VW recall in the USA: 660,000 Atlas and Passat affected

V olkswagen has to recall a total of 662,000 cars in the USA because they do not meet the registration requirements. The cause are their headlights: During production, the VW factory workers align the horizontal target of the headlights and then fix them with a 'blocking cap'. With the cars that have now been recalled, it is possible that this cap was never installed and that the headlights can be adjusted sideways by anyone. However, this is exactly what US federal regulations do not allow. So Volkswagen has to install the 'blocking cap' afterwards.

VW

The US Passat is also affected by the headlight recall.

Oncoming drivers can be dazzled become

'Accidentally changing the horizontal position of a headlight can result in the light not illuminating the critical areas of the road, but instead throwing the light on the roadside or in an adjacent lane,' says Jennifer Stockburger by the US consumer protection organization Consumer Reports. This could dazzle oncoming motorists. The following series and model years are affected by the recall:

• 2012 to 2015 VW Passat sedan, manufactured between December 23, 2010 and October 2, 2015,
• 2016 to 2019 VW Passat sedan, manufactured between April 20, 2015 and January 14, 2019,
• 2020 VW Passat sedan, manufactured between October 17, 2018 and December 19, 2018 and
• 2018 to 2019 VW Atlas between November 17, 2016 and February 12, 2019.

According to Volkswagen USA, the recall will start on July 10. In the workshop it is determined whether the 'blocking cap' is missing; if so, it will be added. The dealers also check items that have not yet been soldCars and retrofit the cap if necessary. According to Stockburger, the problem should be relatively easy to fix.