9.5

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
1,050 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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problem #16

May 152023

Atlas

  • miles
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request" The engine shut off How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Yes shut off, while driving on local road way. Also shut off on the highway. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Dealership cannot recreate issue, still has vehicle. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? VW dealership Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear" Purchased new in 2022 from VW dealership, has all required services, aside from the electrical malfunctions which began last year has been ongoing no other issues. We have video

- Williamsburg, VA, USA

problem #15

Jun 082024

Atlas

  • miles
While operating the vehicle at about 50 to 60 mph the automatic emergency breaking system activated without warning and with no vehicles in front, and violently slammed on the breaks causing the vehicle to go into emergency stop in the middle of the highway. This then caused numerous vehicles following to take measures to avoid crashing into the rear of our vehicle. Numerous lights and warning lights started flashing on and off and parts of the screens went black and turned off and on. The car then kept the breaks locked down and we had to limp the car along the shoulder of the road to the dealership to have them look at it. This incident jeopardized the Safety of my family and other drivers and passengers around them. The dealership has not been able to replicate this issue so far. Prior to this incident the technology portion of the vehicle stopped responding, and we were unable to link devices to the vehicle.

- Amarillo, TX, USA

problem #14

Feb 202024

Atlas

  • miles
Leased vehicle in Aug 2022, brand new. Approx. six months later the vehicle exhibited a recurring noise when braking which sounds like a grinding. The noise is also accompanied with a gurgling sound when stopping originating from the engine compartment on the driver's side. Dealership said it might be break dust, they cleaned the area and test drove the vehicle. It worked fine for less than a day before the noise returned. Additionally, the car has surged when at a stop and turned off unexpected with Auto Start/Stop off. Dealership diagnosed the issues as related to the battery from the factory but stated it is not yet with in the failure limits to constitute a warranty replacement. Just to be clear, the battery is failing but not at the rate the manufacture would cover the replacement. Told by the dealer to wait until the problem becomes worse so they can replace it under warranty.

- Fremont, CA, USA

problem #13

Jan 102024

Atlas

  • miles
Occasionally when the auto stop is on, and I-??m a red light the car will obviously stop. However when it-??s time to press the gas the car doesn-??t move. I make sure it-??s in drive. I then press brake again and go back to pushing gas and car won-??t even accelerate. I-??m then left to turn the car in and off again and then the car will drive. I-??ve reported this issue to my dealership and they say they-??ve had a few complaints. This is a safety issue because if I-??m at a red light that turns green and a car is driving at regular speed thinking I-??m about to drive for the green light, yet my car is having this issue I will get hit one day. This happened I. A flat road 4 times now. And it-??s random. It-??s haplened once whole the auto stop was off too.

- Seatac, WA, USA

problem #12

Jan 012024

Atlas

  • miles
When I start driving the vehicle after it has been sitting for a little while (anywhere between a couple hours to overnight), the first few times I use the brakes, it sounds and feels like the brakes are grinding. There is a loud metallic grinding noise until I come to a full stop. This will last for several miles, and eventually go away. At the same time it does this, the driver side alert (cameras) start beeping like crazy. I have taken it in once as it started very shortly after I got the car and they replaced the brakes to appease me even though they said everything looked perfectly fine. They also said the sensors for the camera just needed cleaning off. All of this started happening again about 6 months later. In addition, I also have issues with the car shutting off whenever it feels like it and requiring a manual restart, In the middle of intersections, etc.

- Carmichael, CA, USA

problem #11

Nov 012023

Atlas

  • miles
This car has stopped several times while I have been driving. Top speed on the highway, and the car stalls. It stops completely, and I will have to manually restart it. This has been happening for the past year, since I got the car. The dealership states they have updated the software to fix it. The screen does not always come on when I start the car.

- Elk Grove, CA, USA

problem #10

Nov 072023

Atlas

  • 16,800 miles
The contact owns a 2022 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the vehicle shut off inadvertently. The contact stated that while in the process of veering to the side of the road, the vehicle restarted independently. The contact continued driving; however, the Lane Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Braking assist, Driving Assist, ESC system, TPMS warning lights, and other unknown warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the ACC mode exceeded the set speed while driving. The contact stated that she deactivated the ACC mode; however, while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle abruptly decelerated to 20 MPH upon releasing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was awaiting a call back. The failure mileage was approximately 16,800.

- Coeur D'alene, ID, USA

problem #9

Sep 022023

Atlas

  • miles
Door wire harness failed. This was post correction of all previous recalls, which included replacement if door wiring harness. The failure caused a stall and initiation of emergency brake. This occurred at a stop light with a teen driver. Driver restarted automobile and proceeded.

- Katy, TX, USA

problem #8

Aug 292023

Atlas

  • miles
My sensors continue to beep when there is no obstruction around the vehicle. At times, this will also cause the brakes to grind. When I take it in for inspection, they are unable to find any malfunction because this happens inconsistently. This puts myself and others at risk because it is very distracting to the driver. The vehicle has been inspected by the service dealer, but they have not been able to reproduce the problem. Other lights have also popped up randomly... the driver seat belt sign, when I did have my seat belt on and the EPC sign while I drove down my street.

- Riverside, CA, USA

problem #7

Sep 152022

Atlas

  • miles
Vehicle was purchased in Feb 2022. At around 4500 miles a low coolant level alert came on the dashboard. I checked the coolant level and saw that it was low with signs of leaking. Purchased coolant from VW dealer and topped off. Brakes make a metallic scraping/grinding sound when coming to a stop downhill at a slow speed. Vehicle runs loud and slow. Feels like engine airflow is obstructed, but it isn't. Infotainment systems constantly freezes, turns off, restarts and frequently crashes. Inductive mobile charging unit has never worked.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #6

May 202023

Atlas

  • miles
While driving in stop and go city traffic with the auto start/stop disengaged, the vehicle completely shut off while in drive. After releasing the brakes to proceed in traffic I was unable to control the vehicle or accelerate. The vehicle indicated that it needed to be placed in park and started manually. During this time there was no control of the vehicle. The passengers were at risk of a disabled vehicle in city traffic and the vehicle inappropriately turned off. Since owning the vehicle this incident has occurred several times (approximately 7 times over 2 years). It has also occurred in inclined surfaces where the vehicle continues to roll and cannot be controlled until placed in park and restarted. The vehicle has been serviced by the dealership on multiple occasions and diagnosed for this concern. There is no solution from the dealership. The primary concern is safety.

- Woodstock, CT, USA

problem #5

Nov 212022

Atlas

  • miles
The automatic emergency braking is engaged when when it should not. This happens while traveling at highway speeds, I have been lucky the 4x it is has happened that no one was behind and I was able to override and safely continue on my way. I took the vehicle to the dealership and they stated that there are no entries in the system log indicating any automatic emergency braking. This is very concerning, since I have had 2 incidents where the emergency braking was activated when it was supposed to. These are not in the logs either. I am also experiencing issues with the blind spot warning sensors too. I have video proof of a false alarm. The dealer said VW will not allow them to fix a vehicle with video proof. There appears to be an issue with the sensor system in the vehicle since the blind spot sensors is falsely alerting and the forward collision sensors are initiating the automatic emergency braking system. Volkswagen Customer CARE # 05487060

- Corona, CA, USA

problem #4

May 012022

Atlas

  • miles
What I experienced: the wireless phone charger doesn-??t work properly and the phone is impossible to pair with the car a lots of time. All the windows rolled down by itself when I stated the engine. The remote start fail to work multiple times. Most importantly there is a safety recall on the vehicle what currently doesn-??t have the fixing solution. I would like to know my legal options according to this serious safety issue I would like to bring back the car and get the refund. At this point I am not sure I want to deal with Volkswagen anymore based on their customer care.

- New City, NY, USA

problem #3

May 162022

Atlas

  • miles
I received crash warnings while driving 60mph but no car was near to trigger the warning. Vehicle rear passenger side window rolled down on its own about 5 inches. Same trip, the rear driver side window rolled down about 5 inches.

- Spokane Valley , WA, USA

problem #2

Feb 282022

Atlas

  • miles
Parked vehicle overnight and found all windows to have rolled down on its own during the winter around February (once parked outside at 20 degrees F, second in garage 30 degrees F). Received a notification for system update after incident happened twice (we hang up our keys which is inaccessible to rolling windows down from remote). Minimal interior damage from exposure to cold temperatures, but no personal safety issues other than worrying of possible interior damage and theft. Infotainment no longer turns on instantly and has delayed touchscreen and sound. My VW has delay in connecting to CarPlay and volume does not work in some cases when raising or lowering volume while connected to phone. No warning or error messages prior to failure and occurred after system update. Have not yet notified or received notification with dealer of issue, but just received notification of recall issues on My VW after app update.

- Coleville, CA, USA

problem #1

Jan 282022

Atlas

  • miles
At first the Infotainment system touchscreen would not turn on at first start of the day but would turn on after a few minutes. Then, after a week, it stopped turning on altogether. Wireless phone charging and Advanced Road Sign Recognition system is not working as well.

- Chicago, IL, USA