10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
13,336 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #52

Nov 272021

Atlas

  • miles
My trucks breaks has given out multiple times almost causing accidents in the middle of driving with no warning. Message on dash says faulty breaks, break failure before it quickly goes away. The abs break light comes on and the car stalls almost causing me to get rear ended. I purchased the car Oct 12,2021 car start having issues December 2021. It is extremely dangerous to drive. I took it to car max in forth myers fl when I almost hit a tractor trailer WITH MY CHILDREN IN THE CAR ! Carmax refused to look at my vehicle or give me a rental for it being unsafe. This has happened on multiple occasions. I shouldn-??t have to pay for something like this to get fixed when I was sold a faulty car from the start. I have spoke with a few Lawyers over this matter about CarMax and Voltswagon. I only have one photo I don-??t have a chance to take other photos when it happens because Im to busy trying not to get hurt.

- Flowery Branch , GA, USA

problem #51

Mar 312022

Atlas

  • miles
Water pump was replaced a few months ago after VW dealer discovering cracked pump housing during routine maintenance. A few days ago a "CHECK COOLANT LEVEL" message was displayed. Immediate check underneath vehicle found no evidence of external coolant leak. However, reservoir coolant tank found to be almost empty. Visual inspection of engine compartment showed all coolant hoses to be intact, cap secure on ball style reservoir tank without evidence of leakage. No odor of coolant in or around vehicle. Research on this problem found hundreds of 2018-2019 VW Atlas owners with identical symptom description, most ended up finding evidence of coolant in engine oil (crankcase). A sample of crankcase engine oil has been sent to an independent laboratory for analysis. The General Manager and Service Manager at VW dealer have been notified of the issue and that it is a known serious problem to VW Atlas owners despite not having risen to the level of a recall. Once VW has completed diagnosis and repair, the plan is to resubmit another sample for post-repair analysis. This vehicle was purchased new from VW and we are the first and only owners. With the exception of tire service and replacement of the battery, ALL other maintenance has been performed at VW. All recommended routine services have been completed on time, by VW per manufacturer recommendations. Let me be very clear on this point: WE DO NOT PLACE ANY BLAME ON THE VW DEALER(S) THAT HAVE SERVICED THIS VEHICLE SINCE WE TOOK DELIVERY. WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A MANUFACTURER ISSUE THAT HAS YET TO BE ADDRESSED AND JUST WANTED TO DO OUR PART IN REPORTING FOR THE GREATER GOOD OF ALL ATLAS OWNERS.

- Punta Gorda, FL, USA

problem #50

Nov 152020

Atlas

  • miles
On 2020, the engine was stopped while I was driving, and the engine no longer work. I couldn-??t start my car. The mechanic engineer said that I needed to replace the engine. However, my car had same issues about engine this year again. The engine was repeatedly stopped, and I had the engine warning light again. At first, they said they had to replace the engine, and at this time, he found the issue that the left cylinder #4 valve lifter/roller rocker securing clip to be missing and has been consumed by the engine and metal debris has contaminated the engine requiring engine replacement. I was so concerned my safety because of these issues. The engine should be replaced with a new one again. I am worrying my safety seriously because the engine issues are FATAL problems. I have owned the Atlas for about 40 months, and I have engine issues repeatedly. I am sure TWO replacement of the engine was not reasonable.

- Beaverton , OR, USA

problem #49

Oct 202021

Atlas

  • miles
My car displayed a warning that my engine was overheating and to pull over immediately. My temperature gauge was at max HIGH and check engine light came on. Towed to dealer. Was told by VW that the secondary coolant pump had failed. It was replaced and then it happened again two days later. My car was towed back to dealer again who cleaned, drained and refilled coolant. Two days later it overheated again and my engine was making a crackling sound. I use this car to transport my three young children and I am afraid to drive it. The car is overheating after driving less than a half mile.

- Kailua, HI, USA

problem #48

Oct 152021

Atlas

  • miles
Continually leaks coolant.

- Ft Myers, FL, USA

problem #47

Jul 152021

Atlas

  • miles
Volkswagen Dealership of Lake Charles, LA attempted to repair a safety recall on catalytic converter. When I picked my car up for the safety recall on the catalytic converter my car smelled like fuel and was leaking fuel and would not stay running and stopped running while driving in traffic and at stop lights and intersections. The dealership has had my vehicle for 3 months and still not repaired my recall correctly and I just got it back today October 4th and the problem remains unresolved. I attempted to back out into traffic and my car stopped running and there was incoming traffic. Luckily me and my 2 daughters were not hurt however this car is not safe and request the dealership fixes the safety recall correctly.

- Deridder , LA, USA

problem #46

Jun 282021

Atlas

  • miles
2018 atlas I bought less than a year ago I was on the freeway when the car completely stalled I pulled over to try and restart the car but the car never restarted it was towed to Vw Thousand Oaks to find out that the engine went out I wasn-??t under warranty because The warranty was up by miles I reached out to Vw corporate to see if they were willing to fix the car because the car wasn-??t that many miles over and the engine went out in three years the corporate did not agree to help with the repairs the engine failure happened at 77,000 miles-??.

- Thousand Oaks , CA, USA

problem #45

May 102021

Atlas

  • 28,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving at low speeds downhill, the vehicle stalled. Additionally, the vehicle stalled randomly while near objects in the road when the collision avoidance feature engaged without warning. The contact called the local dealer where the collision avoidance feature was disabled remotely. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000.

- King George, VA, USA

problem #44

Apr 112021

Atlas

  • 55,400 miles
Vehicle goes into emergency mode for 4th time. Happened twice in 2 days. A total of 4 times in 5 months. With no warning, multiple warning lights come on and the car applies emergency braking until the car is brought to a stop. There is no opportunity to choose a safe place to bring it to a stop. Driver is unable to accelerate until car is parked and restarted. The 4th time this happened, was on an interstate traveling at 75 to 80mph with vehicles around traveling at same speeds or in excess of that speed. Luckily there was an opening on the shoulder that I was able to quickly pull the car into and the car behind me didn't rear end me. This is the 4th time it's happened and could have caused bodily harm. VW does not care. A software update was performed in February that was supposed to fix the problem. Because it didn't, VW wanted to replace my entire ECM because they thought it was faulty. After threat of buyback did they finally start digging into the car. Techs found a faulty relay switch. They replaced it and said problem couldn't be recreated so it was fixed 'as far as anyone could tell' and didn't need a new ECM.

- Columbus, IN, USA

problem #43

Mar 192021

Atlas

  • 35,665 miles
3 weeks after we bought a pre-owned Atlas from a VW dealer, the battery died without any warning. We checked-we did not leave anything on in the car. We tried to jump start it for an hour with no luck, so I googled it. The Atlas has had many issues with its battery and many people have been stranded because of this. The battery they put in the vehicle is not powerful for this SUV, especially with the auto-start/stop feature, which permanently drains the cells of the battery so it can't be jumped. The only solution is to replace the entire battery with a new, better one. We called VW Corp but they would not do a thing! issue is, VW knows about this issue and has 'acknowledged' it by extending the initial battery warranty to 3 years from when it was first installed. So you have to be lucky enough to have the battery die within the first 3 years of owning the car or else you are left to pay for something that is defective and they know about.we were 3 months outside of their extended warranty, but only had the car 3 weeks! this is a safety issue: Your battery could suddenly die when you're at the light of a busy intersection, in the dark, your kids in the car, etc. And you can't even turn your hazard lights on to warn other cars that your car is dead. Or you could get stranded in the mountains with no cell reception, or out in the middle of nowhere in a storm or blizzard. What's worse is VW uses the auto-start/stop as a selling feature and they do not warn you or disclose this battery issue even though they know about it! they should honestly recall all original Atlas batteries and pay to have them replaced with better ones that can hold up to the SUV and the auto-start/stop feature, which you can't turn off permanently, by the way. You'd have to turn it off manually every single time you drive it. It is unacceptable that they know about this and do nothing.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #42

Mar 142021

Atlas

  • 0 miles
Two weeks ago, our 2018 Atlas displayed faulty steering lock. Vehicle was disabled and towed to dealership. After $1,300 in repairs with new steering module, the vehicle displays this again, and won't move. Vehicle is at dealership again and is dangerous because if this happens when driving, the vehicle won't steer and is going inoperable.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #41

Mar 042021

Atlas

  • 16,700 miles
2018 Atlas with under 17K and air bag error comes on. Also leaking coolant.

- Schleswig, IA, USA

problem #40

Jan 132020

Atlas

  • 25,000 miles
I have taken my 18 Atlas sel premium in at least 4 times to have the coolant checki have had the low coolant warning come on 3 times stating there is low coolant. There is a strong burning coolant smell radiating from my vehicle on many occasions. When taken to the dealer they have done overnight pressure tests and cannot find the leak. My car is now out of warranty and I fear now they will find the issue and make me responsible.

- Tiffin, IA, USA

problem #39

Dec 032020

Atlas

  • miles
Car randomly puts transmission into emergency mode

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #38

Aug 162020

Atlas

  • 37,500 miles
Driving on highway, engine and brakes stop working 2 times. Got the car in the VW shop, they said it was a loose fuse connector. They "fix it" and 2 days later we have the same problem. Car will be back on shop. Called VW each time, opened a case with them to.

- Santa Rosa, CA, USA

problem #37

Jul 012020

Atlas 6-cyl

  • 41,000 miles
Unexplainable loss of coolant. My car was 4 times at dealership and they never find any leaks but I'm loosing coolant and sometimes it can smell it evaporate when I park my car.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #36

May 072018

Atlas

  • miles
2018 Volkswagen Atlas. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle being unresponsive. Consumer states that vehicle has had several issues since purchasing it. On 05/07/18, while driving 55 mph, vehicle became unresponsive. Vehicle was towed to dealership. Vehicle was repaired. On 02/21/19 the vehicle's remote start stopped working and the coolant light came on. Vehicle was taken to dealer and the cylinder head and catalyst were replaced. On 05/30/19 the A/C unit would not blow out cold air and vibrated when turned on. The A/C blower motor was replaced. On 07/02/19 a light came on the dash and a rattling sound came from vents. Debris was found in the vents and traces of metal were found in oil. The oil was changed and parts were replaced. On 12/2719 the coolant light came on. Metal shavings were found in the oil. Vehicle received a new engine. On 02/17/20 a noise is heard when driving vehicle. Manufacturer has been notified of failures. Manufacturer offered to pay remaining balance on vehicle, so that consumer could trade-in vehicle. Consumer declined offer.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #35

Jan 072020

Atlas

  • 24,600 miles
Needs new catalytic converter. Needs excessive gas. Told to just keep driving until back ordered catalytic converter comes in. I don't feel like it's safe to drive especially with my children. Check engine light came on. Researching the problem and VW definitely has a problem and has not voluntarily recalled the vehicle.

- Chepachet, RI, USA

problem #34

Oct 252019

Atlas

  • 27,500 miles
There is a strong gas smell inside and outside my vehicle while driving and stationary. VW replaced the upper and lower fuel rails and the high pressure fuel pump on the first service visit. I could still smell the gas outside the vehicle, not inside, when I left the service bay. I returned it and they said they couldn't recreate the gas smell so they cleaned the vents and put a strong potpourri in the vents. ? outside gas smell persisted in the front and the rear of the car that was very strong so I took it for a 3rd time. A week later VW corporate let lindsay VW service know to remove the intake and check the injectors. All seals were severely damaged and they replaced them. I picked it up a few days ago and now the gas smell is so bad inside (again) and outside the vehicle. While driving it is so strong that I opened the window to help air it out until I got home, but the gas smell outside made it even worse. The car is unsafe. There have been countless recalls, it's wept rain water several inches deep into the front seat foot wells, they didn't replace the carpet when they did the repair and I worry about mold. But this gas situation has been going on since October and it's very concerning. I don't feel safe in this car and I want VW to take it back.

- Herndon, VA, USA

problem #33

Dec 302019

Atlas

  • 18,500 miles
Battery has been dying and was dead this morning. 2 year old car in san diego temperate weather. 18K miles. From forums, it seems this car has faulty stock batteries that cannot sustain the start/stop strain on the batteries. Having to take to dealership for replacement. Uncertain they will properly cover it.

- San Diego, CA, USA

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