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2023 Volkswagen Atlas

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2023 Volkswagen Atlas do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 169.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 11 of 130 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 35 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 32 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Air Bags. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

4 crash reports0 fire reports5 injury reports

Chest Clip, Buckle, Harness complaints

1 reports
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Mileage unknown · Apr 24, 2024
Carry Handle, Shell, BaseChest Clip, Buckle, HarnessOther/i Am Not Sure

Booster seat in high back mode has a seatbelt threader that causes the seatbelt to lock inappropriately trapping the child in the seat and/or rendering the seatbelt dysfunctional for use. The seatbelt positioner on the carseat and overall design impede proper use of the vehicle's seatbelt. This happens both when child is in the …

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Booster seat in high back mode has a seatbelt threader that causes the seatbelt to lock inappropriately trapping the child in the seat and/or rendering the seatbelt dysfunctional for use. The seatbelt positioner on the carseat and overall design impede proper use of the vehicle's seatbelt. This happens both when child is in the seat or out of the seat, leading to difficulties either getting the child IN and OUT of the seat, which in an emergency where extraction is necessary would be a safety concern. Routinely, the booster seat had to be taken out entirely in order to get the seatbelt to unlock and restore its functionality, all of which limits the safe efficacious use of the booster. Whether installed by latch or just resting on the seat (both of which are manufacturer recommended methods for installation) this issue of design impeding vehicle seatbelt function occurs. Further, either in full-back mode or when the back of the booster is removed, the arm rest design impedes easy access to the car's seat belt apparatus making it difficult to click the belt in. I also found this issue was mentioned in this third party review of the Oobr seat: [XXX] . I contacted the manufacturer and was offered no recourse. Short of having video of when the belt is locked with child in place, I took photos showing the belt threader and how arm rest impede buckle. The belt positioner is causing the problem because it creates tension that causes the car's seat belt to lock rendering the seat impossible or very difficult and finicky to use with a seatbelt. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI #11584994

Official recalls

5

25V434000 · Service Brakes; Suspension

Jun 30, 2025

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport and 2023-2024 ID.4 vehicles. Certain bolts on the chassis, brake system and/or suspension (such as bolts for certain cross member, engine mount, control arm, subframe, rear brake carrier, etc.) of affected vehicles may not have been correctly tightened during the manufacturing process.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A loss of vehicle control increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the bolts as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 25, 2025. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42HX.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Suspension

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport and 2023-2024 ID.4 vehicles. Certain bolts on the chassis, brake system and/or suspension (such as bolts for certain cross member, engine mount, control arm, subframe, rear brake carrier, etc.) of affected vehicles may not have been correctly tightened during the manufacturing process.

Consequence: A loss of vehicle control increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the bolts as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 25, 2025. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42HX.

Service Brakes

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport and 2023-2024 ID.4 vehicles. Certain bolts on the chassis, brake system and/or suspension (such as bolts for certain cross member, engine mount, control arm, subframe, rear brake carrier, etc.) of affected vehicles may not have been correctly tightened during the manufacturing process.

Consequence: A loss of vehicle control increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the bolts as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 25, 2025. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42HX.

24V464000 · 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.

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).

22V718000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:hoses, Lines/piping, And Fittings

Sep 26, 2022

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2023 model year Atlas FL and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. Certain brake lines may leak at the threaded connections.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A brake fluid leak may increase the distance required to stop, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the affected brake lines, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on November 23, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 47T2.

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

1

PE23017 · 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.