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: 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
What owners actually said
130 reports
Mileage unknown · Nov 20, 2024
Air Bags
The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen Atlas. 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. The …
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The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen Atlas. 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. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
NHTSA ODI #11626429
Mileage unknown · Nov 18, 2024
Forward Collision Avoidance
The front left collision warning alarm goes off when apply brakes (a turn, stop sign/light, parking spot as examples) even though there is nothing in the proximity that would trigger a warning.
NHTSA ODI #11625903
Mileage unknown · Nov 9, 2024
Unknown Or Other
Can be at a stop light and the vehicle will cut off while in drive and will have to put back in park to restart the vehicle. No codes or lights on the dash. Have also gone from drive to reverse and attempt to back up and the car will cut off have to place in park and restart. I have cut off auto start/stop and had the vehicle cu…
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Can be at a stop light and the vehicle will cut off while in drive and will have to put back in park to restart the vehicle. No codes or lights on the dash. Have also gone from drive to reverse and attempt to back up and the car will cut off have to place in park and restart. I have cut off auto start/stop and had the vehicle cut off and auto start/stop activated on dash but button is off and had to place in park and restart.
NHTSA ODI #11624340
Mileage unknown · Nov 6, 2024
Air Bags
The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V464000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the iss…
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The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V464000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
NHTSA ODI #11623818
Mileage unknown · Oct 30, 2024
Engine
Vehicle stalls when at very slow speeds which requires you to put the vehicle in park and restart. This has happened over 15 times and last time was 10/29/24.
NHTSA ODI #11622647
Mileage unknown · Oct 24, 2024
Fuel/propulsion SystemUnknown Or Other
I bought my car about 5 months ago. 3 weeks ago while merging onto the beltway, MY CAR SHUT OFF. I took it to the dealership and they kept it 9 days. They did absolutely NOTHING. I contacted corporate they are doing NOTHING. this has happened twice. It's an intermittent issue and all VW has to say is that "since there is no faul…
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I bought my car about 5 months ago. 3 weeks ago while merging onto the beltway, MY CAR SHUT OFF. I took it to the dealership and they kept it 9 days. They did absolutely NOTHING. I contacted corporate they are doing NOTHING. this has happened twice. It's an intermittent issue and all VW has to say is that "since there is no fault code and they cannot duplicate the issue" there's nothing they can do. Online I've found several others with the same issue. I sent screenshots and links to YouTube videos of several others with the SAME issue and they still do not care. I told them what other dealers did to fix this safety issue and they won't do anything, even though the car is under warranty. They told me the car is fine even though I was nearly in a 4 car accident. This is a MAJOR safety issue in VW cars. My car note is $950 and I don't feel safe driving my car.
NHTSA ODI #11621663
Mileage unknown · Oct 22, 2024
Electrical System
There have been issues with my control panel/radio multiple times since purchasing this vehicle May 2023. At least twice, the control panel went black while I was driving, or backing, and would only reset after placing car in park and turning car off and back on. The issue was reported to dealer who said they couldn't recreate …
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There have been issues with my control panel/radio multiple times since purchasing this vehicle May 2023. At least twice, the control panel went black while I was driving, or backing, and would only reset after placing car in park and turning car off and back on. The issue was reported to dealer who said they couldn't recreate it and the system was up to date, so no help/fix. These occurred before the 10k mile service at dealership. A different time, the radio went silent and the control panel froze. The functionality only returned after doing a "hard reset" , as suggested in an online forum. Turning the vehicle on and off did not help. There was at least one other instance when the sound and functionality of the radio/media options completed shut off for several minutes before resetting itself while I was driving and unable to pull over to turn the vehicle on/off.
NHTSA ODI #11621268
Mileage unknown · Oct 14, 2024
EngineService BrakesWheels
This car has been in the shop on 6 different occasions and has yet to have anything properly repaired. It has brake/rotor issues since about 15,000 miles. It has a really bad oil leak that it has been in twice for now.
NHTSA ODI #11619613
Mileage unknown · Oct 3, 2024
Air Bags
This is a continuous issue that has been pending for over one year.
NHTSA ODI #11617918
Mileage unknown · Sep 28, 2024
Air Bags
PODS recall on vehicle. No fix available and dealership is not helping me with this issue.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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 ↗
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.
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.
2023 Volkswagen Atlas Problems, Complaints & Recalls | Skip That Year
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