A problem at the engine plant is leading to an early recall of Volkswagen’s model year 2024 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport. Contaminants got into the bearings in certain examples, which could cause the engines to fail, and may have already led to a fire.
Volkswagen is recalling 1,323 Atlases and 695 Atlas Cross Sports that were produced between June 16, 2023, and July 25, 2023. Of the 2,018 total vehicles it is looking at, it expects just two percent of being contaminated.
The automaker first became aware of the issue on July 3, when someone noticed excessive engine noise at its manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It analyzed the part, and asked its supplier, the Silao, Mexico, engine factory, to investigate the issue, too.
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It eventually found that contamination during the bearing production process increased the number of particles in the engine oil circuit. That is likely to lead to extensive wear, resulting in play and damage to the connecting rod bearings.
That could lead the engine to make an excessive amount of noise, as was reported in mid-July, when VW received a field report about an instance of a knocking sound that was reportedly coming from an Atlas’s engine.
Left unchecked, the problem could lead to further problems, including engine failure. That would lead drivers to lose power, and may also lead to a loss of engine oil, which increases the risk of a fire, as potentially already happened. In documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), VW reports that on July 28, it learned about a fire stemming from the engine compartment of an Atlas in the possession of a dealer.
In all, Volkswagen is aware of 12 claims relating to this issue as of August 4, 2023. It will therefore launch a recall campaign, and plans to reach out to owners starting on October 10. The automaker is in the process of developing a test to determine which engines are and aren’t affected by this, and plans to replace those it determines to have been contaminated, at no cost to the owner.
