VW recalls vehicles due to unexpected braking in US, Canada

DETROIT (AP) —

Volkswagen calls for repair to more than 246,000 off-road trucks in the United States and Canada for faulty wiring that can cause them to brake unexpectedly, sometimes while driving.

The call for redress came three days after The Associated Press reported that 47 people have reported the problem to US security regulators. Some reported that they were almost hit from behind by other vehicles. Many reported that flashing lights and alarms went off, driver-side windows were lowered, and vans suddenly braked while driving.

Volkswagen indicated in documents released Friday by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that the recall covers certain Atlas pickups from 2019 to 2023, as well as Atlas Cross Sport from 2020 to 2023.

The documents indicate that electrical contacts in a wiring in any of the front doors can corrode and interrupt electrical connections. The problem can cause the side airbags to open late in the event of a collision and the handbrake to engage unexpectedly. Volkswagen said in the documents that off-road trucks can brake at speeds below 3 kilometers per hour (1.8 miles per hour).

However, many of the people who have complained to the NHTSA said that the unexpected braking happened while driving on city streets and put them at risk. A female driver from Mansfield, Ohio, wrote in a complaint that braking occurred several times at speeds between 40 and 112 kilometers per hour (25 and 70 miles per hour).

Kendall Heiman, a social worker from Lawrence, Kansas, said her 2021 Atlas Cross Sport tried to slow down several times while driving on roads, often while slowing down. Heiman said she was almost hit from behind by another van as she entered a roundabout. It also slowed down when I was leaving a highway, he added.