Volkswagen recalls 271K Atlas SUVs over airbag issue

Until affected Volkswagen Atlas sport utility vehicles have received the fix, people should avoid sitting in the front passenger seat "whenever possible."

Over a quarter of a million Volkswagen Atlas SUVs are being recalled in response to an issue that could lead to the front passenger airbag not working properly.

"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 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said. 

Volkswagen said in an NHTSA recall report that a total of 271,330 model year 2021-2024 Atlas vehicles and model year 2020-2024 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles may be affected.

Until affected vehicles have received the fix, passengers should avoid sitting in the front passenger seat "whenever possible" because the issue poses an "increased risk of injury" in the event of an accident, according to the recall report.

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If one of the recalled vehicles has the wiring contact fault and its system deactivates the front passenger airbag, an instrument panel warning light "comes on together with an acoustic warning sound and an error message is displayed in the instrument panel," Volkswagen said.

"Once parts are ready, Volkswagen dealers will replace the PODS sensor mat and wiring harness with improved parts free of charge," Volkswagen told FOX Business in a statement.

OVER 143K VOLKSWAGEN SUVS RECALLED DUE TO ISSUE THAT COULD AFFECT FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT

Notification letters will be sent to affected customers in mid-August.

The 2021-2024 Atlas SUVs subject to the recall were built between Oct. 1, 2020 and June 17 of this year. The affected Atlas Cross Sport vehicles were produced in a similar timeframe.

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