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Volkswagen Air Bag Recalls: Deployment Failures and Inflator Risks
Atlas appears most often in the supplied Volkswagen air bag notices, with repeated concerns involving deployment, control modules and passenger detection. Certain 2018 Atlas vehicles have separate notices for passenger air bag tearing or unfolding, water entering the control module, and faulty crash sensors. Other Atlas notices address incorrect side air bags, door wiring contacts, passenger detection wiring and a missing side air bag housing weld. Passat also recurs, involving incorrect side air bags, overly forceful passenger deployment or driver inflator explosion, depending on the notice. Additional notices cover Tiguan Limited, Tiguan, Jetta, Jetta GLI, ID.4, Beetle and Beetle Convertible vehicles.
Warning signs to watch for
- The notices for these recalls do not describe any warning sign an owner would notice.
Can you keep driving? What the notices say
None of the supplied Volkswagen air bag notices tells owners to stop driving or park outside. This applies to the listed Beetle and Passat inflator notice; Tiguan Limited driver air bag notice; Atlas and Tiguan passenger air bag notice; Atlas control module, sensor, wiring, passenger detection and side air bag notices; Atlas and Passat incorrect side air bag notice; Passat passenger deployment notice; Jetta control module notice; and ID.4 passenger air bag notice.
What the free repair involves
The stated remedies are free. They include driver or passenger air bag replacement under the respective notices, Tiguan Limited steering wheel replacement, Atlas crash sensor replacement, Jetta control module replacement, and Atlas PODS mat and harness replacement. Atlas drain tube and module replacement is conditional on inspection; door harnesses are secured and replaced as necessary when showing a fault code.
Severity at a glance
| Severity | Recalls |
|---|---|
| critical | 1 |
| high | 14 |
| medium | 1 |
Models affected most
Where owners report air bags problems most
NHTSA owner complaints filed under air bags for the Volkswagen models and years in this guide. Complaints are unverified reports and are not limited to the recalled defects.
Every recall in this group
Common questions
Which Atlas recall concerns an occupied passenger seat?
Recall 69FB covers certain 2018-2021 Atlas and 2020 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. A passenger occupant detection system wiring fault may deactivate the front passenger air bag when the seat is occupied. Dealers replace the sensor mat and wiring harness, free of charge.
Which Volkswagen models are named in the exploding inflator notice?
The October 2024 notice names certain 2017-2019 Beetle and Beetle Convertible, 2012-2014 Passat, 2017 Passat Wagon, and 2006-2007 Passat Sedan vehicles. Dealers replace the driver's front air bag module, free of charge. The notice does not tell owners to stop driving.
What does the Atlas door wiring air bag recall repair?
Recall 97GF concerns corroding door wiring contacts that may delay front side air bag deployment. It covers certain 2019-2020 Atlas, 2020-2023 Atlas Cross Sport and 2021-2023 Atlas FL vehicles. Dealers secure and, as necessary, replace front door harnesses showing a fault code, free.
A recall applies only to specific vehicles. Check your 17-character VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.