Volkswagen Atlas Air Bags Problems
Owners have filed 375 complaints with NHTSA about air bags problems on the Volkswagen Atlas across 7 model years. The 2019 model year has the most (141). The words owners use most often: “air bags contacted” (17% of reports).
- 375air bags complaints
- —median miles at failure
- 16mention a crash
- 10mention an injury
- 9related recalls
- 32%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Air bags contacted: mentioned in 62 of 375 complaints (17%)
- Passenger seat: mentioned in 52 of 375 complaints (14%)
- Airbag error: mentioned in 24 of 375 complaints (6%)
At what mileage do air bags problems happen?
Based on 65 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 375 complaints, 16 mention a crash, 10 an injury.
Volkswagen Atlas air bags complaints by model year
| Model year | Air Bags complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Atlas | 8 | 5% | 15,327 |
| 2023 Atlas | 22 | 16% | 20,000 |
| 2022 Atlas | 30 | 16% | 48,000 |
| 2021 Atlas | 66 | 14% | 19,500 |
| 2020 Atlas | 8 | 30% | 90,000 |
| 2019 Atlas | 141 | 29% | 30,250 |
| 2018 Atlas | 100 | 21% | 45,000 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (9)
Air bags:sensor:occupant classification:front passenger
Model years: 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Problem: 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.
Risk: A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: 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. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69PZ.
Air bags:side/window:curtain
Model years: 2019
Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Atlas vehicles. The driver's side impact air bag may be missing a weld at the side air bag housing.
Risk: The driver's side impact air bag could deploy improperly or detach in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the driver's side impact air bag, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 19, 2023. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69FK.
Air bags:sensor:occupant classification:front passenger
Model years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) 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.
Risk: A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: 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 Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69FB.
Air bags:side/window
Model years: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Atlas, 2020-2023 Atlas Cross Sport, and 2021-2023 Atlas FL vehicles. The door wiring harness electrical contacts may corrode, disrupting the electrical connection and delaying the deployment of the driver or passenger front side air bag during a side impact crash.
Risk: A delayed air bag deployment can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will secure and, as necessary, replace any the front door wiring harnesses showing a fault code, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 20, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 97GF.
Air bags: air bag/restraint control module; visibility:defroster/defogger/hvac system
Model years: 2021
Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas and 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The air conditioning system drain tube could be blocked, causing water to leak inside the vehicle near the air bag control module.
Risk: A water leak may damage the air bag control module, causing an inadvertent air bag deployment and increasing the risk of injury or a crash.
Fix: Dealers will repair the drain tube and replace the air bag control module, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 87H4.
Air bags
Model years: 2018
Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Atlas vehicles. The vehicles may be equipped with an incorrectly manufactured air bag sensor, which can delay or disable air bag deployment when necessary.
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating frontal air bag deployment, a delayed or disabled airbag deployment can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the air bag crash sensor, free of charge. The recall began February 21, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69AL.
Air bags:side/window
Model years: 2019
Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Atlas and 2020 Passat vehicles. An incorrect driver and/or front passenger side impact air bag may have been installed.
Risk: In an event of a side impact crash, an incorrect side airbag may not deploy as intended, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Volkswagen has inspected and replaced the side air bags, free of charge. The recall was completed in April 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69Y8.
Air bags: air bag/restraint control module
Model years: 2018
Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. During production, the air conditioning system drain tube may have been twisted, causing water to drain into the air bag control module.
Risk: The wet air bag control module may result in an unintentional deployment of the air bags, increasing the risk of injury or crash.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the air conditioning drain tube, and if it is twisted, the drain tube and air bag control module will be replaced, free of charge. Some of the affected vehicles have had their drain tube previously replaced but did not receive a new air bag control module; the airbag control module will be replaced in these vehicles. The recall began September 14, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 87F9.
Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module
Model years: 2018
Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas and Tiguan vehicles. In the event of a crash, the passenger frontal air bag may tear or not properly unfold during deployment.
Risk: If the air bag were to tear or unfold incorrectly during deployment, it can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag, free of charge. The recall began July 19, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 69W8, and 69W9.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
A car cut in front of me and I swerved to avoid a crash and hit the street curb. My right front tire blew and all curtain airbags blew. I was able to coast forward and turn into a parking lot entrance driveway. The impact was not large enough to damage the rim and simply blew the tire. In my…
Vehicle lost total control on the freeway I lost control crashed off the freeway into a ditch no airbags deployed the whole frame was total loss the entire atlas lost control No airbags as I went into a ditch hit a freeway sign and Iâm still suffering nerve damage and chronic back pain
No accidents light just turn on saying airbag error light came on. no airbag was deployed.
My air bag light came on and said I have code b121400. It indicates that the passenger occupant seat sensor is not communicating/working. I see this issue was identified as a recall for similar vehicles but did not include my car. NHTSA ID: 22v815000
2021 Volkswagen AtlasâVIN [redacted]. Vehicle manufactured 02/2021. Airbag warning light illuminated. Volkswagen dealer diagnosed the airbag control module as wet and shorted due to water leaking into the vehicle from the A/C drain. This appears identical to the defect described by Volkswagen…
Frequently asked questions
Do all Volkswagen Atlass have air bags problems?
No. NHTSA has 375 owner complaints about air bags for the Volkswagen Atlas. Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the Volkswagen Atlas air bags?
Yes: 9 safety recalls list air bags. Check your VIN on NHTSA.gov to see whether the fix was done on your car.
What do owners say about air bags problems on the Volkswagen Atlas?
The most frequent phrase is “air bags contacted”, in 62 of 375 complaints, followed by “passenger seat” (52).
Other Volkswagen Atlas problems
See all Volkswagen Atlas problems.