Volkswagen Atlas Complaints

981 consumer complaints on file.

#11691477October 5, 2025
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I bought the car in 2023 with 700 miles on it. Since then when coming from a stop the engine delays for about 5-10 seconds when pushing the gas, it eventually goes and happens often but not every time. Another issue is when coming to a stop the car turns off without any warning. When you try to go you have to put it back in park and start the car again. This has happened about ten times in two years. The last couple of times it has happened more regularly and in dangerous situations. I have brought it to two different dealerships as I have a 5 year warranty. First one told me they couldn’t replicate the issue but only drove the car 1 mile. Second drive it 30 miles and also told me there was nothing they could do. I started a case with VW and they called back saying they may have an idea and i need to bring it back for a third time but they have silent since. They also refused to tell me what it was they wanted to check.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11691464October 5, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
I was driving on the freeway in the right lane and the lane assist forced my steering wheel to turn right causing me to collide into a concrete guard rail. Previous to that my car had been having electrical malfunctioning issues with the screen and radio.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11691188October 3, 2025
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
1. While backing up and going over grass (not curb), brakes slam on. Passenger was leaning forward while this happened and it abruptly jolted him. He thought I did it but my foot was on the gas to back up. Car rarely detects a large curb though. Service could not reproduce. Started in March 2025 2. While driving behind a car that is slowing down or turning, brakes will (sometimes) slam on and a loud beep and red symbol on the dash appears. While I know this is a safety feature, it happens at random. It doesn't always work at times when I am very close to a turning vehicle that decelerates quickly, and it will happen when I am also decelerating and several car lengths behind a car. Cause me to almost slide into oncoming traffic on one occasion. Service could not reproduce. Started April 2025. Still happening. 3. While driving 75-80mph on the highway (posted speed is 70mph), car suddenly braked and rapidly decelerated to a speed of 35mph (not a posted highway speed). This has happened several times over the past few months. Thankfully, no one was behind me or they would've smashed into me. Service disabled the feature so now I'm paying for a feature that I cannot use and doesn't work correctly. However, it is on many other VW's and could cause a serious accident to the unsuspecting driver. April 2025. 4. Windows go down at random when pulling up lever to close. Service blamed on my vent visors and says it is a safety feature to prevent injuries. However, my daughter had her arm out the window and it did not stop going up and ended up pinching her arm in the window. I had to lower it with my lever. Service cannot replicate and gives me the same reasoning every time. Ongoing since Sept. 2024. 5. Car sometimes lags/hesitates when taking off from a stop. When trying to quickly enter traffic, this could cause a car to hit me if the car isn't getting up and going like it usually does. Service could not replicate. Started May 2025. Still ongoing
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11690922October 2, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Breaking is very harsh when the car is cold. Makes rough sounds and feels like having grinding rocks between breaking pads and disc. Sounds could also be described like being under water. Very unsafe to break. Breaks very rough and sudden. No pump action on the breaks when is performing like this. Dealership acknowledged the problem saying is a recurring situation but they say there are no safety issues with it and refuse to fix it or change the unit in 3 different occasions. They cleaned the breaks offering a temporary repair but this did not fixed anything.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11690754October 1, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
While under warranty the passenger side headlamp unit was replaced. This was about one year ago- now the drive side has gone out on a car that is less than 3 years old. The dealership quoted me $1792.33 for this repair. There is no reason why these should be going out when they are LED. I am part of a facebook group for ATLAS owners and this a known issue. I see the daylight running light on multiple ATLAS vehicles daily when I am driving around town. This should be a recall.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11690594September 30, 2025
STEERING
STEERING WHEEL RACK
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11690459September 29, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Passenger daytime running light has stopped working at 61,952 miles. This light is not able to be replaced by itself which is the issue. The entire lighting assembly has to be replaced costing $1400 for single, passenger side assembly, not including labor. At this cost, it is unrealistic and unreasonable to replace this safety feature every time it goes out. This is an unsafe design due to the fact that many customers would not be able to afford to pay more than $1400 to replace the light causing a potential safety hazard.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11689233September 23, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Daytime LED running light (Front passenger side) stopped working and has not come back on. I am told the whole lighting assembly has to be replaced at a cost of $800 to $1,000. I have seen many other complaints online from owners of the same vehicle that are experiencing the same issue with one of the front LED daytime driving lights.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11688942September 22, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES
The contact owns a 2025 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, the brakes independently engaged. The contact was unable to disengage the brakes. The vehicle was stopped in the middle of the road with several warning unknown lights illuminated, and undisclosed messages were displayed. The contact turned off the vehicle, and after several restarting attempts, the contact was unable to disengage the brakes. The contact was unable to move the shift lever. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that an undisclosed update was needed. An unknown update was performed on the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11688931September 22, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The hood release cable broke during normal use. Unable to access engine and components. Unable to jump/service the battery or fluids if needed. Upon searching for solution for accessing, found this to be a very common problem.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11688381September 19, 2025
POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
The car began revving at lights when I was in drive and stopped at red lights. The normal at rest rev is 0.75 however I have seen it as high as 1.5 and had to put the car into park to reset the acceleration. This had been consistently happening over the past month. The first visit to the dealer, I needed a new battery... that didn't fix the issue. The tech said that after the battery was replaced that the scan showed no error codes. The only codes before the battery replacement were low voltage indicators throughout the car. The next day the same issue happened again. The second scam showed no faults however I asked them to clean the throttle body (which they never suggested) and they did. They said that they recalibrated the new clean throttle body measurement to the computer. For the following 10 days, when I stopped at a light, the tachometer was perfectly stable at 0.75 and there was no "jumping" around like before. Until this day, the acceleration happened at a "stop". However on day 11 after the throttle cleaning, I was SLOWING DOWN to approach a red light and the tachometer revved to 3.0 and I needed to stop immediately and throw it into park. This is so dangerous. I may cause an accident by either lurching forward or needing to hit the breaks to stop the acceleration. There are no error or warning lights that show on the dashboard!!! After the battery was changed, the dealership said they had someone drive it for 10 miles to recreate the issue but found none yet it started up the next day. GROK has been helpful. It suggested first the throttle cleaning which did help, and three other repairs. I'm planning to pay a shop that deals with German cars specifically to scan and evaluate. The car has 43,000 miles on it. This is a testament to German engineering? No longer. I have never seen this in any other of my vehicles. All three uploads failed even though I got them to the most minimum of info.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11688013September 17, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
We were driving on a highway with no cars anywhere near us, did not go under a bridge, outside was sunny and calm weather in the 75 degree range, and our panoramic sunroof suddenly exploded outwards. Glass shattered everywhere and it sounded like a bomb went off in the car. After immediately getting off on an exit ramp to survey what happened, the remaining glass was pushed up and outwards towards the sky proving that nothing hit the sunroof. Our Volkswagen dealership told us to bring it in and they would put it under warranty for a mechanical defect as the panoramic sunroof is the roof of the vehicle. After waiting weeks, Volkswagen corporate denied the warranty claim saying we must have done something to weaken the glass at a previous time. There were no previous issues with the sunroof and this explosion happened very suddenly. Young children were in the vehicle and it was terrifying.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11687914September 17, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
1. Component/System Failed, Available for Inspection? Failed passenger side LED daytime running light (DRL) strip in headlight assembly, likely due to LED burnout or wiring issue. Entire headlight unit needs replacement ($1K+ quote). Available for inspection upon request. 2. Safety Risk? Non-working DRLs reduce vehicle visibility in daylight, increasing collision risk by 10–20% (per NHTSA). Poses danger to driver, passengers, and others, especially in low-light or fog. 3. Confirmed by Dealer/Service Center? Confirmed via service center 4. Inspected by Others? Inspected by service center 5. Warning Signs Prior to Failure? No warning lamps/messages typically appear for Atlas DRL failures. Noticed issue around 55k miles; no dashboard alerts.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11687716September 16, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Drivers side DRL LED complete failure at 62000 miles. Known issue all over the internet. I bought the extended warranty. I called to check coverage and they told me absolutely not covered even though I have the platinum level extended warranty. Only fix is remove bumper and replace headlight assembly, then dealership has to supposedly reprogram the new headlight and the cruise control or they won’t work if you tried to replace the assembly at home to save money. VW obviously knows of this issue and to my knowledge has done nothing to help customers. The safety concern with this is the other solution to the DRL LED going out, if you can’t spend $2000 on a light, is to use an ob-11 and deactivate all DRLs. This could make the vehicle less visible under certain conditions and potentially lead to a collision.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11687061September 13, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Daytime running lights are both inoperable. This is a known issue with these vehicles. Both went out at the same time and are $2000 to replace. It’s a robbery.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11686776September 12, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Daytime Running Light failure at 36K Miles on one side. Entire assembly requires warranty replacement with ACC sensor calibration. Appears to be a common issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11686222September 10, 2025
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
My Volkswagen Atlas has a recurring check engine light and start/stop error light. The LD pump and valve have been replaced multiple times, but the issue persists. Volkswagen now says the problem is the carbon canister, which is covered by TSB VWP-23-04 (NHTSA ID MC-10235143-0001) extending warranty to 15 years/150,000 miles. The bigger concern is safety: the vehicle has stalled multiple times while driving, including once in an intersection where I completely lost steering and control until the car was towed. This creates a major safety hazard for myself and others on the road. Despite the TSB coverage, Cardinale Volkswagen in Salinas, CA is refusing to replace the carbon canister under warranty. They also charged me a $240 diagnostic fee, even though the issue diagnosed was later found to be warranty-related. My understanding is that diagnosis and repair of warranty defects should be performed at no cost. This is a clear safety defect: sudden stalling in traffic, loss of steering, and repeated failures of emission-related parts. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate these incidents and Volkswagen’s handling of warranty claims, as drivers are being put at risk of accidents, injury, or worse.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11685576September 7, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The vehicle will completely stop at a red light or in park. Today while in traffic, the car turned completely off. I had to manually restart the car.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11685519September 7, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
Brakes are squealing and grinding noises when i break. This noises are present no matter the speed. VW Dealership from Kearny Mesa VW, San Diego, California USA. Engine: Start/Stop does shutdown during driving after the autostop system. Electric: Sensors is causing false alerts. I deactivated the system, because the system is constantly detecting alerts for no real threats,
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11685099September 4, 2025
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2022 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle experienced a loss of automotive power, and the vehicle failed to start. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that after several attempts, the vehicle restarted and the contact drove to a parking lot, and then the vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the fuel pump was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 77,048.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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