Issue ID | 1480373 |
Internal NHTSA # | 11110673 |
Manufacurer | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
Brand | VOLKSWAGEN |
Model | ATLAS |
Model Year | 2018 |
File date | 24/09/17 |
Component | UNKNOWN OR OTHER |
Product type code | VEHICLE |
Description of the problem | 2018 vw atlas manual, rear temperature control panel has a design oversight which should be considered a safety concern. The vehicle targeted the american family car market which should have assumed rear passengers were too young to reach the manual rear temperature controls from the 2nd row seating and provided a means for the 1st row passengers to control whether the rear vents blow hot or cold. This function was intentionally removed from the front panel manual controls. The upgraded tech package for the atlas provides front and rear zone automatic temperature controls as well as the ability of 1st row occupants to override the rear settings. The manual controls only allow 1st row occupants to enable or disable the rear controls whereas minivans / family suvs experienced include rear off, rear control, and rear sync to front. The issue here is that if a child strapped in a car seat in the rear says they are cold, the 1st row passengers are going to do something about it. This involves reaching blindly behind the center console to feel around for the appropriate buttons and may even result in the driver having to remove their eyes from the road to peer over the console to see what the settings are. The only change a front row occupant can make to the rear temperature setting from the front panel is to disable it which is an unacceptable solution in most cases. In other words this design flaw encourages a driver to take their eyes off the road or be distracted beyond what holding a cell phone for a voice call does. If most states consider it illegal to drive/ talk non-hands free, this design feature should be corrected with a volkswagen firmware change. After 9 months of attempting to do exactly that, vw has responded flatly that they will do absolutely nothing to correct the design. Dealers aren't even aware of the behavior in order to warn customers. |
Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 100 |
Number of Occurences | |
Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
City and State | CORVALLIS, OR |
VIN pattern | 1V2KR2CA7JCXXXXXX |
Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
Was incedent reported to police? | N |
Was medical attention required? | N |
Was part original equipment? | |
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Date of purchase | 29/06/24 |
Was original owner? | N |
Anti-lock brakes | N |
Cruise control | N |
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Vehicle speed | 35 |
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Was defective tire repaired? | |
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