10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 0 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.
The vehicle only has 15K miles and the breaks are already producing a grinding sound. Brought it back to the dealership and they said that the pads and rotors are measuring correct and that it was the humidity. No vehicle that we have ever experiences has had grinding, so new and blamed weather. They are stating that the pads and rotors are made up of higher iron and corrosion is happening quicker. This is unacceptable and put extra wear on the vehicle breaking components ultimately putting breaking at risk.
- Ruskin, FL, USA
The car engine shuts off several times a day, all the dash lights comes on and say that I am driving with the emergency transmission mode. The break is making a noise like metal against metal. My wife and kids are in risk because this is happening in the middle of a busy California freeway. I set up 2 service appointments that takes almost a month to find availability and when you finally find, they need the car for at least a week for testing, but cant provide a car loaner. no warnings before the engine stops.
- Valencia, CA, USA
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request" YES How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? NO Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? NO Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear"YES. They cannot reproduce as they test drive the vehicle upon arrival and it something that happens when the car has been sitting.
- Petaluma , CA, USA
The first incident that occurred is that my car came to a complete stop while I was backing out of a driveway. I did not move at all while I pressed the accelerator (tried this while in drive and reverse), but my car stayed on. No lights or warning signals came up. Turned car off and on again, and I was able to drive away with no issues. Exactly 1 week later, I was trying to cross a 4-way intersection - all stop signs. When it was my turn to go, I took my foot off the brake, but my car did not move. The only warning/message that came up was to manually start my car. I was unable to start my car again, and it felt like the brakes locked up. I couldn't press them down all the way. After about 5 minutes, I was able to start my car and move it off to the side of the road. It was 8 PM and I was 1 hour away from home with my infant in the back seat. My car was towed to the nearest dealership the next morning. I am being told there are 3 known recurrent issues with the Atlas model since 2017, but Volkswagen will not change any parts until a fault is picked up by the computer. The dealership has not picked up any faults, and I am told I will probably have to bring my car back 3-4 more times before anything will be done. I now have to drive my car knowing it will most likely shut off again at any time, and I have my infant with me 99% of the time. I am scared for our lives.
- Cut Off, LA, USA
When the vehicle is wet (after car wash or when it rains), the breaks start screeching and the breaking jerks suddenly. It-??s a terrible sound and terrible feeling because it-??s unexpected and abnormal
- Albuquerque, NM, USA
Purchased brand new 2023 Atlas Premium R line. First few weeks noticed exposed wires above pedals under steering wheel area, A/C not blowing cold air and touchscreen glitches. Took back to dealer March 2-18. They put a panel over exposed wires factory forgot. They also said they could not find anything wrong with AC or touchscreen. It was working fine, then few days later same problems followed by total power loss/ car completely shut off and locked up when accelerating at a traffic light. Then about week later car abruptly came to a complete stop while driving on road. No warnings prior, after randomly braking itself various alerts flashed and beeped while windows malfunctioned rolling themselves down. Screens then went black. The next day tried to test it out slowly to drive it back to the dealer, but did the same thing twice within 20 min. Luckily was driving at a slower speed this time. Had it towed to the nearest VW dealer where it currently is now. Reporting this braking, electrical malfunction because not only is a car that randomly stops and brakes itself dangerous to the people in it, it's a safety hazard for anyone behind or near it. Shocked this could even happen, I looked up the issue and found VW had a similar problem in others with the door harness, but this was at a faster speed and more than the brakes failed and went haywire. Something electrical or faulty wiring may seriously be wrong with these 2023's and don't want anyone to get hurt. The pictures attached are from second incident. Didn't know it was going to brake and stop so didn't have time to capture it stopping, and at the moment first instinct is to control car and pull over safely. But did manage to take pictures of random error codes before it goes black and back to normal like nothing happened. So scary and unsafe.
- Rockwall, TX, USA
- Houston, TX, USA