NHTSA Complaint #11702170 — 2021 VOLKSWAGEN ATLAS

Upon a low speed curb strike, predominantly striking the rear driver tire and partially the front driver tire, during a slide under 30mph, the curtain airbags deployed in the vehicle. Reading about this online, it appears others driving this type of vehicle have had similar reports of low speed tire strikes and airbags deploying. The airbags were more of a risk than the curb strike itself. With children in approved car seats in the rear, this was of course incredibly frightening. It appears VW is aware of the low sensitivity of their sensors that deploy this system, for which this sensor has been under recall in the past. Whether my sensor was repaired correctly is not understood. There is no other vehicle damage. The vehicle has been delivered to the VW dealer for inspection. It would be ideal for the NHTSA to look into whether the VW Atlas's curtain airbag deployment at low speed tire strikes meets the threshold for safety standards of deploying airbags. As there is a previous history for airbag issues with VW, it's not unrealistic this was a fault with the car and not the driver.