | 8 |
Other air bags recalls in 2024
45 of the 950 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2024 concerned the air bags; Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. filed 321 campaigns in all.
| 24V967000 23 Dec 2024 | Tesla, Inc. |
| 24V960000 20 Dec 2024 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC |
| 24V939000 18 Dec 2024 | Polestar Automotive USA, Inc. |
| 24V938000 18 Dec 2024 | Volvo Car USA, LLC |
| 24V933000 17 Dec 2024 | VinFast Auto, LLC |
| 24V910000 5 Dec 2024 | BMW of North America, LLC |
| 24V897000 27 Nov 2024 | Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) |
| 24V891000 25 Nov 2024 | Pagani S.p.A |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2024