Volkswagen has issued a recall for 271,330 of its Atlas SUV vehicles due to a defect in the passenger-side airbags.
The recall affects specific Atlas vehicles manufactured between 2021 and 2024, as well as Atlas Cross Sport vehicles produced between 2020 and 2024. The issue stems from a wiring error that may prevent the front passenger airbags from deploying, as reported by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Wednesday.
This latest recall follows a previous recall in March, where Volkswagen announced the recall of 143,000 Atlas SUVs for a similar problem.
The German automaker explained that a contact fault between the car’s seat heaters and weight sensors could cause the passenger airbag to deactivate even when the seat is occupied. In such cases, a warning light and sound will be triggered on the car’s instrument panel to alert the driver of the airbag’s status.
Affected vehicle owners will receive notification by mail on August 16. Volkswagen dealers will replace the defective parts at no cost to the owners once the replacement parts are available, as per the company’s statement.