10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
5,027 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.

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #17

Apr 042022

Atlas

  • miles
I have contacted Volkswagen Corporate as well as the dealership in which I purchased this vehicle from. They said that there is no solution to this recall at this time. I have asked them then for either a new car that is comparable or for a check for the amount of the vehicle. They said that they can not do anything right now as there is no solution to the problem. The vehicle is potentially unsafe if a crash was to occur. I am trying to avoid further risk to my family and myself while driving this. If the airbag does not function as it was supposed to design, then I am at risk, and potentially others. I am not sure what else to do at this time as driving my vehicle seems unsafe. In addition, I was told I can't bring the vehicle into the dealership for diagnosis.

- Medford, MA, USA

problem #16

Mar 282022

Atlas

  • miles
While my wife was driving home from work, all lights on the dashboard illuminated and the airbag warning symbol came on as well as both front windows opened on their own. Upon arrival at home as she pulled into the drive the emergency brake momentarily activated. Luckily the brake activated once she had pulled out of the main traffic or she may have been hit from behind. She called Bud Brown, our local VW dealer and was advised it was a known issue with the wiring on a door harness. She was advised that this part is not available and may not be available for many months and that there was nothing we could do. At present due to the known nature of the issue, it has not been inspected by VW or anybody else. At present when starting my car, only the airbag warning light is lit up. The car is available for inspection at any time and by anybody.

- Lenexa, KS, USA

problem #15

Mar 202022

Atlas

  • miles
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact discovered that her vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V152000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was notified of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact was referred to the manufacturer but was offered no additional assistance. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Collierville, TN, USA

problem #14

Mar 252022

Atlas

  • miles
The recall on my car says - Safety Risk: In the event of a side crash, when the side airbag deployment may be necessary, the side airbag may deploy later than designed. This may lead to an increased injury to vehicle occupants. VW should, but refuses to buy this car back from me. It is unsafe to drive and/or put our children in the car in this condition.

- Sea Cliff, NY, USA

problem #13

Jan 212022

Atlas

  • miles
Phantom breaking, vehicle alerts, windows rolling down, driver side door not opening, parking break engages, windows stop working.

- Putney, VT, USA

problem #12

Feb 192022

Atlas

  • miles
Problem started initially with random safety alarms and lights going off. Then alerts that door was open, or Advanced Driver Assistance Systems were not available. Then windows would roll down, for no reason. This happened within the first 2,000 miles of driving. Then on February 19, 2021 after multiple alarms going off, the car initiated the emergency brake while I was driving in a parking lot. My car stopped on it's own, suddenly. Luckily there was no one behind me. There are 7,500 miles on the car when the emergency brake incident occurred. I took it to the dealer the next day and was told since the car stopped at such a slow speed it should be safe to drive.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #11

Mar 012022

Atlas

  • miles
Airbags Light on, associated with faulty wire harness. Car at dealer waiting for part. Back ordered for 5 months: told unsafe to drive. Dealer said airbag delay after collision

- Irvine, CA, USA

problem #10

Dec 162021

Atlas

  • miles
Could automatically brake at slow speeds, windows would go up and down basically the car would go crazy.

- Seekonk, MA, USA

problem #9

Jan 252022

Atlas

  • miles
The air bar error light came on. The issue is the door harness wiring needs fixed. There are no parts available to fix this issue. I took the car in on January 27, two days after the light appeared. There is a possibility that the air bag would not deploy and the dealership said others with this issue deploy the emergency brake while driving.

- Gladstone, MO, USA

problem #8

Mar 142022

Atlas

  • miles
My airbag light randomly went on a few days after my 10k miles inspection at the Platinum VW dealership in Hicksville, NY. I brought it in and was told there is a safety issue due to a faulty sensor in the passenger side door which can both cause the airbag not to deploy (or to randomly deploy) and can also cause the parking break to automatically engage while the car is in motion. While the VW dealership was totally not transparent about this, the rental agency told me that i was there were more than 15 customers before me with the same issue in the same car, and that one such customer's breaks automatically deployed while the car was in motion at over 30mph. I called VK corporate and they

- Roslyn, NY, USA

problem #7

Apr 022021

Atlas

  • miles
My wife was driving our 5 day old Atlas along the interstate with cruise control set at 65mph. She was traveling up an incline that had a slight turn to the right along the interstate. There was not a car within 500+ yards of her car. All of a sudden she started hearing beeps and the car abruptly slammed on the brakes causing the Atlas to shift all of its weight to front and causing the rear tires to lift off of the ground. The front driver side portion of the car then skidded across the asphalt and into the safety rail. The airbags NEVER deployed although the entire front was destroyed. My wife has had trauma from this accident and VW never offered a single thing for any kind of help. The car was brand new for $44,000 and took on $27,000 worth of damage so it was not enough to be a total loss. We have the automatic braking de-activated because we are terrified of it.

- Hixson, TN, USA

problem #6

Jan 112022

Atlas

  • miles
The side airbags for this vehicle have been deployed, and there is no physical damage to the car and no indications of a collision. The side airbags deployed after checking a curb at 30 miles an hour. The incident happened in January of 2022. The other thing that happened during this incident, is that the passenger seat (that was not occupied) was deployed causing my wife to receive a concussion. We contacted VW corporate, and they deny any wrongdoing after they have "thoroughly evaluated" the data from the car, which I have asked for and have not been formally given. The dealer nor VW corporate has conveyed if this issue has been reproduced and the service tech shared that this should have not happened but ultimately he is not the deciding authority for such a matter as this. I had informed the dealer in Dec. 2021 that there was an issue on the right side of the vehicle (passenger) and they were not able to look into it. It is possible that this matter would have been avoided if it was looked at in Dec. 2021. I was not aware of giving permission to the manufacturer for my daily vehicle stats; I have to imagine this is another issue of privacy and do not recall signing a waiver of any sort regarding this. The lane-keeping assistant feature seems to not be working either which if it was it would have corrected it back into the middle of the lane.

- Parker, CO, USA

problem #5

Jan 242022

Atlas

  • 0 miles
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V892000 (Visibility, Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. A dealer was not 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.

- Apex, NC, USA

problem #4

Nov 162021

Atlas

  • miles
Air bag error message appears every time the car is started. A known recall exists for the 2021 Atlas that states the Air Bags may inadvertently deploy without having a crash. My vehicle is not included in the 54, xxx 2021 Atlas models recalled. I'm now concerned that the air bag may deploy at anytime.

- Brandon, MS, USA

problem #3

Dec 122021

Atlas

  • miles
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

problem #2

Nov 262021

Atlas

  • miles
Driving at freeway speeds between Elko Nevada and Salt Lake City Utah car completely lost power shut off had to coast To a stop and restart the engine after several semi-??s and vehicles passed us honking their horns

- West Jordan, UT, USA

problem #1

Oct 272020

Atlas

  • 800 miles
I bought my vehicle around three weeks ago. It is a brand new 2021 VW Atlas. Two days ago the airbag light came on the dash indicating that there is a problem/issue with the drivers side airbag. My husband noticed the issue first and said that it occurred when he started the car initially. The light seems to stay on while the car is in motion.

- Ammon, ID, USA