Air-bag concerns prompt recalls of more than 400,000 SUVs

Volkswagen’s recall affects certain 2021 to 2024 model year Atlas vehicles and 2020 to 2024 model year Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. Problems with a wire for the seat heating in the affected vehicles could cause the air bag to switch off when someone is in the front seat.

Owners should avoid using their front passenger seat until they receive the recall repair, Volkswagen said in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) documents posted recently.

An air-bag warning light, sound and error message on the instrument cluster will alert passengers if there is an issue with the Volkswagen vehicles. Owners can also expect recall notification letters in the mail starting Aug. 16.

To repair the issue, owners can bring their vehicles to a Volkswagen dealer to replace their passenger occupant detection system sensor mat and wiring harness. Volkswagen will offer a reimbursement plan for the repairs, NHTSA documents said.

The air-bag recall marks the second in less than a year for 2024 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. Volkswagen recalled the two models in August because of engine failure concerns.

Toyota’s air-bag recall impacts certain 2024 model year Toyota Grand Highlander and Grand Highlander Hybrid SUVs and Lexus TX350, TX500 Hybrid and TX550 Hybrid vehicles. If the driver’s side curtain air bag in the recalled vehicles is triggered, a portion of it may deploy outside the SUV if the window is rolled down, increasing a driver’s injury risk.

A fix for the air-bag issue is still being determined, Toyota said recently in NHTSA documents. Passengers should keep the driver’s side window rolled up until the repair is implemented, Toyota spokesperson Aaron Fowles said.

Recall notification letters will be sent to drivers in August, NHTSA documents said.

Toyota’s Fowles and Volkswagen spokesperson Michael Lowder declined to comment on whether their companies have received injury reports related to their respective recalls.

The recalls are the latest in a litany of problems with vehicle air bags over the years.

Takata air bags were the subject of one of the largest recalls in U.S. history after reports of exploding inflaters, and even as recently as last month — several years after the problem first emerged — a recall related to the Takata bags was issued.

Last year federal auto safety regulators stepped up their efforts to recall roughly 52 million air-bag inflaters made by ARC Automotive and Delphi Automotive Systems, though ARC has resisted the effort.

More recently, concerns have emerged over counterfeit air bags used as replacements in vehicles. The Wall Street Journal reported this month that people have been killed or seriously injured by counterfeit air bags at least five times in the past year.

Counterfeit air bags have been shown to “consistently malfunction” by failing to deploy or expelling metal shrapnel when they do, according to NHTSA. Dozens of U.S. states have passed legislation that prohibits counterfeit air bags, but it’s difficult to trace counterfeit parts, leaving federal regulators with an unclear picture of the problem’s scale.