10.0

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

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2021 Volkswagen Atlas:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

Get free help with your lemon!
close ad
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

problem #33

Jun 192024

Atlas

  • miles
Just purchased vehicle, light: SOS: EMERGENCY CALL FUNCTION, SERVICE VEHICLE is continuously turning on, you turn off car, it goes away. Start car and drive, turns right back on. Have been to dealer and was told module would need to be replaced car is 3 years old. It's a constant beeping/ distraction. The potential consequences of not addressing the issue are unclear. There exist numerous blogs and consumer reviews about this issue, indicating that consumers must constantly expend funds to rectify the issue, when it should ideally be managed by the manufacturer. This is unacceptable. Are we being sold lemons here in California?

- San Bernardino, CA, USA

problem #32

May 292024

Atlas

  • miles
The Infotainment/Navigation system has knows issues in these cars. After several visits to the dealer we were told that it is somewhat fixed, well on a small trip 5-6 miles it now told us to take a turn into the wrong direction or one way street. There was a blind corner in about 50 yards in and while we were looking stunned and standing still that it asked us to enter the street, 5 seconds later a vehicle came blasting around that corner, it would have been head on collision.

- Homestead, FL, USA

problem #31

Mar 302024

Atlas

  • miles
GPS Navigation that is built in constantly freezes and or is close to 8-9 miles off course. Will also guide you to the complete opposite direction as you need to travel. In the past 6 months, the vehicle has been back to the dealer 5-6 times for this issue, for the past two months is have been at the dealer for close to 5 weeks, they try to reprogram, replace modules still no fix. It is a serious issue, since you cannot securely navigate, the system will tell you to make a u turn on a freeway, to drive over a lake and or farmland. Seems a lot of people have issues with this and there need to be a safety recall. I do have plenty of movies that will show the lockup and or the completely erratic behavior but they are all over the size limit.

- Homestead, FL, USA

problem #30

Apr 052024

Atlas

  • miles
Frequently when the vehicle drives very slowly in bumper to bumper, or when coming to a stop the engine will completely stop. Electronics stay on but a message telling me to turn the car appears on the dash. I then have to put the vehicle in park and then press the power on button, put the car back into drive. The car continues to state there is an error with the Automatic shut off feature. I have brought this to my VW dealership twice now for a fix. The first time they said it was an update which did nothing. The 2nd time they replaced a valve and that also did nothing. This has done this many times in bumper to bumper traffic and is very concerning/dangerous. It seemed to be less of a problem during cold weather and an increasing problem the warmer it gets.

- Lancaster, PA, USA

problem #29

Feb 122024

Atlas

  • miles
Broken Hood Release Cable at 60,726 odometer miles on a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas 2021.5 3.6L V6 SE w/Technology 4Motion.

- Upper Marlboro, MD, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »