- Vehicles
- 271,330
- Built between
- Oct 2020 – Jun 2024
- Models
- 2
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 30 September 2024
- Repaired
- 74%
- Unrepaired
- 70,903
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between October 2020 and June 2024. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2021-2024 Volkswagen AtlasBuilt October 2020 to June 2024
- 2020-2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross SportBuilt October 2020 to June 2024
Repair progress
70,903 of 271,330 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q2 2026.
74% repaired — 200,427 of 271,330 reported
Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.
What the defect is
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.
What could happen
A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
What gets fixed
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.
Parts involved
- Passenger Occupant Detection SystemTBDSeat heating mat including connecting cable
Part numbers are as filed by the manufacturer and are listed for reference. Your dealer will confirm the correct part for your vehicle.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtOctober 2020 to June 2024
- Recall reported to NHTSA20 June 2024
- Owners notified30 September 2024
- Latest repair reportQ2 2026 — 74% repaired
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 20 June 2024.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Manufacturer contact
Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69PZ.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- 69PZ
- Recalling manufacturer
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
- Recall initiated by
- ODI
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional 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 your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.