Volkswagen Atlas Complaints

981 consumer complaints on file.

#11453853February 24, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SERVICE BRAKES
Due to a malfunctioning driver door wire harness, multiple errors occur, including a electric parking brake issue. This causes the vehicles parking brake to engage while in coming to a stop but still in motion. This does cause the vehicles abruptly come to a stop. Additionally the wire harness malfunction has caused an issue with the driver side door locking function and driver side windows. Often times the driver side door does not lock when in drive and in motion, as well as trying to lock using the key fob and in park. The driver side windows randomly lower 3-4 inches, when driving as well. I am especially concerned with the parking brake, there have been a few occasions where I have almost been hit from the rear due to the abrupt stop. I have taken the car in to the dealership and have been told the part is not available and they have multiple vehicles waiting over two months for the part. Here is a link with others that have the same issue. https://www.vwatlasforum.com/threads/error-driver-door-contact-switch.6359/
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11453750February 24, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, STEERING, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The EPC light came on and caused the vehicle to stop working, steering, brakes, sped, were affected immediately as I was on the interstate.car was basically limping. I dropped car off at dealer and they said it was misfiring due to bags gas. Car has 8000 miles and was only 9 months old. Repairs cost over $2000 and they said it was not covered under warranty as the fuel injector was damaged after what they said is bad gas. It is a know issue the fuel injectors are bad with the VW atlas. The government needs to stop VW from selling vehicles in the states and needs to recall the atlas for safety issues as this caused me to almost crash my car due to a faulty fuel injector!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11453528February 22, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The component that failed is the Driver Contact Door Switch and the electronic parking brake. My safety and my children’s safety and the people behind me are put at risk of an accident if my parking break comes on while driving. I took it to the dealer on December 27,2021 and they said that it is the driver door wiring harness it controls everything in the car. They said they would order a new harness but it is on back order. I called dealer on Monday Feb 21,2022 and they still don’t have the part, I explained to them that as I was driving the windows automatically rolled down and I got the message contact door switch and parking break faults. They told me to deactivate the start stop system. I explained to them that it was deactivated and I got an oh well. I am worried about driving the vehicle and also teaching my son how to drive on a learners permit which we have put on hold until the problem is solved.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11453080February 20, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
The driver door contact switch and door harness is faulty, which triggers several errors while driving. The lane keep assist and departure warning does not work when this is happening. Additionally, when braking, the car has several alarms that chime repeatedly, including low coolant, driver door contact switch, electronic parking brake failure, hill start assist, and dynamic cornering lights. The car beeps nonstop while the brakes are applied and the car is at a complete stop. The parking brake also engages when the brakes are applied, making it very unsafe to drive. When I called the dealership to schedule an inspection, they reported that they don’t need to inspect the car because they know exactly which part is causing the problem, and ordered me the part. However the part is on back order, so I’ve had to drive the car in this condition, as they will not put me in a rental. The dealership has Informed me there is nothing else they can do, and Volkswagen customer care will not respond to my requests to discuss.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452697February 18, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING
Door harness replacement needed, car is only a few months old, less than 10k Miles. Various sensors go off indicating a contact door switch issue, and the parking brake will go off and windows will open. This happened to me with children in the car and snowy weather, which could have caused an accident when the parking brake went off while driving.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452328February 16, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
At random times during driving the fault electronic parking brake with turn on and abruptly stop the vehicle making it jerk forward. It will trigger the windows to roll down, and errors will pop up stating lane assist is unavailable with beeping noise. This puts my family at risk because I was completely scared when the parking brake automatically came on while exiting the highway and an 18-wheeler truck was behind me with my daughter in the car. I had to completely turn my vehicle off and back on to keep going. When I took my car in on February 1,2022 the Service Manager said that there were multiple vehicles in their possession with the issue. He said it would take a month to get it fixed. After speaker to a regional supervisor for Volkswagen they did not have a ETA for getting the parts needed to perform the repair, yet I am still paying a mthly payment and insurance on a vehicle I own that's not in my possession. I have screenshots from my CarNet app with the warning issues that I shared with the manufacturer. There seems to be no sense of urgency to get this repaired or provide a vehicle that is comparable to fit my family size while waiting on the parts for repair.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452157February 15, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
There were multiple incidents where the windows would roll down and the error came on state "Driver Side Contact Error", once where the driver side door would not open, I had to crawl out the passenger side, and multiple times when the parking brake would not disengage. All of these issues have been said to be the drivers side harness kit, no rhyme or reason and lights and errors would go off after each incident. The main safety concern caused be this is when i was driving down a hill coming to a red light, i was reducing speed but was not stopped and the parking brake engaged on its own. I came to a dead stop in the middle of the road, luckily no cars behind me and on a clear road, the dash lit up with multiple errors but all disappeared before i a could write them all down. The dealership where my car current is has stated there is a parts bulletin out on this part causing all these issues with the door harness kit, but no recall. They also could not guarantee that my parking brake would not engage again while the car was in drive, but did not want to offer me a rental car because Volkswagen doesn't consider it a "Safety issue". I know there are 5 other vehicles at the dealership with the same issue as mine (as of January 10th). This is happening in brand new cars, my car is a 2021 and have not even owned it a year.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452036February 15, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Starting in November, a series of alarms would go off on the dashboard on the engine, lane assist, collision warnings, etc. As the problem progressed, the windows would go down automatically, and in the most severe instances, the car would engage the emergency park brake while coming to a stop!!! This happened more and more frequently to the point the car became undrivable as you awaited the car engaging the emergency parking brake while coming to a stop!!!! The car has been at the dealership since 11/22/21 as the door control wiring harness is on backorder. Someone will get hurt if this goes unrepaired.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451975February 14, 2022
AIR BAGS, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
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.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11451781February 13, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The emergency brake will randomly go off when driving or taping my brakes. Then doors will lock and windows roll half down. I have to stop car, turn off and turn on again to get the car moving again. This happens randomly and frequently. It is 2/13 and my car has been in the shop since 1/3/2022.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451440February 10, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I have a faulty Door harness that causes the vehicle to think they the door is open, when it is not. Because the car thinks the door is open, the E brake engages while driving and a loud beeping ensues. Several sensors also start flashing like check engine, start/stop system failure, check oil, etc. the part is back ordered with no ETA and VW don’t do a recall because they don’t want to be on the hook for all of these cars. A quick Google search will show you that this is a widespread safety issue that is being ignored
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451379February 10, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Emergency Brake engages while driving. It has happened multiple times at speeds of 25-70mph. When this happened the warning lights and beeping would start, saying "Fault Electronic Brake", Error: Driver Door Contact Switch”, "Warning, engine is running" windows in the back would also automatically start rolling down and up. It has nearly caused us to get into two high speed accidents with our children in the car with us. Vehicle is currently at dealership along with others with the same problem, has been there for over 3 weeks as they attempt to get a harness in for it. They are telling people because they are out of loaners that they have to continue to drive the vehicle. THEY are not safe to be on the road at this point.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451077February 8, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
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.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11450635February 6, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
While driving 35mph then coming to a stop, the car automatically engages the parking brake. When this occurs it also notes that I am on a hill… which is incorrect. This causes me to fully shut of the car in traffic and restart the engine. While this occurs the driver door lock engages and flash red.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11449937February 2, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Driver door wiring harness is faulty and needs replaced. At random times during driving all alerts will go off in car triggering the windows to roll down, the parking brake to engage while the vehicle is moving, turning off adaptive cruise, lane keep assist and many other safety features while using them. I fear for the safety of the passengers in my car and those around me as I am unable to know when the brake will engage. The dealer has confirmed the need for replacement but does not have the parts to replace. They will not provide a loaner and have no estimate of when parts will be available for repair. The issue is ongoing and random.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11449496January 30, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING, BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS
The infotainment center of the vehicle does not start/work upon start of the car. I get a notification on the dashboard that audio is not available. The whole infotainment center not working on startup means I cannot view the picture/video feed from the rear camera. I tried activating the park assist feature to activate the camera but it did not work because the infotainment center was inoperable. I purchased the car one week ago and have had this issue on starting up the car everyday this past week. It takes anywhere from 2-10 minutes before the infotainment center is operable. I have notified the dealership and they have not been able to reproduce the issue because they acquire the vehicle after the info center is operable. I am not able to have the vehicle serviced at the dealership until Feb. 23, 2022. They have advised to “reset” the infotainment center. The sales associate who sold me the car did this and the problem still exists. Because I purchased the car new, with 10 miles, I did not anticipate this issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11449492January 30, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
While i am driving my car start acting crazy first the windows go down following for some mesenges in the screen, Error: driver door contact switch Error: start/stop Fault:electronic parking brake The electric brake is activated wile i am driving that was the mos scare thing happened to my family and me.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11449480January 30, 2022
TIRES
Continental cross contact LX Sport 255x50x20 has a large bulge/bubble approx 21/2” from the letter T on Contact on the sidewall. This tire has had issues since new with losing air pressure. The drivers side rear has had same issue with losing pressure. It has a bulge in same spot on tire sidewall.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11449235January 28, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The below are known issues dating back to at least 2020 Atlas models, but this first appeared in our vehicle mid-November 2021; we purchased the car new June 2021. The driver door contact switch has failed. There are annoyances - the widows randomly roll down, lots of dinging, warning lights, etc. - but the safety issue is that the emergency brake will come on sometimes when you brake. We have a child and cannot risk suddenly being stopped on a highway. Because of this, the car is undriveable. VW estimates the part will be available in 2023, so there are people driving around with this safety issue because they have no second car and people who are paying a loan on a car they cannot drive. These issues have been replicated by the dealer. The case has been escalated to VW and there is no sense of urgency. See here for reports of others with the same experiences: https://www.vwatlasforum.com/threads/error-driver-door-contact-switch.6359/
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11448985January 26, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
After 3 months of owning this brand new car, the parking system started to act up. My parking sensors would beep for no reason, windows would roll down and my parking brake would come on when I was driving. I took the car to the dealership and they did an electrical update. Two months later the same issue happened again, as well as my engine light came on because my coolant was low. Again I took it to the dealership where I was told a door harness sensor needed to be replaced and my head gasket needed to be replaced as well. My car has been in the shop for almost two months as the part is on back order. Now there is also a recall for the air conditioner. This is the worst experience with a new car I have ever had. I have initiated the process of trying to get Volkswagen to buy it back. When I spoke to the service manager he told me he has 9 other Atlas’s in the shop for the same reason. Customer care has been no help. I will never buy another Volkswagen again.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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