Recently, a recall was issued for the Atlas 2024, a model undergoing a major overhaul for the coming year. This week, we learn that the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), the U.S. equivalent of Transport Canada, has opened an investigation into 184,000 Atlas models, of 2018-2019 model-years.
The catalyst for the probe is a collection of incident reports alleging unintentional braking of the vehicle, reports the Automotive News site.
The NHTSA's Office of Defect Investigation has received 59 complaints alleging unintentional activation of the front-assist automatic emergency braking system with 2018-19 models. Of these complaints, five include reported minor injuries sustained as a result of the issue.
Owners also claimed that the activation of the braking system occurred when there were no apparent obstacles in the vehicle's path.
The NHTSA has opened an investigation to determine the extent and severity of the potential defect.
“Volkswagen takes safety extremely seriously. We are fully cooperating with NHTSA in this investigation,” stated Michael Lowder, spokesperson for Volkswagen America.
Automatic emergency braking is a wonderful safety feature, as it can save lives and reduce the severity of injuries to occupants. However, if it malfunctions, it can have unfortunate consequences.
In 2022, the NHTSA opened investigations into Tesla and Honda vehicles after receiving hundreds of similar complaints about unexpected activation of the system.
The NHTSA wants to make automatic emergency braking, including pedestrian detection, mandatory on all new light vehicles. It wants minimum performance standards to ensure that systems are capable of preventing or mitigating frontal collisions at higher speeds and operate effectively in darkness.
Such a measure would prevent at least 360 deaths and reduce the number of injuries on U.S. roads by at least 24,000 per year, according to the organization.
In the meantime, there’s no mention of a recall of the 184,000 2018-2019 Atlas SUVs, but it could be headed that way.