Owners of certain 2022 Volkswagen Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport models should not tow with their vehicle, because a loose bolt in the hitch assembly could potentially lead it to fail.
Volkswagen is recalling a total of 3,540 vehicles in the U.S. and in Canada. Of those, 3,334 are Atlases built between April 19 and June 6, 2022, and 206 are Atlas Cross Sport models, the sleeker, five-seat version of the SUV.
The automaker first noticed the problem in April after its Chattanooga plant started receiving bolts from a new supplier. By April 29, VW noticed that failure rates in production began to increase and started looking for a root cause. By August, it had determined that a bolt on the trailer hitch was not being tightened properly.
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“Although it is extremely unlikely, experience gained during durability testing shows that a bolt over-stress failure (load transferred from a lost bolt to the remaining tight bolts) while towing cannot be completely ruled-out,” wrote Volkswagen in its recall report.
Owners of the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport may notice the problem if they hear a rattling noise coming from the back of their vehicle. If the situation persists, the bolt could fail, along with the rest of the hitch, and a driver could lose their trailer. If that happens while on the move, it poses a pretty significant danger to other road users. As such, VW recommends that owners not tow until a fix has been applied.
Fortunately, VW is not aware of any claims related to this issue and the solution should be pretty simple. It plans to start reaching out to owners on August 28 and will ask them to return to the dealership to have their trailer hitch bolts tightened an additional 90° to ensure that it doesn’t come loose farther down the road.
