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The 2020 Volkswagen Atlas is a family SUV that’s designed to provide maximum space. The automaker tells customers to “bring everyone along for the ride,” but some owners are scared to take the SUV anywhere. Not only does it have a defective powertrain, but also suffers from issues with all major systems.
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NHTSA Complaints for the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Electrical System | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Air Bags | |
| Steering | |
| Vehicle Speed Control | |
| Engine | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control | |
| Suspension |
Problems with the Powertrain
The powertrain is responsible for giving a vehicle acceleration and superior handling, but the 2020 Atlas struggles with both.
One Edmunds user wrote, “Many buyers including myself have had issues with the sluggish jumpy first to second gear and also an screeching noise many times at low speed acceleration. Based on the VW forums and my own mechanic, this is a faulty torque converter. My screeching noise is getting worse and VW simply states it is normal. Will never lease or buy a VW again! Buyer beware…STAY AWAY as their dealers do not support their customers after the sale.”
Volkswagen isn’t oblivious to issues with the powertrain. In fact, Service Bulletin #VIN4APIN20201021 talks about multiple complaints, such as diagnostic trouble codes, rattling from under the vehicle and misfiring. Problems could even be related to broken mounting bolt brackets, which is a serious concern. The German automakers have regularly been praised for their attention to detail, but this model flat-out fails. It’s not meant for any type of ride, let alone one with the whole family.
Problems with the Engine
Complaints go beyond the customers all the way up to some of the top automotive publications. However, these complaints deal with all of the major systems, which is a little scary.
Here’s what MotorBiscuit had to say. “The big-ticket trouble spots on the Volkswagen Atlas got ‘Better/Best’ ratings from the CR reliability tests — the engine and transmission, for both major and minor issues; and the braking system. Same thing for the drive, electrical and climate systems… On the downside, the headlights provide just average visibility, and the fuel system gets the same gentleman’s C, and the power equipment and interior electronics are the pits.”
Wow. What happened to the old saying – if you have nothing nice to say? In all fairness, these publications have every reason to be disappointed with the Atlas. Previous models were even involved in a class-action lawsuit, which might eventually extend to the 2020 models. It turns out that there was a major defect with the Front Collision Assist software that was leading to stalling and unexpected braking. It seems that Volkswagen doesn’t even know how to make safety equipment safe.
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Complaint Data
| Category | Wheels |
| Date | Mar 14, 2023 |
| State | IN |
| Description | The pirelli scorpion all season zero tires that came factory equipped on my 2020 vw cross sport have experienced a sidewall failure on drivers side front. 35,000 miles on the vehicle and tries rotated as recomended. The tire sizes is 245/45r21. Driving on highway at 70 mph, with out any sensor warnings a messaged flashed on the dash of complete loss of tire pressue and in a split second the tire exploded. Thankfully I was able to pull the side safely. The sidewall of the tire completely seperated from the body. Dealer is selling me new tires but no offer to investigate. |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Steering |
| Date | Jan 30, 2023 |
| State | VA |
| Description | We own a 2020 vw atlas se w/technology. This vehicle has grossly failed to meet reliability expectations. Of most concern is the repeated failure of the vehicle's electric power steering rack. This component has been replaced 3 times on my vehicle. Each failure has been accompanied by a creak in the front suspension and a clunk in the steering movement. I have asked vw of america to extend the warranty on my vehicle as this failure and it's the history of failures lead me to believe I will encounter this issue again very soon. Vwoa has denied my request so far stating that my warranty had already expired. I reminded them that they had already extended my warranty for a separate mechanical issue that I experienced with both this vehicle and my previous vehicle, a 2018 vw atlas involving the cylinder head. Between the steering rack failure and their handling of a dangerous issue with faulty door harness wiring that caused the vehicle's autonomous emergency braking to engage in traffic, I sincerely believe that nhtsa needs to get involved to mandate additional recall campaigns or warranty extensions on these vehicles to protect consumers. |
| Category | Electrical System, Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control, Vehicle Speed Control |
| Date | Oct 03, 2022 |
| State | WI |
| Description | Adaptive cruise control (acc) will not work if you remote started the vehicle. To get it normally work, you have to fully switch off the car and then push start it. Had the vehicle checked by vw dealer and they found no problem, but the car won't engage cruise after remote start. After months of this; the remote start will not work. Carnet told me to wait on an update to be released soon..... It has been 10 months and same story every time I call. Dealer can't get it sorted even though they replaced carnet module twice! |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control, Steering |
| Date | Sep 10, 2022 |
| State | SC |
| Description | Steering gear feeling loose & making noise going down the road. Steering wheel shake & vibration. No warning lights initially. Few hours later when steering vibration was at it worse, the front end collision warning light with cruise control light came on. Dealer said system needed recalibrated & steering gear needed to be replaced. Stated it is a common, complaint/diagnosis but no recall from vw. 00 to repair! Car definitely doesn't feet safe at highway speeds |
| Category | Electrical System, Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Service Brakes |
| Date | Sep 05, 2022 |
| State | MD |
| Description | After 6-7 occurrences over a year of an unidentifiable warning light type object appearing in the vehicle information portion of the dashboard. Also two (2ea) separate trips to the volkswagen dealership for repair of this issue. I was driving on raining soaked highway, as I was slowing down for stopped traffic ahead (traveling at approximately 25 mph), the aforementioned warning light flashed on and immediately and automatically applied the brakes causing the vehicle to skid sideways on the highway. I returned to the dealership for the third (3rd) time for this item and explained what happened. The service manager had me look at a computer showing all of the warning lights for my vehicle. I told him the warning light that we have seen was not located in the area of where the “normal†warning lights are, but in the vehicle information area of the dash board. When I was picking up the vehicle after the service for this item and also a recall issue, the service manager told me regarding the unidentified warning light the car was “supposed to apply the brakes in that fashionâ€. However, the dealership could not identify the large red object surrounded with four (4) lightning bolts warning light. If this issue (warning light and automatically braking) would have occurred at a greater speed (the speed limit on the highway was 65 mph) the outcome would have been more serious. As a result of this occurrence and the several failed attempts identify the warning light or to repair this vehicle we do not feel safe in driving this car. According, we have sold this volkswagen atlas cross sport. |
| Category | Tires:tread/belt |
| Date | Aug 08, 2022 |
| State | WV |
| Description | The contact owns a 2020 volkswagen atlas cross sport equipped with continental tires: tire line: cross contact lx sport, tire size: 245/60/r18, dot number: a383wc9v2920. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 65 mph, there was vibration in the rear passenger's side and there was a loud popping sound. The contact heard the sound of some object slapping the roadway. The contact stated that the low tire pressure warning light had illuminated seconds before the tire failed. The contact replaced the tire with the spare tire. The vehicle was taken to a tire dealer. The tire was diagnosed and it was confirmed that the tread had separated from the sidewall of the passenger's side rear tire. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage for the vehicle and tire was 14,500. |
| Category | Electrical System, Lane Departure: Blind Spot Detection |
| Date | Jul 23, 2022 |
| State | CO |
| Description | We had issues in march 2022 (electronic parking brake engaging while car is moving and driver's window rolling down when attempting to roll it up) that led to the defective door wiring harness diagnosis that was the subject of the national recall. We were without the vehicle for 2 months until late may 2022 when the redesigned replacement wiring harness was installed. We are now having the same problems again (electronic parking brake engaging while car is in motion; driver's window rolling down when trying to roll it up) in addition to the blindside warning lights staying on and flashing with no cars in the vicinity to trigger that. We suspect there are issues with the newly engineered replacement wire harness. The dealership has been slow to respond as well making the issue more frustrating. |
| Category | Electrical System, Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Service Brakes |
| Date | May 25, 2022 |
| State | HI |
| Description | I submitted a report on may 2nd, 2022 about a major safety concern that occurred at the beginning of april. My cross sport was phantom braking, throwing itself into park, and involuntary e-braking. This occurred multiple times at different speeds, I avoided collision and injury but have since been unable to drive the vehicle. Myself and others on the road could have been seriously injured. It was immediately towed to the dealership and has been sitting on the lot un-driveable since april, with no fix in sight, and no communication from vw in regard to a resolution. I want to file the highest complaint against vw as they have not dealt with this in a timely manner, they have not offered assistance, and this was my only vehicle. |
| Category | Electrical System, Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Service Brakes |
| Date | May 02, 2022 |
| State | HI |
| Description | 2020 vw atlas cross sport. While traveling down the highway (medium speed) the vehicle abruptly threw itself into park, and e-braked. Thankfully escaped a collision but the outcome could have been much worse. My safety and safety of others was put at risk. And the general trauma from this scary incident has lasted weeks. The abrupt braking continued to happen at low speeds / cruising speed until I could pull over. (the car is not simply braking, it is throwing itself into park and e-brake goes on). Also, windows roll up and down without cause, all types of warning lights and errors flash on the dashboard. Upon the dealership's service center's scan of my car's computer, they found it occurred four times. The dealership found the wiring harness was corroded, and they think the car is sensing that a door is open, causing the vehicle to switch to park and abruptly e-brake. The vehicle is unsafe to drive but both vw and the dealership have denied me a loaner, and have denied my requests for compensation so I can rent a temporary car - this malfunction has left me with no vehicle for weeks, zero means of transportation, and no future fix in sight. |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Service Brakes |
| Date | May 01, 2022 |
| State | NV |
| Description | While driving down a street the car engaged the emergency stop system and stopped the car, nothing in front of me or around me. Verify scary incident. |
| Category | Electrical System, Service Brakes, Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Apr 18, 2022 |
| State | MN |
| Description | Several weeks ago, while the vehicle was on and in park, several warning lights went off and the vehicle started beeping, both windows on the drivers' side rolled all the way down and the parking brake engaged. I was able to disengage the parking brake and roll up the windows. After turning the vehicle off and back on, the warning lights went away. This morning, after putting the vehicle in park and turning it off, both windows on the drivers' side rolled about 1/3 of the way down and the parking brake engaged. Upon turning the vehicle back on, I was able to roll the windows up and disengage the parking break. |
| Category | Air Bags |
| Date | Apr 07, 2022 |
| State | NY |
| Description | The contact owns a 2020 volkswagen atlas cross sport. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 22v152000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not yet available. 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. |
| Category | Air Bags, Electrical System, Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking |
| Date | Mar 28, 2022 |
| State | IL |
| Description | The emergency brake just comes on when you're driving, the windows will roll down on their own. The dash beeps at you like the vehicle will blow up. We were advised back in january that it was not safe to drive our vehicle. It has been sitting at the dealership not being fixed. A recall just recently came out for the vehicle, however we have been unable to drive the vehicle for almost 3 months. We still have to make payments on the vehicle and volkswagen doesn't want to do anything to help with anything. We were informed they would not provide a loaner car and a rental car we had to pay for on our own. This is completely unacceptable. The company needs to be responsible for this and I know we are not the only ones dealing with this. We will never buy another volkswagen just because of their poor customer support. They truly dont care about their customers and the inconvenience this has caused. |
| Category | Air Bags, Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings, Service Brakes |
| Date | Mar 22, 2022 |
| State | MA |
| Description | I want to record my experience with my 2020 vw atlas. I have experienced the front collision alerts and the braking when nothing was in my path. This might have caused an accident as the braking would be similar to a driver stopping short. The vehicle was never brought to a complete stop but felt like the car was not in the driver's control as it slowed. The forward collision light did illuminate during occurrences. Secondly, the airbag light is on and the dealership has advised the part is on backorder. Both of these cause concern for me as this is the main vehicle for my family and I transport three young children in. This vehicle has already had a recall to address the slippage when steering and I feel like that fix did not fully resolve my issue. |
| Category | Electrical System |
| Date | Mar 22, 2022 |
| State | CA |
| Description | The contact owns a 2020 volkswagen atlas. The contact stated while driving at 35 mph on local streets, the accelerator pedal was slightly released however, the vehicle immediately stopped. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to drive to the destination safely. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer to be diagnosed and was informed that an unstated wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 17,049. |
| Category | Air Bags |
| Date | Mar 21, 2022 |
| State | GA |
| Description | My vehicle is experiencing the door wiring harness issue that is leading to an airbag warning light coming on. As of now, my vin is not included in the recently announced vw recall, however I am experiencing the exact issue that is being recalled. This was diagnosed by my local dealer a few months ago and I am still waiting on the part. After reading the recall, I no longer feel safe driving this vehicle. |
| Category | Electrical System, Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Service Brakes |
| Date | Mar 21, 2022 |
| State | FL |
| Description | Driving and my car is automatically suddenly braking for me even-though my foot is on the gas. This now has happened a few times and I almost got rear-ended yesterday. |
| Category | Electrical System, Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Vehicle Speed Control |
| Date | Mar 21, 2022 |
| State | CO |
| Description | We've had our atlas since 5/2020. Since then, we've had multiple issues similar to what I have seen reported on vw's upcoming recall. I am not sure how vw intends to identify which vin's are an issue, but ours should probably be included. Here's a list of issues... 1) emergency braking goes off when backing up, even though there is no risk. 2) emergency braking goes off at the end of a decline when the road is transitioning from angled to flat. Since you're pointed down, it thinks the upcoming road is another vehicle. 3) using the remote start feature results in both the radio and cruise control not working. 4) window buttons on driver's side sometimes don't respond or act erratically (ex: pressing up and the window goes down) 5) gps is inaccurate. We actually had a part replaced in 2020 that fixed the problem, but we've noticed over the past few months it has started to get lost again. 6) all safety systems (lane assist, emergency braking, etc) need to be disabled when driving in the snow. Otherwise, the vehicle goes crazy with random beeps, warning, and occasionally will hit the brakes. Note that these are an aggregate of problems over the course of owning this vehicle. I provided a date, but the issues aren't limited to just that one date. Fortunately we have had no crashes or injuries related to this problem, but my wife had one very close call when driving in the snow and the brakes engaged while she was on the highway. |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking |
| Date | Mar 20, 2022 |
| State | TX |
| Description | Driver door harness malfunction causing many errors to display on dash. It also causes emergency brake to engage before coming to a complete stop basically slamming on the brake. Doors will randomly try to lock while driving even though they are locked and back windows will roll down. The driver window and door controls will not work to roll up/down window or unlock/lock doors. This all started in august 2021 with just the windows rolling down. Then weeks passed and a little more started happening. Then the brakes happened. It was a random occurrence but became an everyday issue and very unsafe especially when the weather became icy. |
| Category | Air Bags, Electrical System, Service Brakes |
| Date | Mar 19, 2022 |
| State | NY |
| Description | Issues started in fall 2020, each had occurred a few times, but dealers reported this was a known issue without a fix or that parka for wire harness were on back order. Now with each start 8+ alarms go off for failures in safety features. Consistently the electronic parking brakes come on at slow speeds ( |
| Category | Electrical System |
| Date | Mar 18, 2022 |
| State | KY |
| Description | The contact owns a 2020 volkswagen atlas cross sport. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, various electrical failure would occur such as her power windows independently rolling down and various warning lights flashing on instrument panel. The contact then stated that while driving at 25 mph, her parking brake warning light illuminated as her vehicle came to a sudden stop. Due to the failure, the contact took the vehicle to a dealer where they discovered that the electrical harness needed to be replaced. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer as parts remained unavailable. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000. |
| Category | Latches/locks/linkages:fueling/charging Door/hatch/port |
| Date | Mar 17, 2022 |
| State | CA |
| Description | The contact owns 2020 volkswagen atlas cross sport. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle went into brake mode automatically. There was an unknown warning light that illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to a local dealer. The failure was diagnosed as a door harness failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 13,974. The vin was not available. |
| Category | Electrical System |
| Date | Mar 16, 2022 |
| State | VA |
| Description | The contact owns a 2020 volkswagen atlas cross sport. The contact stated that while driving and depressing the brake pedal, the parking brake would erroneously activate. The vehicle had to be shifted into park, turned off, and restarted; however, the failure would recur whenever the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the failure might be due to the failure of a wiring harness inside the door. The dealer confirmed the failure and stated that parts were not yet available to fix the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 16,843. |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking |
| Date | Mar 16, 2022 |
| State | IL |
| Description | Unexpected emergency braking with no other vehicle nor object in driving lane/path. Such a scary experience and almost got rear-ended as we were traveling on expressway. No active recalls related to this issue, which apparently isn't unique to my personal experience with this particular year,make,model. |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking |
| Date | Mar 16, 2022 |
| State | NJ |
| Description | Started with not being able to enter the vehicle through drivers door, would not open from outside. Then windows started rolling down on their own. Many different alarms and warnings would pop up while driving. This went on for about a month. I was coming up to a stop light one day and the car put itself into emergency parking brake mode. I was able to hit the gas and get out of it but this continued for a couple days. Also happened while trying to reverse, locked up in emergency parking brake mode and had to restart several times in order to even move the vehicle. Vw told me it was still safe to drive but I was not comfortable. I dropped at the dealer where it sat for three months before I finally had the door wire harness replaced. |
| Category | Electrical System, Engine |
| Date | Mar 15, 2022 |
| State | GA |
| Description | Drivers side door harness is problem- driver door fault, electric parking brake fault, start stop fault, car would automatically engage parking brake this is such a huge problem with volkswagen that the car has been in shop six weeks waiting on part because of back order due to demand |
| Category | Electrical System, Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking |
| Date | Mar 13, 2022 |
| State | WV |
| Description | Drivers door wiring harness and control module malfunction. When this happens multiple mil on dash display, windows roll down and emergency braking system applies the brakes by itself under 15 mph resulting in drastic unexpected deceleration. Luckily the car behind me was able to stop in time. Dealership indicates vehicle is safe to drive, no loaners available and parts are at least 3 month out. |
| Category | Electrical System, Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Service Brakes |
| Date | Mar 09, 2022 |
| State | NY |
| Description | In may 2021 I had the drivers side wiring harness replaced due to being faulty which included windows unrolling on their own, cruise control not working, every time I stopped car using brakes emergency brake automatically came on and car would jerk forward, to name a few. After I hand it replaced it worked until november 2021 where once again the same problems occurred. I took it to dealership who stated wiring harness again needed to be replaced. Unfortunately part is in back order and continues to not be available. Both the dealership and vw car care would not authorized a loaner and I was told I would have to continue to drive the car. However, car is not safe as electronics go hay wire on it and when I stop car emergency brake goes on and jerks car and everyone in it forward. As of today my dealership states their vw representative states still on back order and have no idea how long I will have to continue to wait for part. |
| Category | Electrical System, Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Mar 07, 2022 |
| State | PA |
| Description | Upon starting the vehicle, an electrical fault for the drivers side door comes on. Often, this is followed by the drivers side door windows rolling down a few inches automatically. What follows next is a cascade of electrical faults, including but not limited to the emergency brake. When trying to drive in this condition, the brake automatically comes on just before the car comes to a complete stop. When there isn't the initial electrical fault, the car operates normally. This seems to be a problem associated with the driver's side door wiring harness. The car has been in the shop with the parts on backorder for over a month. This seems to be a known and common issue and it should probably rise to the level of recall. |
| Category | Electrical System |
| Date | Mar 03, 2022 |
| State | NY |
| Description | Error: driver door contact switch - door harness issues - car sitting at vw shop a month and no eta for the part. Fault: electronic parking brake there seems to be a major safety issue with the atlas and cross sport due to a malfunctioning driver side door harness. This causes the parking brake to engage while in motion, driver side door not to lock and windows to roll down while randomly. |
| Category | Electrical System, Service Brakes |
| Date | Mar 02, 2022 |
| State | TX |
| Description | Vehicle has a defective driver door harness which causes the vehicle to think the door is open. When this happens the emergency brake engages and all the windows roll down. This behavior can occur while the vehicle is stopped and while the vehicle is in motion. Dealership has stated the repair part is on a national backorder with no estimated time the part will arrive. Dealership and volkswagen have failed to provide any alternative forms of transportation. |
| Category | Engine, Power Train, Suspension |
| Date | Feb 11, 2022 |
| State | CA |
| Description | 2020 atlas cross sport se 4 motion. At 15,000, vehicle exhibited unusual and dangerous transmission behavior that compromises the safety and longevity of the vehicle. The vehicle demonstrated severe acceleration lag from stop, revving at high rpm's before moving, harsh grinding gear shifts, "start/stop errors", and bucking at lower gears. Car was taken to service center for the first time and diagnosed with a transmission leak due to a faulty gasket, which was repaired. However, problems persisted and worsened. Shortly thereafter, car was taken a second time to service center and diagnosed with a faulty transmission valve and solenoids. Vehicle was returned, but continues to have rough gear shifts and hesitation under heavy acceleration. Car is in the service center for a third time, as of now, without fix. In addition, the vehicle was also sent to the service center for suspension issues-- unusual noise when going over bumps, and noise when turning at slow speeds. Sway bar was replaced on initial inspection, but noise while turning persists. No fix as of this complaint. |
| Category | Electrical System, Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking |
| Date | Feb 09, 2022 |
| State | NY |
| Description | Door harness and module fault. Had emergency brake engage automatically while car was in gear, windows rolling up and down, key fob not working with the car while running and threatening shut down. Stabilizers needed replacing and alternator also low voltage while driving, stopped on the side of the road and would not engage into gear. |
| Category | Air Bags |
| Date | Jan 26, 2022 |
| State | UT |
| Description | I was driving and hit a bump in the road, it was a uneven surface similar to a curb. My front right tire all of a sudden went flat and all the side and seat airbags deployed. It makes no sense to have a tire go flat and have all the airbags go off. I had my car towed to the vw dealer and the service inspection found no damage to the body, frame or anything. All that needs replaced is a new tire and of course all the airbag damage. They put on a spare tire and everything is fine with the undercarriage. No major damage occurred. I feel this is an airbag malfunction, that needs to be handled and needs to be recorded for human safety and recall purposes. Prior to incident, my car always had a low tire pressure light that was constantly on, even after filling up the tires it would turn back on. Yes it has been confirmed with the dealership. |
| Category | Electrical System, Service Brakes, Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Jan 22, 2022 |
| State | NY |
| Description | In the beginning of novemeber 2021 with 7680 miles an alarm stating error: driver door contact switch fault: electronic parking brake attention: engine is running. Error: start stop the check engine light/epc lights were on. Windows do not open or open about an inch by themselves. This issue occurs most times when starting the vehicle. Vw was made aware and checked the vehicle stating the driver side door harness needs to be replaced but there is shipping delays. Over the next few months when operating the vehicle under speeds of approximatley 10 to 5 miles an hour the emergenancy parking break activates and slows or completley stops the vehicle while driving. This is a safety issue as a vehicle that suddenly stops while in traffic regardless of speed can be rear ended or cause an accident. Vw has claimed that the door harness is at fault and that the parking break activating is because of a faulty door harness. It has been over 2 months and the door harness has still not been replaced. I have spoke to mechanics regarding this issue and they stated a parking break activating while the car is in motion is not related to a faulty door harness. I wish to have this complaint investigated and to have my car issue recalled so vw is forced to fix this issue. I have 3 small children who regularly ride in this vehicle. A emergency parking break activiating while the vehicle is in motion is unacceptable. Thank you. |
| Category | Electrical System, Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Service Brakes |
| Date | Jan 03, 2022 |
| State | CA |
| Description | When turning the car on there are sometimes multiple errors: start-stop, driver door contact sensor, acc, and electronic brake. The car beeps very loudly telling me the engine is running (obviously). While driving, with or without current errors, the driver side windows will roll down, the doors will unlock and the car will apply emergency braking (out of no where) stoping the vehicle without warning. Supposedly this is an issue with the driver door wiring harness and apparently the part is almost impossible to get. The vehicle has been sitting at the dealership for two weeks with no eta on parts. |
| Category | Electrical System, Service Brakes |
| Date | Dec 28, 2021 |
| State | NY |
| Description | The contact owns a 2020 volkswagen atlas cross sport. The contact stated while driving at low speeds, the emergency brake engaged independently. The contact also stated that the front driver's side door failed to lock. The contact stated that the warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing an unknown chip to be replaced and a wiring failure. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 9,000. |
| Category | Electrical System, Service Brakes |
| Date | Dec 09, 2021 |
| State | NY |
| Description | Multiple errors when starting car including windows on drivers side roll down randomly, cruise control does not work, when I step on brakes it throws the emergency brake on and jerks the forward causing everyone in car to jerk forward. Dealership states drivers side wire harness problem but had it replaced 3/2021 and now same exact problem 12/2021 |
| Category | Steering, Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Oct 11, 2021 |
| State | MA |
| Description | Steering rack issue for second time full replacement of steering rack for the second time also front links recall, replaced strange popping coming from top of vehicle, sounds like rocks are being dropped on the top of the car road noise at speeds over 75 mph |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Oct 08, 2021 |
| State | WY |
| Description | Hi please tell me if you can help me or help me find someone who can help me a friend imported from the usa to romania a car vw atlas chassis series . In order to register in romania at the local vehicle department, the officer must see a chassis / vin number carved on steel and compare this number with the vin number on the windshield dashboard and in the documents. I found only two stickers with vin: 1) on the doorstep from the driver. 2) another sticker in the area of the spare tire. I didn't find the stamped vin. In romania, it is not possible to register imported cars that do not have stamped vin. Does this car have punched vin? Please help me find the vin code stamped on the steel frame? I would be grateful if you could send me on the email address pictures of the place where the punched chassis series is. Vw romania told me that this model is not in their database all the best |
| Category | Steering |
| Date | Aug 25, 2021 |
| State | MA |
| Description | For the second time since purchase 6/2020 we are taking the car in for suspected steering rack issues. We have already had the steering rack replaced, we have clunking/clicking when turning when we turn the wheel to the left. Vw to address the issue next week |
| Category | Wheels |
| Date | Aug 25, 2021 |
| State | MA |
| Description | Here we go again, warning light for tires correctly inflated warning sign will not go away. This is third time this has been addressed, initially vehicle tires on sale were over inflated, second time similar issue, and now who knows until we get to service on tuesday what we are going to find |
| Category | Engine |
| Date | Jun 21, 2021 |
| State | VA |
| Description | The contact owned a 2020 volkswagen atlas cross sport. The contact stated that while driving at 40 mph, he crashed into another vehicle and within seconds, his vehicle's engine compartment caught fire and exploded twice. The vehicle was engulfed in flames when the fire department arrived on the scene. The contact did not receive medical attention or sustain injuries however, the contact's wife received medical attention for injuries sustained and transported to the hospital by ambulance. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an auto service center and deemed totaled by the insurance company. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 16,643. |
| Category | Air Bags, Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings, Steering |
| Date | Apr 06, 2021 |
| State | TX |
| Description | My 2020 volkswagen atlas has been in and out of the shop. We purchased this vehicle in april 2020 with great hopes... We've been loyal vw customers and have owned 2 other vw vehicles prior. Issues began mid-aug 2020, the check engine light turned on and we began hearing a rattling noise coming from the steering wheel when turning the wheel and began smelling a burnt odor coming from the engine. At this time, the vw shop did the following: the electro-mechanical steering was replaced and the acf valve was removed & replaced. Issue persisted. Went back in late aug 2020 for the exact same issues as before; vw shop removed and reinstalled the acf filter once more. Rattling wasn't addressed. Taken again to the shop oct 2020 for rattling in undercarriage, and this time we were told the sway bars were causing the rattling noise. Those were replaced and the rattling noise subsided. Forward to beginning of nov 2020, and the airbag light turns on; shop keeps the vehicle for 13 days, removes and reinstalls airbag sensor. Two days after we receive our vehicle, the airbag light turns on again. Shop keeps our vehicle for 63 days, removes and installs the door wiring harness. By end of feb 2021, airbag light is on again; shop updates the airbag control module. We have not had airbag light come on after this most recent repair, but we are now experiencing brake sensor issues: we have had a 'apply the brakes' alert come on while driving on the highway, as well as a 'front collision warning' come on while there are no other vehicles remotely close to us at the time. Obviously, we are concerned for our safety while driving this vehicle. |
| Category | Steering |
| Date | Mar 18, 2021 |
| State | FL |
| Description | I brought car in for a recall inspection, that required photos of the defective parts number. The dealer did not provide me with the photos and I questioned wher are the photos , they sent me some generic photos of an underside of the car but nothing with clearly visible part numbers. The inspection may not have been done correctly and if the part breaks it results in a loss of steering and a tragic ending for the car and driver. |
| Category | Air Bags, Electrical System, Service Brakes |
| Date | Mar 15, 2021 |
| State | ID |
| Description | Upon vehicle start, vehicle provided several warnings: 'driver door contact switch, electronic parking brake fault, airbag error', and several others. The driver and driver-rear passenger windows rolled down about two inches, security light was blinking, drivers door would not lock. While driving on city street, the parking brake would engage at low speed (1-2 mph), and when stopped, while in gear (drive). |
| Category | Engine |
| Date | Feb 17, 2021 |
| State | NJ |
| Description | Please see attached document as it explains it all |
| Category | Air Bags |
| Date | Jan 13, 2021 |
| State | IL |
| Description | We experienced air bag deployment on both sides as a result of a low-speed contact with a curb. We were leaving a stop sign at a t intersection on a snowy road and the car slid making the left turn and the passenger side front wheel hit the curb. We could not have been travelling more than 10-15 miles an hour and the damage to the wheel is only scrapes. We feel very strongly that the air bags should not have deployed and have had the car inspected by collision experts that have documented that the air bags should not have deployed based on the minimal damage to the wheel. This is a very unsafe situation to have air bags deploy when they should not as they can injure passengers, we had one passenger with significant bruising. Vw is refusing to acknowledge a problem and have left us with a damaged 2020 vehicle that cannot be driven. I have attached photos of the vehicle. |
| Category | Electrical System, Service Brakes |
| Date | Dec 17, 2020 |
| State | WI |
| Description | When driving vehicle upon coming to a completed stop, various fault messages are displayed 'electronic brake error/driver contact switch error, start/stop error'. The car detects that the door is open even though it is completely closed which causes parking break to activate immobilizing the vehicle ; the start/stop system then activates turning off the engine. This makes performing any low speed maneuver extremely difficult and dangerous as you must first find then press the electronic parking breaking button/take your foot off the break and wait for the start stop to deactivate/then accelerate. This has nearly caused an accident when executing a left turn into oncoming traffic the car stopped and the break activated while cars were approaching. Car was taken to the authorized vw dealer who replaced the locks and door handle and did safety inspection. As soon as I left the dealer the car displayed the same problems reported. Car was taken back to dealer who advised they ordered a new door switch to fix the problem as the one in the car was 'bad'. Car has been with dealer for 1 month as they do not have the parts due to it being on backorder at vw. |
| Category | Seat Belts |
| Date | Oct 24, 2020 |
| State | MA |
| Description | Seat belts in rear left side do not retract, have to manually push the seat belts back in to get them to work |
| Category | Steering |
| Date | Oct 24, 2020 |
| State | MA |
| Description | Persistent noise when turning steering wheel to the left, loud clicking more so when vehicle is stopped. Video evidence presented to dealer after it had been in to the shop once before and it was determined faulty steering rack, |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Oct 24, 2020 |
| State | MA |
| Description | When picked up vehicle within days noise was heard from left side of vehicle, at the windshield. Both at low speeds and high, if something was placed in the corner like a towel the noise would stop. After vehicle went in to the dealers it was determined that the windshield was faulty, it had been incorrectly fitted and the whole windshield and all seals needed to be replaced. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Oct 07, 2020 |
| State | MA |
| Description | From picking up the vehicle there was a noise only on the drivers side windshield, the sound I thought was initially road noise at higher speed but it was at any speed. It became clear that the noise was air entering the vehicle through the windshield. The windshield was found to be defective and had to be replaced |
| Category | Electronic Stability Control, Vehicle Speed Control |
| Date | Oct 01, 2020 |
| State | TX |
| Description | When using vehicle remote start the vehicle malfunctions with adaptive cruise control error not allowing cruise control to work or disables randomly while using cruise control. Also causing front assist to avoid crash to disable. |
| Category | Steering, Suspension, Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Sep 24, 2020 |
| State | MI |
| Description | Steering makes creaking and noise when turning even when stopped. Dealer replaced sway bar links today via tsb. Problem not fixed, dealer test drove after fix and determined it could possibly be clockspring. Others online have similar issues, some say replacement of entire rack is required, I hope not. |
| Category | Electronic Stability Control, Service Brakes, Vehicle Speed Control |
| Date | Sep 03, 2020 |
| State | OH |
| Description | Our atlas will randomly slam on its brakes as if avoiding a collision on an empty road. The lane assist will also steer you towards obstacles (like construction barrels) and fight as your try to correct its error. Issues have all occurred while in motion traveling down a 2 or 4 lane road. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Aug 19, 2020 |
| State | CO |
| Description | Adaptive cruise control (acc) will not work if you remote started the vehicle. To get it normally work, you have to fully switch off the car and then push start it. Had the vehicle checked by vw dealer and they found nothing, then I noticed that remote start was the problem. Seem to me there should be some sort of a software update fix as it looks like there are no electric/electronic issues. |
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About the Author:
Brian Jones spent more than 20 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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