Volkswagen recalls 143,000 Atlas SUVs over glitch related to air bag

Volkswagen of America announced Tuesday it is recalling more than 143,000 Atlas SUVs over a faulty front passenger seat detection system.

According to the manufacturer, the wiring in some of the vehicles’ front passenger detection systems may be faulty, resulting in a deactivated air bag that will not deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury to the front seat passenger.

The recall affects select model year 2018-2021 Atlas and 2020 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles.

Owners should not allow anyone to sit in the front passenger seat until a free recall repair is developed and completed, Volkswagen said. It is currently developing a remedy and will notify affected owners as soon as the repair is available.