Volkswagen bulletin VOS-26-23
What it saysThis is a notice for software changes with the ODIS diagnostic program to correct the communication during vehicle programming function: A software fix is needed to correct the issue with Airbag - J706 - Seat Occupant… NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Volkswagen filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Apr 1, 2026, received May 5, 2026, about the air bags. It names 8 model years (2018–2024). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
Get the next Volkswagen bulletin for your model by email Weekly, only when something new is filed. Nothing else; one-click unsubscribe.
What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationThis is a notice for software changes with the ODIS diagnostic program to correct the communication during vehicle programming function: A software fix is needed to correct the issue with Airbag - J706 - Seat Occupant Detection System Control Module Basic Setting error message ODS5001E & ODS5003E.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VOS-26-23 | Service bulletin | Apr 1, 2026 | 11032221 | not found |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
Email me new Volkswagen bulletins for one of these models
A weekly email, sent only in a week when Volkswagen files something new with NHTSA for the model you pick — service bulletins, campaigns, warranty extensions, over-the-air notices, every model year. Nothing else is sent; one-click unsubscribe in every message. Separate from recall alerts.
What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 8 model years this bulletin names have filed 2,498 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 339 of them name Air Bags — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
On the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas, the 28 owners who gave an odometer reading for Air Bags reported it at a median of 30,500 miles. That figure is one model year’s, not the whole range this bulletin covers — medians from different model years are not averaged.
The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V464000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair.
2023 Volkswagen Atlas · Air Bags · filed with NHTSA Feb 3, 2025 · ODI 11640455
Purchased new 2018 Atlas at herog meier VW dealership in beaverton oregon on 5-19-18. Upon driving home from dealership the airbag error light came on and would not go out. Called dealer once home and immediately drove back to dealer. They said to drive it and come back monday to service department.
2018 Volkswagen Atlas · Air Bags · filed with NHTSA Jun 2, 2018 · ODI 11099361
Airbag Error keeps going off and flashing on the dashboard. Airbag sensor keeps chiming like a person is sitting in the front seat without using seatbelt when there is no one in the front seat and without anything on the seat that may weigh enough to set the sensor off.
2022 Volkswagen Atlas · Air Bags · filed with NHTSA May 2, 2023 · ODI 11519976
In depth: 2021 Volkswagen Atlas airbag problems → · 2019 Volkswagen Atlas airbag problems → · 2018 Volkswagen Atlas airbag problems →
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the air bags
Source: same model, same component group13 other manufacturer communications filed against these Volkswagen models under the same component group (air bags), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Volkswagen list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| VOS-26-52 | Service bulletin | Sep 4, 2026 | This is a notice for software changes with the ODIS diagnostic program to correct the communication during vehicle programming function: A… |
| V6919012010479_17 | Service bulletin | Jun 11, 2026 | Inquiries |
| VOS-26-28 | Service bulletin | Apr 17, 2026 | This is a notice for software changes with the ODIS diagnostic program to correct the communication during vehicle programming function: A… |
| VOS-26-27 | Service bulletin | Apr 16, 2026 | This is a notice for software changes with the ODIS diagnostic program to correct the communication during vehicle programming function: A… |
| VOS-26-25 | Service bulletin | Apr 2, 2026 | This is a notice for software changes with the ODIS diagnostic program to correct the communication during vehicle programming function: A… |
| 69MJ | Service campaign | Jul 8, 2025 | An incorrect EPROM component with lower bytes memory density may have been installed in some airbag control modules. This could cause the ai… |
| SM 02 2025 | Other | Feb 17, 2025 | This special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed if it meets the criteria provided. |
| VOS 25 18 | Service bulletin | Feb 12, 2025 | This is a notice for software changes with the ODIS diagnostic program to correct the communication during vehicle programming function: Th… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Volkswagen, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Volkswagen VOS-26-23 a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the VOS-26-23 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way. Every Volkswagen warranty extension on file lists the ones Volkswagen has filed.
Which vehicles does VOS-26-23 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 8 model years: 2024 Volkswagen Atlas, 2023 Volkswagen Atlas, 2022 Volkswagen Atlas, 2021 Volkswagen Atlas, 2020 Volkswagen Atlas, 2019 Volkswagen Atlas and more. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.