Recall 69FB Passenger Occupant Protection System (PODS) – 2018-2021 Volkswagen Atlas & 2020 Atlas Cross Sport

March 29, 2023 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 23V215000

Front Passenger Air Bag May Not Deploy

A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V215

Manufacturer VolkswageneBay logo Group of America, Inc.

Components AIR BAGS

Potential Number of Units Affected 143,053

 

Summary

VolkswageneBay logo Group of America, Inc. (VolkswageneBay logo) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Atlas and 2020 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.

 

Remedy

Dealers will replace the PODS sensor mat and wiring harness free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 22, 2024. Owners may contact VolkswageneBay logo’s customer service at 1-800-893-5298. VolkswageneBay logo’s number for this recall is 69FB.

 

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.

 

Check if your Volkswagen has a Recall

 


Affected Vehicles

Country Beginning Model Year Ending Model Year Vehicle Vehicle Count
USA20182021ATLAS143,038
USA20202020ATLAS CROSS SPORT15
CAN20182019ATLAS18,235

 

Problem Description

A wire with a contact fault may cause the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) to detect a malfunction and switch off the passenger airbag, even though the seat may be occupied. In a crash, there would be an increased risk of injury to the occupant seated in the front passenger seat if the passenger frontal airbag is switched off or not working.

 

Corrective Action

Replace the PODS sensor mat and seat harness.

 

Precautions

Should a malfunction occur, vehicle occupants will be alerted by illumination of the airbag warning light, an acoustic warning sound, an error message displayed in the instrument cluster and by the status of the Passenger Airbag OFF indicator light. If this happens, owners are advised to make an appointment with an authorized VolkswageneBay logo dealer to have the vehicle inspected without delay and discontinue use of the front passenger seat.

As a reminder, the vehicle owner’s manual contains important information regarding the vehicle’s warning lights and messages. We encourage owners and anyone who drives the vehicle to review the owner’s manual to become familiar with the types of vehicle indicators, warnings and messaging they may see.

 

Code Visibility

On April 04, 2023 the campaign code was applied to affected vehicles.

 

Owner Notification

Owner notification will take place in March 2024. Owner letter examples are included in this bulletin for your reference.

 

Parts Information

Criteria QuantityPart NumberP.O.C. Part Description
ALLAs neededN-015-261-2eBay logoCLAMP
2N-106-622-01eBay logoTIE WRAP
A113CN-963-556-GeBay logoHTR ELEMNT
13CN-971-392-MHARNESS
A213CN-963-556-GeBay logoHTR ELEMNT
13CN-971-392-NHARNESS
A313CN-963-556-HeBay logoHTR ELEMNT
13CN-971-392-KeBay logoHARNESS
A413CN-963-556-HeBay logoHTR ELEMNT
13CN-971-392-NHARNESS
A513CN-963-556-JHTR ELEMNT
13CN-971-392-LHARNESS
 C113CN-963-556-GeBay logoHTR ELEMNT
13CN-971-392-MHARNESS
C213CN-963-556-HeBay logoHTR ELEMNT
13CM-971-392-KHARNESS
C313CN-963-556-HeBay logoHTR ELEMNT
13CM-971-392-NHARNESS
C413CN-963-556-HeBay logoHTR ELEMNT
13CN-971-392-NHARNESS
C513CN-963-556-JHTR ELEMNT
13CM-971-392-LHARNESS

 

Repair Overview

Replace passenger occupancy detection sensor mat and seat harness.

 

 


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

ACTION SUMMARY
Campaign Code Safety Recall 69FB – Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS)
Action Status REPAIR NOT YET AVAILABLE
Market(s) USA & Canada
Affected Vehicles
Country Beginning Model Year Ending Model Year Vehicle Vehicle Count
USA 2018 2021 ATLAS 143,038
USA 2020 2020 ATLAS CROSS SPORT 15
CAN 2018 2019 ATLAS 18,235
Problem Description A wire with a contact fault may cause the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) to detect a malfunction and switch off the passenger airbag, even though the seat may be occupied. In a crash with frontal airbag deployment, there would be an increased risk of injury to the occupant seated in the front passenger seat if the passenger frontal airbag is switched off or not working.
PrecautionsShould a malfunction occur, vehicle occupants will be alerted by illumination of the airbag warning light, an acoustic warning sound, an error message displayed in the instrument cluster and by the status of the Passenger Airbag OFF indicator light. If this happens, owners are advised to make an appointment with an authorized VolkswageneBay logo dealer to have the vehicle inspected without delay.

Until the recall repair has been performed, owners are advised to avoid use of the front passenger seat whenever possible.

IMPORTANT REMINDER ON VEHICLES AFFECTED BY SAFETY & COMPLIANCE RECALLS

New Vehicles in Dealer Inventory: It is a violation of Federal law for a dealer to deliver a new motor vehicle or any new or used item of motor vehicle equipment (including a tire) covered by this notification under a sale or lease until the defect or noncompliance is remedied. By law, dealers must correct, prior to delivery for sale or lease, any vehicle that fails to comply with an applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard or that contains a defect relating to motor vehicle safety.

Pre-Owned Vehicles in Dealer Inventory: Dealers should not deliver any pre-owned vehicles in their inventory which are involved in a safety or compliance recall until the defect has been remedied.

VIN Lookup Visibility – NHTSA safercar.gov and vweBay logo.com:  On or about April 5, 2023, the campaign code will appear for affected vehicles in the VIN lookup tool(s).  Customers can check a vehicle’s eligibility for repair under this or any other recall/service campaign by clicking on the Look Up Recalls link at www.vw.com and entering the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).

 

What is the status of this recall repair?

The recall repair is not yet available.

 

Why has this recall been announced when dealers are not yet able to perform the repairs?

Once a determination of safety defect or noncompliance is made, the law requires auto manufacturers to notify the government promptly – regardless of parts/repair availability.

 

What if a customer requests that their vehicle be repaired immediately?

IMPORTANT!

This FAQ is intended to provide supplementary information regarding this action. For additional information, please refer to the campaign circular posted on ElsaWeb and ServiceNet. To ensure that ALL of your personnel are aware of this action before receiving questions from any customer, please share this information with ALL personnel who have campaign-related responsibilities, including service writers, technicians, parts employees, warranty administrators, etc.

Any vehicle experiencing issues should be diagnosed/repaired by an authorized dealer following existing repair guidelines.

If a vehicle is not currently experiencing any issues, please inform the customer that a repair solution is pending, and that they will receive formal notification via first-class mail once the repair is available. Once the customer receives formal notification, they may contact their authorized dealer to schedule the repair.

 

What should dealers do if they have any affected vehicles in inventory?

Dealers can use their most current OMD Web report to identify any affected vehicles that may be in their inventory. In the interest of customer safety and satisfaction, affected vehicles should be kept in a secure area where they cannot be made available for sale, lease, trade or demo use until this repair has been performed.

 

Who should dealers contact if they have additional questions?

Dealers with additional questions about this or any other campaign should contact Warranty. Press inquiries should be directed to VolkswageneBay logo Public Relations.

IMPORTANT!

This FAQ is intended to provide supplementary information regarding this action. For additional information, please refer to the campaign circular posted on ElsaWeb and ServiceNet. To ensure that ALL of your personnel are aware of this action before receiving questions from any customer, please share this information with ALL personnel who have campaign-related responsibilities, including service writers, technicians, parts employees, warranty administrators, etc.

 

 


Chronology of Defect

August 2019: Investigation started into PODS due to reports of single claims in certain Atlas vehicles.

August 2019 – May 2020: Analysis of field return parts by the supplier, vehicle analysis together with supplier. Start of life cycles tests in order to understand behavior and to identify potential root cause. All PODS components were within the scope of the analysis.

May 2020: Topic was presented to VolkswageneBay logo Pre-Product Safety Committee. More details regarding the duration of the fault present in the vehicle, field performance, risk assessment and potential remedy requested.

May 2020 – January 2021: Further investigation of the potential root cause, remedy, and analysis of the field behavior. The Atlas system shows a significantly different behavior in the field than other models. Investigation on contributing factors initiated.

January 2021: Topic was presented in the VolkswageneBay logo Product Safety Committee. More details regarding the field behavior in Atlas vehicles requested.

February 2021: Topic was presented in VolkswageneBay logo Product Safety Committee. Field data analysis indicates that the failure is highly sporadic and the warning light is illuminating immediately upon failure. More details on the field data requested.

June 2021: Topic was presented in VolkswageneBay logo Product Safety Committee. Technical bulletin initiated.
May 2022: Investigation initiated in order to understand field performance of PODS built with new design cable that had

been entered into production during October 2020.

November 2022: Further parts from field vehicles requested for analysis; analysis ongoing.

February 28, 2023: NHTSA requested a meeting in order to discuss the field performance of the Atlas PODS.

February 28, 2023 – March 22, 2023: Reviewed field data again and analysis showed a concentration of claims during two discrete production periods.

March 22, 2023: Topic was presented in VolkswageneBay logo Product Safety Committee. The updated field data and analyses were presented. A technical root cause for the increase in the two production periods could not be identified. Out of abundance of caution, the committee decided to recall vehicles from the two production periods with significantly higher failure rates.

March 23, 2023: Meeting with NHTSA to discuss the topic and recall decision.

 


5 Affected Products

Vehicles

MAKEMODELYEAR
VOLKSWAGENeBay logoATLAS2018-2021
VOLKSWAGENeBay logoATLAS CROSS SPORT2020

 


15 Associated Documents

VolkswageneBay logo – 69FB Chronology – March 2023

RMISC-23V215-6558.pdf 207.248KB

 


Recall 573 Report – March 30, 2023

RCLRPT-23V215-5600.PDF 221.038KB

 


Defect Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-23V215-5184.PDF 221.038KB

 


Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-23V215-5666.pdf 691.475KB

 


VolkswageneBay logo – 69FB VWeBay logo Dealer Advance Notice – March 2023

RCMN-23V215-2270.pdf 235.34KB

 


VolkswageneBay logo – 69FB Dealer Field FAQ – April 2023

RMISC-23V215-1893.pdf 177.546KB

 


ISSUED Interim Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RIONL-23V215-9785.pdf 113.085KB

 


ISSUED Interim Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RIONL-23V215-3218.pdf 127.73KB

 


Recall 573 Report – July 27, 2023

RCLRPT-23V215-5335.PDF 217.607KB

 


Recall 573 Report – September 29, 2023

RCLRPT-23V215-6718.PDF 217.55KB

 


Recall 573 Report – 12/01/2023

RCLRPT-23V215-1450.PDF 217.595KB

 


Remedy Instructions and TSB

RCRIT-23V215-5649.pdf 3110.756KB

 


Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc)

RCMN-23V215-1365.pdf 215.487KB

 


ISSUED Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RCONL-23V215-8221.pdf 98.516KB

 


ISSUED Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RCONL-23V215-7016.pdf 99.932KB

 


Latest Recalls Documents

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=23V215&docType=RCL

 


 

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