IllustrationThe vehicle brakes sound like metal v metal, grinding and squeaking. The dealership says that its a known problem but they have no fix. This concerns me when driving.
2022 Volkswagen Atlas
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2022 Volkswagen Atlas do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 169.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Atlas years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 14 of 181 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Engine. Review the 50 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes. Review the 46 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 44 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
3 crash reports2 fire reports2 injury reports
Service Brakes complaints
46 reportsMy sensors continue to beep when there is no obstruction around the vehicle. At times, this will also cause the brakes to grind. When I take it in for inspection, they are unable to find any malfunction because this happens inconsistently. This puts myself and others at risk because it is very distracting to the driver. The …
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My sensors continue to beep when there is no obstruction around the vehicle. At times, this will also cause the brakes to grind. When I take it in for inspection, they are unable to find any malfunction because this happens inconsistently. This puts myself and others at risk because it is very distracting to the driver. The vehicle has been inspected by the service dealer, but they have not been able to reproduce the problem. Other lights have also popped up randomly... the driver seat belt sign, when I did have my seat belt on and the EPC sign while I drove down my street.
Vehicle was purchased in Feb 2022. At around 4500 miles a low coolant level alert came on the dashboard. I checked the coolant level and saw that it was low with signs of leaking. Purchased coolant from VW dealer and topped off. Brakes make a metallic scraping/grinding sound when coming to a stop downhill at a slow speed. Vehi…
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Vehicle was purchased in Feb 2022. At around 4500 miles a low coolant level alert came on the dashboard. I checked the coolant level and saw that it was low with signs of leaking. Purchased coolant from VW dealer and topped off. Brakes make a metallic scraping/grinding sound when coming to a stop downhill at a slow speed. Vehicle runs loud and slow. Feels like engine airflow is obstructed, but it isn't. Infotainment systems constantly freezes, turns off, restarts and frequently crashes. Inductive mobile charging unit has never worked.
The breaks make a horrible grinding and squeak sound. Feels unsafe to drive car.
Vehicle 2 hrs after purchased start/stop failure notice came on. Vehicle died without emergency brakes or any brake system at all take place in middle of the road. Took to the dealer where it was purchased from immediately-4 days later “repaired” replaced a valve stating a flap wasn’t closing correctly. 3 weeks later out of stat…
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Vehicle 2 hrs after purchased start/stop failure notice came on. Vehicle died without emergency brakes or any brake system at all take place in middle of the road. Took to the dealer where it was purchased from immediately-4 days later “repaired” replaced a valve stating a flap wasn’t closing correctly. 3 weeks later out of state same thing happened 3 different times traveling 70 mph on the way back to our home, only this time we had cars swerving behind us to avoid hitting us as we were in middle lane, immediately I threw on the flashers while driver was attempting to place it in park when the gear shift stuck same error all 3 times start/stop fail only this time the check engine light came on as well as the start stop error light on the dash and permanently stayed on until we could get to the dealership where we purchased it- vehicle stalled again the same way only this time attempting to park vehicle to check in for inspection
The brakes squeak and grid a lot. During the rain the brakes do not stop fast at the first apply and they don't perform well, because a lot of debris from the brake pads are stuck at brake system. VW Certified Technician stated that it is manufacturer defective brake system and it needs replacement but they refused to replace it…
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The brakes squeak and grid a lot. During the rain the brakes do not stop fast at the first apply and they don't perform well, because a lot of debris from the brake pads are stuck at brake system. VW Certified Technician stated that it is manufacturer defective brake system and it needs replacement but they refused to replace it under warranty. This issue was stated by me from the first week I bought this vehicle.
We purchased this vehicle new in 2022, since the purchase, we have taken the car in for defective brakes and brake noise. 2 different dealerships have resurfaced the rotors and brake pads for a total of 3 resurfaces and the noise ( grinding like metal on metal ) still exists. We have contacted VolkswagenUSA and they are not able…
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We purchased this vehicle new in 2022, since the purchase, we have taken the car in for defective brakes and brake noise. 2 different dealerships have resurfaced the rotors and brake pads for a total of 3 resurfaces and the noise ( grinding like metal on metal ) still exists. We have contacted VolkswagenUSA and they are not able to tell us what is causing the noise and want us to pay 10% of the repair costs event thought this issue has been going on during the warranty period. Thank you
Brand new Atlas has the worst brake pads/rotors! Screech & squeal incessantly in reverse and when braking. Dealer has said this is "normal" and is not under warranty. Drive to and from work every day and this happens each time within the first 10 minutes of starting the car.
Brakes are always squeaky and making grinding noises for the first 10 minutes of every drive. Brake pedal is also squeaky. Was brought to dealership two times and told that it's normal.
Was driving under 10mph and the brakes suddenly locked despite nothing being in way that would trigger ABS system. Brakes have also been grinding and feel off going down steep inclines, and sounds like water is moving around when i press them, even lightly. This is not safe and VW refuses to acknowledge an issue!
Official recalls
724V464000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger
Jun 20, 2024
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Atlas and 2020-2024 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The passenger occupant detection system (PODS) may experience a fault in the wiring and deactivate the front passenger air bag when the seat is occupied.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the PODS sensor mat and wiring harness, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 30, 2024. Owner notification letters will be mailed in phases, on October 18, 2024, December 10, 2024, December 20, 2024, and January 17, 2025. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69PZ.
22V807000 · Suspension:critical Fasteners
Oct 26, 2022
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Volkswagen Atlas FL and 2022-2023 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The driver-side rear trailing arm bolts may not have been tightened properly, allowing them to loosen and fall out.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Unsecured bolts may cause the trailing arm to fracture, resulting in a sudden loss of vehicle control and increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the driver side rear trailing arm bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 25, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42M2.
22V753000 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:hard Parts Internal/mechanical
Oct 7, 2022
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Audi Q5 Sportback, Q5, 2022-2023 Volkswagen Atlas FL, and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The engine connecting rod bearings may become damaged, which can result in engine failure.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A damaged engine can result in engine failure and a stall, increasing the risk of a crash. If the engine failure causes an oil leak, it can increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace an affected engine, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 6, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 13i4 (VW) and 13i5 (Audi).
22V657000 · Trailer Hitches
Aug 31, 2022
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The trailer hitch bolts may have been insufficiently tightened.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Loose bolts may fall out, causing the remaining bolts to break, which could lead to separation of the trailer hitch and trailer, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will tighten the trailer hitch bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 28, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 66N8.
22V514000 · Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera; Equipment:electrical:infotainment:software
Jul 20, 2022
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Golf GTI, Jetta GLI, Jetta NF, Arteon FL, Tiguan LWB, 2022 Taos, Jetta PA, Tiguan PA, 2021-2022 Atlas Cross Sport, and Atlas FL vehicles. The manufacturing process of the eMMC memory module in the infotainment system may cause the rearview camera image not to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A rearview camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will update the infotainment software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 16, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91DV.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Equipment:electrical:infotainment:software
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Golf GTI, Jetta GLI, Jetta NF, Arteon FL, Tiguan LWB, 2022 Taos, Jetta PA, Tiguan PA, 2021-2022 Atlas Cross Sport, and Atlas FL vehicles. The manufacturing process of the eMMC memory module in the infotainment system may cause the rearview camera image not to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Consequence: A rearview camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will update the infotainment software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 16, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91DV.
Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Golf GTI, Jetta GLI, Jetta NF, Arteon FL, Tiguan LWB, 2022 Taos, Jetta PA, Tiguan PA, 2021-2022 Atlas Cross Sport, and Atlas FL vehicles. The manufacturing process of the eMMC memory module in the infotainment system may cause the rearview camera image not to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Consequence: A rearview camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will update the infotainment software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 16, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91DV.
22V245000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:fuel Injection System:injectors
Apr 13, 2022
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Atlas FL and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The long fuel injectors may have been assembled without filters.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Long fuel injectors with missing filters may leak fuel, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the long fuel injectors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 20, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 24iD.
22V152000 · Air Bags:side/window
Mar 28, 2022
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Atlas, 2020-2023 Atlas Cross Sport, and 2021-2023 Atlas FL vehicles. The door wiring harness electrical contacts may corrode, disrupting the electrical connection and delaying the deployment of the driver or passenger front side air bag during a side impact crash.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A delayed air bag deployment can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will secure and, as necessary, replace any the front door wiring harnesses showing a fault code, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 20, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 97GF.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
1PE23017 · Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking
Opened Sep 28, 2023 · Closed Dec 18, 2024
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Forward Collision Avoidance; Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking
On September 28, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE23017) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the Front Assist automatic emergency braking (AEB) system in model year (MY) 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles.The reports alleged that activation of the AEB system occurred while driving with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's forward path, resulting in sudden vehicle deceleration. Volkswagen indicated that it is aware of a total of 292 reports that may relate to the alleged defect in MY 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles.Volkswagen stated that some customers possibly had an inadequate understanding of Front Assist and its limitations. However, many consumer complaints alleged that Volkswagen dealerships were unable to reproduce the condition or Volkswagen dealerships informed the consumers that this braking is considered normal Front Assist operation. ODI's analysis shows that MY 2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles have the highest rate of unique incident reports alleging AEB inadvertent activation when compared to their Volkswagen peers.The rate of unique incident reports alleging AEB inadvertent activation in MY 2018 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles was comparable to their Volkswagen peers. To date, ODI has received a total of 69 consumer complaints of inadvertent activation of Front Assist in MY 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. In total, ODI reviewed 264 unique (i.e., non-duplicative Vehicle Identification Numbers) reports that may relate to the alleged defect, which include eight reports of incidents involving an alleged injury and two reports involving a crash. PE23017 has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA24004) to further assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety related consequences of the inadvertent AEB activations in MY 2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking
On September 28, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE23017) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the Front Assist automatic emergency braking (AEB) system in model year (MY) 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles.The reports alleged that activation of the AEB system occurred while driving with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's forward path, resulting in sudden vehicle deceleration. Volkswagen indicated that it is aware of a total of 292 reports that may relate to the alleged defect in MY 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles.Volkswagen stated that some customers possibly had an inadequate understanding of Front Assist and its limitations. However, many consumer complaints alleged that Volkswagen dealerships were unable to reproduce the condition or Volkswagen dealerships informed the consumers that this braking is considered normal Front Assist operation. ODI's analysis shows that MY 2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles have the highest rate of unique incident reports alleging AEB inadvertent activation when compared to their Volkswagen peers.The rate of unique incident reports alleging AEB inadvertent activation in MY 2018 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles was comparable to their Volkswagen peers. To date, ODI has received a total of 69 consumer complaints of inadvertent activation of Front Assist in MY 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. In total, ODI reviewed 264 unique (i.e., non-duplicative Vehicle Identification Numbers) reports that may relate to the alleged defect, which include eight reports of incidents involving an alleged injury and two reports involving a crash. PE23017 has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA24004) to further assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety related consequences of the inadvertent AEB activations in MY 2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
Forward Collision Avoidance
On September 28, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE23017) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the Front Assist automatic emergency braking (AEB) system in model year (MY) 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles.The reports alleged that activation of the AEB system occurred while driving with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's forward path, resulting in sudden vehicle deceleration. Volkswagen indicated that it is aware of a total of 292 reports that may relate to the alleged defect in MY 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles.Volkswagen stated that some customers possibly had an inadequate understanding of Front Assist and its limitations. However, many consumer complaints alleged that Volkswagen dealerships were unable to reproduce the condition or Volkswagen dealerships informed the consumers that this braking is considered normal Front Assist operation. ODI's analysis shows that MY 2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles have the highest rate of unique incident reports alleging AEB inadvertent activation when compared to their Volkswagen peers.The rate of unique incident reports alleging AEB inadvertent activation in MY 2018 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles was comparable to their Volkswagen peers. To date, ODI has received a total of 69 consumer complaints of inadvertent activation of Front Assist in MY 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. In total, ODI reviewed 264 unique (i.e., non-duplicative Vehicle Identification Numbers) reports that may relate to the alleged defect, which include eight reports of incidents involving an alleged injury and two reports involving a crash. PE23017 has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA24004) to further assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety related consequences of the inadvertent AEB activations in MY 2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.