9.7
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 611 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
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« Read the previous 20 complaints
On January 8, 2022 I was driving on a main road about 30 to 35 mph when the vehicle suddenly shook violently and the engine shut off. There was loud beeping and the computer system lit up saying Error: Engine at the same time the emergency brake was activated. There was also a message about a Door Error. Luckily there were no cars around me at the time. I put the car in park and started it again. I was fairly close to home but this happened 3 more times, one time when I was pulling out on a road and traffic was coming toward me. I finally got the car home and since it was the weekend parked it. Monday morning I contacted VW Road Assistance and they towed it to the dealership for repairs. This is a very serious and dangerous problem with the 2021 VW Atlas. If you were traveling on a major highway going 70 mph and your engine just shut down you could be seriously injured or killed. Please look into this serious defect in the 2021 VW Atlas.
- Uniontown, PA, USA
Airbag light illuminated on this vehicle yesterday, however, it-??s not currently listed in campaign 21V892, but I believe it could also possibly be affected by the airbag control module issue. This vehicle also shuts down when stopped, and at times will not automatically restart when the drivers foot is removed from the brake. This has almost caused driver to be rear-ended multiple times, when the traffic signal turns green, yet the vehicle engine will not restart. The only way to restart is to press the brake again, put transmission/gear shifter into park, and restart vehicle, then put vehicle back into Drive. This is not only a hassle, but is dangerous, as other drivers expect that when the light turns green, this vehicle should then be driven forward, but at times, the engine failing to restart causes an unsafe driving condition. The adaptive cruise control also doesn-??t perform as expected and has completely failed to engage over the summer of 2021. When ACC malfunctions, cruise control isn-??t able to be used at all. I-??ve taken this vehicle in for inspection of the ACC issue, but the service Dept was unable to find a cause. They updated vehicle software and I have not experienced the ACC issue since.
- Louisville, KY, USA
Today, December 1, 2021 my Atlas completely shut off while driving twice. This has happened 2 times prior on separate occasions, bringing the total times to 4 to date. Today it happened first in the morning while I was exiting the school parking lot and attempting to enter the main road of traffic. It completely stopped, turned off, and asked me to put in park before I could turn the engine back on. It then happened again while driving in a parking lot. It completely shut off and would not move. In all of these instances I felt in danger and at risk of causing or being involved in a car accident due to this sudden engine failure. All 4 times have been within the past few weeks, but today was the worst in that it was twice in the same day.
- Grand Prairie, TX, USA
While driving, the car shutoff completely. It is from the Auto on/off, this has happened several times and all times while driving.
- Harker Heights, TX, USA
On three occasions while driving 5-10MPH in traffic our Atlas has shut off without warning. A message then appears on the digital display that reads -??Please turn on engine manually.-?? The only way to do this is to come to a complete stop and put the vehicle in park before starting the engine which by the time the engine starts, other cars have to steer to avoid our Atlas stopped in a lane of traffic. The first time it happened we thought it was a fluke but then two additional times within the first three months of owning the vehicle is not a coincidence. The vehicle was inspected by the dealership with no red flags.
- Baton Rouge, LA, USA
I was driving back to work after taking my son to school I was sitting at a light and the engine completely shut off. The auto start/stop system on the vehicle was active. The dash said to Please start engine manually. I put the car in park, turned on my hazards because it was morning traffic, took my foot off the brake, put it back on the brake, pressed the start button and the vehicle didn-??t start. I pressed the start button again the engine half way started then turned off (I did this twice). On the fourth time it started up and I was able to proceed to work.
- Baton Rouge, LA, USA
I was on my way home from work in the Atlas and while sitting at a red light in college football game day traffic (I live and work near the campus) the auto start/stop system was deactivated but the whole engine shutting off. The dashboard said -??Please Start Engine Manually-?? I put the vehicle in park then pressed start. It would not start. So I had to open the vehicle door (in the midst of traffic and cars honking because the light changed) close the door, put my foot on the brake and press start. It did not start. So I repeated the same thing and it started. At that point I had to gas it because cars were going around me because my car stopped and wouldn-??t start.
- Baton Rouge, LA, USA
3200 miles on vehicle and ECP light came on. Heavy smell of gasoline and vehicle went into limp mode. Gas was pouring out the bottom of the hot engine and dripping onto the ground below. Opened the engine hood and there was lots of smoke or steam. Seriously concerning for a fire.
- Iowa City, IA, USA
Driving onto the highway from the on ramp the vehicle shut off and lost control of the vehicle. Would not right away. This occured 4 times in the last 3 months. First, 3x. i thought it was me clicking or touching something on the car, thought now i know it was not me the 4th time. im sacred
- Harleysville , PA, USA
This is the second Volkswagen Atlas we have purchased after the first had the exact same code P2047 Evap system issues. This Atlas is brand new and it only took 3,000 miles for it to start having system issues. During driving with cruise control enabled the vehicle kicked itself out of cruise control and deactivated the ACC cruise control along with regular cruise and disabled the remote start with a check engine light.
- Yukon, OK, USA
- Seaford, DE, USA