10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
16 miles

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problem #53

Jun 162025

Atlas

  • miles
VW Atlas randomly shuts off when coming to a stop or slowing down. I have to put the car in park and then restart the vehicle. This is incredibly dangerous and scary. This has happened at least 5 times now, all while driving on the road and in traffic. No warning lights popped up. A few times it said I need to manually restart the engine. The most recent time it didn-??t say anything at all, my vehicle just slowed down and would not accelerate. I have noticed this issue both when enabling and disabling the Auto Start/Stop feature.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #52

May 272025

Atlas

  • miles
I had placed my personal items - purse, keys, phone, etc. in my unlocked vehicle in a safe location behind my condo building. I was running across to mail something and come right back. When I returned a short time later, the car had locked itself with my items inside. I found out after googling this later, that multiple people have had this issue -- when their key fobs have gotten low on battery, the fob will lock itself inside the vehicle. I had no way to summon roadside assistance, and so I had to break a window to gain entry to the vehicle. I also found out that this has happened to people with children who have been inadvertently locked inside a Volkswagon. I am trying to make sure this doesn't happen to others, and I would like to be reimbursed for my broken car window. The dealership has not confirmed this. I was trying to be in touch with Volkswagon customer service about it, but they said I have no recourse because my car is past warranty. My evidence of others is based on a reddit thread. [XXX] The safety issue is obvious - if young children were locked inside, it could be a huge safety issue. The vehicle has not been inspected yet. There was no warning that my key fob was low on battery. I will be taking the car in this week to get a price for the window repair. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Topsfield, MA, USA

problem #51

May 132025

Atlas

  • miles
Front brakes squeal when the ceramic brake pads are engaged against the rotors. Gurgling and grinding noises behind the steering wheel and behind the brake pedal indicative of brake line issues. Brake lines not bled correctly, air in brake lines, or issues with the brake booster or pressure switch systems. Front brake issues occur the most in reverse during initial startup, when driving at a low speed, and during rainy or damp weather. Rear brakes give a loud squeal in reverse during initial startup.

- Flora, IL, USA

problem #50

Apr 022025

Atlas

  • miles
I purchased a volkswagen atlas in 2021. Within the first year of owning the vehicle the air conditioning system had a malfunction where it would blow hot on the passenger side and remain cold on the driver side. I took it in to the dealership for service and was told the passenger side blower motor was damaged and paid $400 to have that replaced. The next summer approximately one year later the issues reappeared. I took it in for service and was told by the service writer that after a year my warranty on parts and labor has expired. So upon diagnosing the vehicle was told that the ac compressor has went out and it will be $1800. Bases on Reddit and other forums it-??s tons of people having this same issue with the intermittent ac every summer. Something is wrong with these vehicles most specifically the vw atlas. Vw need to issue a recall on this issue and have it rectified as this is a costly fix that alot of owners are enduring and these are brand new vehicles.

- New Orleans, LA, USA

problem #49

Mar 072025

Atlas

  • miles
The hood release cable of our 2021 VW Atlas broke at about 61,000 miles (so just out of warranty) and this appears to be a common issue with this year of Atlases. VW claims this is a known issue but there is no recall on this part. They want to charge me out of pocket to diagnose and repair this even though it is a faulty part. Especially considering the age of the car and how infrequently the hood release cable gets used.

- Seabeck, WA, USA

problem #48

Mar 072022

Atlas

  • miles
Rattling or metal grinding sound coming from the right rear tire/wheel. I-??ve had it checked out by two different dealerships and neither of them found a problem. The metal rattling noise occurs mostly while I-??m doing in town driving (30-40 mph) but recently started doing it on the freeway as well. I don-??t feel safe driving this car at all.

- Cowiche, WA, USA

problem #47

Oct 232024

Atlas

  • miles
SOS light is not working with active subscription, showing error light. Seems to be a problem as multiple Volkswagen owner are having the same issue.

- Logan, UT, USA

problem #46

Aug 132024

Atlas

  • miles
Display screen goes blank and restarts after a few seconds

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

problem #45

Nov 192024

Atlas

  • miles
Hood release cable malfunctioned. Hood will not release. This is a known problem and recall on other VW models and should also be done on the atlas since multiple people, including myself, are having this issue.

- Rockwood, MI, USA

problem #44

Oct 092024

Atlas

  • miles
Vehicle shuts off when coming to a stop with auto on off disabled. Driver gets message to -??put vehicle in drive and start manually-??. Have taken to VW for an inspection and they are unable to duplicate concern. Has happened multiple times at random and is a safety concern.

- Buckeye, AZ, USA

problem #43

Oct 152024

Atlas

  • miles
Brought car in for a noise 12k miles ago and dealer said all was well. I then brought the car back and they heard the sound, wanted to explore and take apart the engine and found I have a collapsed lifter on the exhaust cam which if a defect, should be completely covered by the manufacturer not just a portion of the repair. Also, this could cause further issues and damage with the car which is concerning since it had been going on for some time. I am just looking to see what further resolution can be made in regard to this. My car is still in the shop since last week. The dealership has been great in allowing me to have a loaner vehicle but I just want to make sure I don-??t have more major issues form this not being taken care of as soon as it should have been.

- Canton, CT, USA

problem #42

Sep 012023

Atlas

  • miles
I have been having issues with GPS navigation with my car for over a year without a fix from VW. I cannot use Google Maps, Apple maps or the car's own internal maps becuase the GPS can't identify where I am on the map. When I choose a location and start directions, it doesn't know where I am, telling me to turn down wrong streets, showing my location in lakes or miles away. When I unplug my phone from the car, it works just fine. But once I'm connected to my car (either wirelessly OR through cable) the GPS then works off the car's system which cannot identify my lcoation. This is incredibly dangerous and I'm unable to know where I'm going or it will tell me to turn in the wrong place. VW is blaming this on Verizon and does not have a fix. I'm left without a working GPS for well over a year.

- Minnetonka, MN, USA

problem #41

Aug 292024

Atlas

  • miles
Vehicle shuts off when driving. No faults pop up on the dash until 2 days ago when i was driving on the highway and it completely turned off. Message on the screen told me to manually turn it back on but i could not. The vehicle could not turn back on.

- Apo, NY, USA

problem #40

Aug 122024

Atlas

  • miles
The vehicle would turn off randomly when stopped at a Stop sign or traffic light. It the had to be put in park and restarted. The dealership Kelly VW in Danvers, MA diagnosed the problem and this is what the invoice said. "cel is on code p0461 is active. performed tsb hooked up battery charger and updated ecm per tsb" Si, in my opinion this is at the least a potentially serious safety issue that should have warranted a recall and/or something that would be covered under the 80,000 mile or 8 year Federal Emissions Warranty

- Haverhill, MA, USA

problem #39

Dec 082023

Atlas

  • miles
I am writing to inform about the ongoing issues I have been experiencing with the infotainment system in my Volkswagen Atlas 2021, which was purchased in March 2021 from Mall of Georgia Volkswagen. At the time of purchase, the drivers of this vehicle were using the following phones: iPhone 13 Pro Max (2 drivers) and iPhone 13 Pro (2 drivers) All phones were kept up to date with the latest iOS updates until November 2023. At that point, we upgraded to the following phones: iPhone 15 Pro Max (2 drivers) and iPhone 15 Pro (2 drivers), These new devices were initially running iOS 17.1.1, which was released on November 7, 2023, and were later upgraded to iOS 17.1.2 upon its release on November 30, 2023. On December 8, 2023, the first driver encountered a significant issue with installed mapping applications (Apple Maps and Google Maps), where the apps would repeatedly reroute unexpectedly. When iOS 17.2 was released on December 11, 2023, all drivers upgraded their devices to this version no later than December 15, 2023. By December 16, 2023, all drivers began to experience the same rerouting issue. To troubleshoot, we disconnected each offending phone and connected another non-used phone until all four phones had been tested. However, the problem persisted with each device. This prompted us to bring the vehicle in for service on December 21, 2023. It-??s important to note that this problem does not occur in our other vehicles, which include: 2021 Toyota CR-V, 2022 Dodge Charger, and 2023 Dodge Challenger. All do not use wireless CarPlay. We attempted to connect the vehicle using only a cable, but this was unsuccessful as it forces the phone to use wireless CarPlay. Manually turning off WiFi and Bluetooth on the phones results in WiFi being automatically turned on by the vehicle, further complicating the issue. The rerouting problem continued, leading us to bring the vehicle back for servicing in January 2024 and March 2024, with no resolution as of today.

- Dacula, GA, USA

problem #38

Jul 282024

Atlas

  • miles
My vehicle turned off while driving even though the start stop feature was deactivated. I-??m scared that this might cause an accident on the highway.

- Roma, TX, USA

problem #37

Jul 012024

Atlas

  • miles
Driving and sun roof shattered while it was in closed position. nothing struck it. no temperature extremes.

- Bozeman, MT, USA

problem #36

Jul 112024

Atlas

  • miles
Sunroof exploded while driving on the freeway with no other cars around

- Baytown, TX, USA

problem #35

Jul 032024

Atlas

  • miles
My 2021 Atlas, has started to shut off by itself when put in park. "MESSAGE- engine will shut off automatically to conserve battery" it randomly shut off when the car slows down stopped or on in reverse. This has occur while stopped on red light, reverse or even when driving slow.. This is a very dangerous problem and safety issue that can result in collisions / injuries or worse.

- Los Fresnos, TX, USA

problem #34

Mar 012024

Atlas

  • miles
Vehicle is shutting off when coming to a stop light or sign or when placed in park.. throws a message on dash to restart manually. Has happened intermittently since purchase used in December 2023

- Radisson , WI, USA

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