Don’t use the front passenger seat in these 140K recalled vehicles, Volkswagen says - The Hill

(NEXSTAR) – Volkswagen is warning not people not to sit in the front passenger seat of over 140,000 of their SUVs that are now under recall.

The recall pertains to 143,053 2018-2021 Atlas and 2020 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles, according a National Health Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) release.

Volkswagen warns that, because of faulty wiring, the occupant detection system might fail to recognize someone sitting in the front passenger seat and mistakenly deactivate the air bag.

“Until the free recall repair is developed and completed, owners should not allow anyone to sit in the front passenger seat,” the release stated. “Volkswagen is currently developing a remedy and will notify affected owners as soon as the repair is available.”

If the vehicle has faulty passenger occupant detection system, or PODS, Volkswagen says it will trigger an error message and a warning sound.

Volkswagen will be notifying owners by mail, but you can also find out if your vehicle is under recall by checking your 17-character vehicle identification number at NHTSA.gov/recalls or calling NHTSA’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at (888)327-4236.

Owners may contact Volkswagen’s customer service at (800) 893-5298. Volkswagen’s number for this recall is 69FB.