Volkswagen Atlas Complaints

981 consumer complaints on file.

#11448811January 25, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Upon starting car warning is light comes on regarding faulty door sensor then several other random warnings. Rear passenger windows open a few inches automatically. The warning signal beeps continuously until car begins to move but when you come to a compete stop the parking brake engages automatically and beeping begins again. It is very random and unpredictable, not rhyme or reason as to what triggers it or not. I have been waiting ever since Dec 17 to take it in to dealership. I was informed by dealership that they would need the car for at least 1 week to diagnose the problem. I have been waiting since then for them to have an available loaner car since dealer told me it was safe to continue driving the car. PLEASE ISSUE RECALL ORDER FOR THIS VEHICLE!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11448603January 24, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES
Due to faulty driver side wiring harness the computer system on the vehicle will engage the automatic parking break while driving. In addition windows open randomly and vehicle displays a variety of warnings on the dash indicating that the engine is running and that the door sensor is malfunctioning. When the parking break engages the vehicle jolts to a stop unexpectedly creating a dangerous situation for the vehicle, especially when moving through an intersection. The problem has been confirmed by the dealership where it is waiting on a new part. Other owners have reported the symptoms as reported here : https://www.vwatlasforum.com/threads/error-driver-door-contact-switch.6359/
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11448582January 24, 2022
AIR BAGS, VISIBILITY
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.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11448507January 23, 2022
ENGINE
On January 8, 2022 I was driving on a main road about 30 to 35 mph when the vehicle suddenly shook violently and the engine shut off. There was loud beeping and the computer system lit up saying Error: Engine at the same time the emergency brake was activated. There was also a message about a Door Error. Luckily there were no cars around me at the time. I put the car in park and started it again. I was fairly close to home but this happened 3 more times, one time when I was pulling out on a road and traffic was coming toward me. I finally got the car home and since it was the weekend parked it. Monday morning I contacted VW Road Assistance and they towed it to the dealership for repairs. This is a very serious and dangerous problem with the 2021 VW Atlas. If you were traveling on a major highway going 70 mph and your engine just shut down you could be seriously injured or killed. Please look into this serious defect in the 2021 VW Atlas.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447177January 12, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Purchased the car in April 2021. After 230 miles of driving remote start stopped working. VW service center diagnosed faulty soldering on fuel pump and replaced it. In December 2021 both passenger side windows started opening on their own while in park and driving. Shortly started getting error message from proximity sensors, adaptive cruise control and finally brakes with service engine message. Brought to VW service center and got diagnosed with faulty door harness. Service technician informed me that they had 20+ cars with similar issue and shortage of parts. Ultimately I was told vehicle is not safe to drive, due to car identifying door as open and shutting off engine mid-driving. Harness replaced, not the trunk is opening in park and windows are still opening by themselves. Sent the vehicle to service center by tow truck, applied for lemon law replacement and VW corporate. This should be heading to recall to prevent driving accidents. VW corporate is very hard to contact and follow-up is very poor. Other vehicle issues: Low coolant level, faulty door lock on passenger door.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11445514December 29, 2021
AIR BAGS
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.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11445277December 28, 2021
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Check engine light came on, windows were going down 1/8 of the way on their own, parking brake goes on automatically while engine is on while driving and pressing on brake, cannot utilize any controls on driver door. Dealer checked and it is the door harness that is on backorder. I was told 41 customers ahead of me waiting for same part in Northeast USA. Car is not safe to drive due to parking brake automatically engaging. VW of America notified and my case was escalated and I have initiated the PA Lemon Law Arbitration process. Issues first appeared 11/8/21. I have been given a smaller loaner vehicle from dealer on 11/9/21 and am still using that.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11444633December 21, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The vehicle indicated the door sensor was not working. This cause all warning lights on my dashboard to come on. Additionally, the car would beep notifying me that the engine was running as if the door had been opened. The car would then apply the emergency brake anytime I would begin to slow down causing me to almost get into an accident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11443728December 14, 2021
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:UREA INJECTION SYSTEM (DEF)
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that an unknown exhaust warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the fuel injection system to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 9,000. Vehicle has been repaired.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11443653December 13, 2021
AIR BAGS, ENGINE
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.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11443499December 12, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Within seconds of starting the vehicle, error codes started appearing on the dashboard and beeping noise stating to park the car and not drive. The back window will roll down on its on and the parking break will engage if it wasn’t engaged already. I would turn off the car and it would go away But after a few minutes the car would start beeping and all kinds of lights and error code started appearing again. After getting this error message and the constant beeping, the emergency brake turns on and the window from behind driver's door lowers like 5 inches from top. At this point, I cannot lower window and I cannot turn off emergency brake. The code started appearing about a week prior to December 8 which was the final straw. It got to a point that while driving, if I took the foot of the gas pedal, the emergency break will engage automatically as I was going 10-15 miles per hr. Everytime I slowed down and was coming to a stop the car will engage the emergency break. I had to turn off the car and back on in order to keep going. This almost caused me to be hit multiple times until I was able to get to a safe location and away from the main road. I’ve read many others complaint similar and I think this should be a recall. It is a safety hazard when the emergency break engages once you slow down and foot is off the break. This particular car was fixed on Nov.5 for a recall related to coupling rods. I was told that the issue now is called a “driver front door harness” fault which the wires think I’m opening the door while driving so it engages the emergency break. Vehicle is currently at dealership and has been since Dec. 8 with no estimated time of repair due to waiting on parts.vehicle has been in my possession since Jan. 9, 2021.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11442585December 3, 2021
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
When on level ground, head lights aim towards the ground at about 10-15 yards from vehicle. When this happens you can’t see the upcoming road or side of the road. It appears as if you’re doing too fast and over running the head lights. In the attached picture, there’s light from another source but on a dark road you can imagine how difficult it is to see.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11442583December 3, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Horn doesn’t work consistently and have to be pressed in certain areas. Bottom area of horn area works at times. Someone was backing up close to my car and I pressed the horn with my thumb and nothing happened after several presses. This has happened on more than one occasion.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11442319December 1, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
Today, December 1, 2021 my Atlas completely shut off while driving twice. This has happened 2 times prior on separate occasions, bringing the total times to 4 to date. Today it happened first in the morning while I was exiting the school parking lot and attempting to enter the main road of traffic. It completely stopped, turned off, and asked me to put in park before I could turn the engine back on. It then happened again while driving in a parking lot. It completely shut off and would not move. In all of these instances I felt in danger and at risk of causing or being involved in a car accident due to this sudden engine failure. All 4 times have been within the past few weeks, but today was the worst in that it was twice in the same day.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11442273December 1, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SERVICE BRAKES
Door Sensor causing car to throw various codes. Windows rolling down by themselves, parking brake engaging by itself. VW knows about the problem and should be a recall. Parts is on back order with time frame.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11441770November 26, 2021
AIR BAGS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
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
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11441387November 22, 2021
ENGINE
While driving, the car shutoff completely. It is from the Auto on/off, this has happened several times and all times while driving.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11439900November 9, 2021
ENGINE
On three occasions while driving 5-10MPH in traffic our Atlas has shut off without warning. A message then appears on the digital display that reads “Please turn on engine manually.” The only way to do this is to come to a complete stop and put the vehicle in park before starting the engine which by the time the engine starts, other cars have to steer to avoid our Atlas stopped in a lane of traffic. The first time it happened we thought it was a fluke but then two additional times within the first three months of owning the vehicle is not a coincidence. The vehicle was inspected by the dealership with no red flags.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11439138November 2, 2021
ENGINE
I was driving back to work after taking my son to school I was sitting at a light and the engine completely shut off. The auto start/stop system on the vehicle was active. The dash said to Please start engine manually. I put the car in park, turned on my hazards because it was morning traffic, took my foot off the brake, put it back on the brake, pressed the start button and the vehicle didn’t start. I pressed the start button again the engine half way started then turned off (I did this twice). On the fourth time it started up and I was able to proceed to work.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11439136November 2, 2021
ENGINE
I was on my way home from work in the Atlas and while sitting at a red light in college football game day traffic (I live and work near the campus) the auto start/stop system was deactivated but the whole engine shutting off. The dashboard said “Please Start Engine Manually” I put the vehicle in park then pressed start. It would not start. So I had to open the vehicle door (in the midst of traffic and cars honking because the light changed) close the door, put my foot on the brake and press start. It did not start. So I repeated the same thing and it started. At that point I had to gas it because cars were going around me because my car stopped and wouldn’t start.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

← Back to Volkswagen Atlas