Porsche is recalling nearly 11,000 units of the 2022 and 2023 Taycan in North America due to a defect in the passenger seat’s occupant classification system (OCS) that could deactivate the front airbag. In Canada, Transport Canada has issued recall for 878 Taycan vehicles, while in the United States the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall covers 9,735 Taycans.
According to the recall documents, the issue originates from a manufacturing defect in the crimp connection of the seat cushion’s heating mat. If improperly executed, this connection can cause the OCS to malfunction, entering a fail-safe mode that disables the front passenger airbag, even when the seat is occupied. Porsche estimates that around 3% of the recalled vehicles may be affected.
Drivers may notice a problem when warning indicators activate, including an illuminated “Passenger Airbag OFF” light, a chime, and a dashboard error message. Porsche strongly advises against using the front passenger seat if these warnings appear.
To address the issue, Porsche dealers will replace the entire front passenger seat cushion with an updated version featuring a more robust crimp connection. This replacement will be provided free of charge.
The impacted vehicles were produced between January 3, 2022, and March 31, 2023, and include the Taycan, Taycan Cross Turismo, and Cross Turismo Turbo models. Porsche has identified Lear Corporation Hungary as the supplier of the faulty component, and says the defect was resolved in production vehicles after March 2023.
You can read the full NHTSA recall notice below, or read the Transport Canada recall here.
