Owner-reported complaints naming the airbag system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 8 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
The airbag occupancy detectors on the passenger side are faulty. I noticed that other similar models of the VW Atlas are having this issue and it has an active recall, but my particular model has not.
The contact owns a 2020 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted with the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) and Electronic Power Control (EPC) warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was restarted; however, the failure recurred. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 116,000.
I was driving today and an Airbag Error Message popped up with the Airbag Warning Lamp and will not turn off. I called the dealership I purchased it from and was told it is a faulty Airbag Sensor but my car is not part of the open recall Volkswagen has open. They set up an appointment for 8/20 to replace the sensor. I was told by the dealership that this issue could cause my airbag not to deploy if I were to get in a wreck. This information makes me very nervous to drive my vehicle but since this is my only vehicle I have no other choice.
The contact owns a 2020 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag sensor warning light illuminated and the seat warming function failed. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the wiring in the seat was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.
Passenger side airbag displays Airbag warning, and passenger side seat heater stops working. Both use the same wiring harness. Seems to be the exact same fault as April 2023 recall for 2018-2021 Volkswagen Atlases but my VIN is not included
I want to record my experience with my 2020 VW Atlas. I have experienced the Front Collision alerts and the braking when nothing was in my path. This might have caused an accident as the braking would be similar to a driver stopping short. The vehicle was never brought to a complete stop but felt like the car was not in the driver's control as it slowed. The forward collision light did illuminate during occurrences. Secondly, the airbag light is on and the dealership has advised the part is on backorder. Both of these cause concern for me as this is the main vehicle for my family and I transport three young children in. This vehicle has already had a recall to address the slippage when steering and I feel like that fix did not fully resolve my issue.
My vehicle is experiencing the door wiring harness issue that is leading to an airbag warning light coming on. As of now, my VIN is not included in the recently announced VW recall, however I am experiencing the exact issue that is being recalled. This was diagnosed by my local dealer a few months ago and I am still waiting on the part. After reading the recall, I no longer feel safe driving this vehicle.
MY 2020 VOLKSWAGEN ATLAS HAS BEEN IN AND OUT OF THE SHOP. WE PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE IN APRIL 2020 WITH GREAT HOPES...WE'VE BEEN LOYAL VW CUSTOMERS AND HAVE OWNED 2 OTHER VW VEHICLES PRIOR. ISSUES BEGAN MID-AUG 2020, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TURNED ON AND WE BEGAN HEARING A RATTLING NOISE COMING FROM THE STEERING WHEEL WHEN TURNING THE WHEEL AND BEGAN SMELLING A BURNT ODOR COMING FROM THE ENGINE. AT THIS TIME, THE VW SHOP DID THE FOLLOWING: THE ELECTRO-MECHANICAL STEERING WAS REPLACED AND THE ACF VALVE WAS REMOVED & REPLACED. ISSUE PERSISTED. WENT BACK IN LATE AUG 2020 FOR THE EXACT SAME ISSUES AS BEFORE; VW SHOP REMOVED AND REINSTALLED THE ACF FILTER ONCE MORE. RATTLING WASN'T ADDRESSED. TAKEN AGAIN TO THE SHOP OCT 2020 FOR RATTLING IN UNDERCARRIAGE, AND THIS TIME WE WERE TOLD THE SWAY BARS WERE CAUSING THE RATTLING NOISE. THOSE WERE REPLACED AND THE RATTLING NOISE SUBSIDED. FORWARD TO BEGINNING OF NOV 2020, AND THE AIRBAG LIGHT TURNS ON; SHOP KEEPS THE VEHICLE FOR 13 DAYS, REMOVES AND REINSTALLS AIRBAG SENSOR. TWO DAYS AFTER WE RECEIVE OUR VEHICLE, THE AIRBAG LIGHT TURNS ON AGAIN. SHOP KEEPS OUR VEHICLE FOR 63 DAYS, REMOVES AND INSTALLS THE DOOR WIRING HARNESS. BY END OF FEB 2021, AIRBAG LIGHT IS ON AGAIN; SHOP UPDATES THE AIRBAG CONTROL MODULE. WE HAVE NOT HAD AIRBAG LIGHT COME ON AFTER THIS MOST RECENT REPAIR, BUT WE ARE NOW EXPERIENCING BRAKE SENSOR ISSUES: WE HAVE HAD A 'APPLY THE BRAKES' ALERT COME ON WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, AS WELL AS A 'FRONT COLLISION WARNING' COME ON WHILE THERE ARE NO OTHER VEHICLES REMOTELY CLOSE TO US AT THE TIME. OBVIOUSLY, WE ARE CONCERNED FOR OUR SAFETY WHILE DRIVING THIS VEHICLE.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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