We have encountered two recalls (one that we are still expecting a fix for) and multiple issues with our VW Atlas that we purchased new in June 2022
2022 Volkswagen Atlas
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2022 Volkswagen Atlas do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 169.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Atlas years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 14 of 181 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Engine. Review the 50 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes. Review the 46 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 44 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Unknown Or Other complaints
25 reportsThe auto start function shuts my car off when I am stopped for a certain amount of time and will not turn back on. The first time it happened I was 10/7/2024 at a stop light in traffic and took it to the dealership to only be told it was a battery issue. I got the battery replaced and have since experienced the issue 3 more t…
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The auto start function shuts my car off when I am stopped for a certain amount of time and will not turn back on. The first time it happened I was 10/7/2024 at a stop light in traffic and took it to the dealership to only be told it was a battery issue. I got the battery replaced and have since experienced the issue 3 more times. The night before Thanksgiving at midnight I was stopped on a hill where I could not shift my car in neutral. I had to sit on the road for 40 minutes before I could get my car back on. On the back country roads going to work(12/14), I again experienced the car shutting off at a stop light in the middle lane. I called the dealership to set up an appointment. They said they ran a diagnostic test on the car and only found the battery needed to be replaced. Nothing else. No matter where I am if I fail to manually turn off the auto start feature I risk my car randomly shutting off on me and not turning back on. I have maintained the maintenance on my car. There are no lights on until the auto start stops my car from turning on I will get an EPC light. Once the car sits for a while, I can start my car and the light doesn’t come back on. This is a major issue and I believe this is truly a manufacturing issue that should be resolved immediately.
Since I've had this car in 2022, it continues to misfire and decelerate randomly. Car starts shaking violently and slows down while in traffic causing me to have to figure out a way to get to the side of the road and turn the car off for a while. Vehicle has been taken in various times about this issue since purchase with no r…
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Since I've had this car in 2022, it continues to misfire and decelerate randomly. Car starts shaking violently and slows down while in traffic causing me to have to figure out a way to get to the side of the road and turn the car off for a while. Vehicle has been taken in various times about this issue since purchase with no resolution. I usually get an Error: Start/Stop message, EPC light and sometimes the check engine light will come on. The dealer states that they couldn't reproduce the problem but when I had an oil change and they had the car running it happened, I called a tech to look at it and he just cut the car off. He says if you cut it off and it starts again, you're good. Except I am not good, the car isn't reliable. Every time they fix something, something else breaks but nothing can be done about this issue. Happens randomly but sometimes more often. Multiple times a day.
Fuel, gas tank , start-stop, ignition faulty filter and fuel tank collapsing on itself. Diagnosed at dealership. Car stalled in road, at intersections and inability to start , almost rear-ended , and side collision at traffic lights. (With Children in car) break won't compress to start vehicle. They say they know of problem but…
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Fuel, gas tank , start-stop, ignition faulty filter and fuel tank collapsing on itself. Diagnosed at dealership. Car stalled in road, at intersections and inability to start , almost rear-ended , and side collision at traffic lights. (With Children in car) break won't compress to start vehicle. They say they know of problem but don't have parts on hand to fix . And no recall cause they can't determine which ones got faulty parts so seen at dealership. Key fob battery was replaced and epc light came on. Immediately stalled in traffic. Wednesday 28th of August.
Panoramic Sunroof on VW Atlas spontaneously exploded. It is at the dealership currently for repair which I was told was an "outside" force that hit it, which is not true! My entire family was in the car while we had to be out of our house for a showing and while returning home we heard what sounded like a gunshot and glass brea…
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Panoramic Sunroof on VW Atlas spontaneously exploded. It is at the dealership currently for repair which I was told was an "outside" force that hit it, which is not true! My entire family was in the car while we had to be out of our house for a showing and while returning home we heard what sounded like a gunshot and glass breaking. I started shaking and my husband's ears started ringing it was so loud. I immediately, looked around and asked my kids if they were ok, and they stated yes. We looked up and as we heard wind and above our heads we saw the sunroof explosion. If we didn't have the sunroof shade shut glass would have rained in on us while we drove down the road. The dealership and VW refuse to take responsibility for the $4300+ repair. I was forced to claim it on my insurance which I assume was going to take care of it after reading numerous other reports that the dealer wouldn't take responsibility. There was no prior notice there was any issue with the vehicle.
Navigation system is useless. Constantly telling me I’m on a road I’m not actually on. Thousands of people with the same issue in forums online and VW does not appear to know how to fix. Seems to be a CarPlay/navigation issue. Maps are wrong regardless if phone is connected. Reset of infotainment only fixes problem for a fe…
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Navigation system is useless. Constantly telling me I’m on a road I’m not actually on. Thousands of people with the same issue in forums online and VW does not appear to know how to fix. Seems to be a CarPlay/navigation issue. Maps are wrong regardless if phone is connected. Reset of infotainment only fixes problem for a few minutes. Currently it tells me I’m driving off road in the middle of a lake, although the car is currently parked in my driveway.
The atlas has shit off mid drive twice so far. Once with the auto shut off button turned off and once not turned off. It cause the vehicle to suddenly brake and nearly get my family rear ended. Many times it detects objects not there and tries braking in the middle of intersections, while making turns nearly causing us to be t…
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The atlas has shit off mid drive twice so far. Once with the auto shut off button turned off and once not turned off. It cause the vehicle to suddenly brake and nearly get my family rear ended. Many times it detects objects not there and tries braking in the middle of intersections, while making turns nearly causing us to be tboned. It is not worth my families life so it is currently sitting at the dealership No lights are on the dashboard at this time
The infotainment system which displays the backup camera does not come on when the vehicle is started. It can take from 3 to 15 minutes to come on. The dealer has reset the system. They then told us a couple “hacks to try” like putting the parking brake in and off several times. No of this works and they say since NHTSA have not…
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The infotainment system which displays the backup camera does not come on when the vehicle is started. It can take from 3 to 15 minutes to come on. The dealer has reset the system. They then told us a couple “hacks to try” like putting the parking brake in and off several times. No of this works and they say since NHTSA have not issued a recall the can not do anything. This issues means the vehicle if frequently backed up without the back up camera an important safety feature. Could you please issue a recall so they will finally do. The issues
1. Dealer has accepted the problem and indicated they are unable to do anything, that all Atlas do the brake screetching and sensors going off with no reason. 2. Brakes- Everytime at starting the car in the morning or around 15 to 30 minutes after use (parked), they screech and it feels as if the pads slide and not truly break.…
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1. Dealer has accepted the problem and indicated they are unable to do anything, that all Atlas do the brake screetching and sensors going off with no reason. 2. Brakes- Everytime at starting the car in the morning or around 15 to 30 minutes after use (parked), they screech and it feels as if the pads slide and not truly break. This happens always along with a water-like gargling sound. The screeching also makes the sensors go off. The concern is the safety as you can feel the breaks do not respond the same when this happens vs after using three or four stops. You can feel and hearvhow the pads slide and the car has difficulty breaking. 2. The left side sensors of the mirror and side of car go off random and it is annoying to say the least. The safety issue is that when you are driving, reaching a stop and they go off, it can somewhat scare you and you then hit the breaks thinking something is really there being sensed by the sensors. This could cause an accident. I have videos of the sensors problem showing how even though there is nothing around, they go off. I alao have videos of the breaks making the noice.
While driving in stop and go city traffic with the auto start/stop disengaged, the vehicle completely shut off while in drive. After releasing the brakes to proceed in traffic I was unable to control the vehicle or accelerate. The vehicle indicated that it needed to be placed in park and started manually. During this time there …
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While driving in stop and go city traffic with the auto start/stop disengaged, the vehicle completely shut off while in drive. After releasing the brakes to proceed in traffic I was unable to control the vehicle or accelerate. The vehicle indicated that it needed to be placed in park and started manually. During this time there was no control of the vehicle. The passengers were at risk of a disabled vehicle in city traffic and the vehicle inappropriately turned off. Since owning the vehicle this incident has occurred several times (approximately 7 times over 2 years). It has also occurred in inclined surfaces where the vehicle continues to roll and cannot be controlled until placed in park and restarted. The vehicle has been serviced by the dealership on multiple occasions and diagnosed for this concern. There is no solution from the dealership. The primary concern is safety.
Official recalls
724V464000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger
Jun 20, 2024
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Atlas and 2020-2024 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The passenger occupant detection system (PODS) may experience a fault in the wiring and deactivate the front passenger air bag when the seat is occupied.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the PODS sensor mat and wiring harness, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 30, 2024. Owner notification letters will be mailed in phases, on October 18, 2024, December 10, 2024, December 20, 2024, and January 17, 2025. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69PZ.
22V807000 · Suspension:critical Fasteners
Oct 26, 2022
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Volkswagen Atlas FL and 2022-2023 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The driver-side rear trailing arm bolts may not have been tightened properly, allowing them to loosen and fall out.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Unsecured bolts may cause the trailing arm to fracture, resulting in a sudden loss of vehicle control and increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the driver side rear trailing arm bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 25, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42M2.
22V753000 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:hard Parts Internal/mechanical
Oct 7, 2022
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Audi Q5 Sportback, Q5, 2022-2023 Volkswagen Atlas FL, and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The engine connecting rod bearings may become damaged, which can result in engine failure.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A damaged engine can result in engine failure and a stall, increasing the risk of a crash. If the engine failure causes an oil leak, it can increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace an affected engine, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 6, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 13i4 (VW) and 13i5 (Audi).
22V657000 · Trailer Hitches
Aug 31, 2022
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The trailer hitch bolts may have been insufficiently tightened.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Loose bolts may fall out, causing the remaining bolts to break, which could lead to separation of the trailer hitch and trailer, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will tighten the trailer hitch bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 28, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 66N8.
22V514000 · Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera; Equipment:electrical:infotainment:software
Jul 20, 2022
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Golf GTI, Jetta GLI, Jetta NF, Arteon FL, Tiguan LWB, 2022 Taos, Jetta PA, Tiguan PA, 2021-2022 Atlas Cross Sport, and Atlas FL vehicles. The manufacturing process of the eMMC memory module in the infotainment system may cause the rearview camera image not to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A rearview camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will update the infotainment software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 16, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91DV.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Equipment:electrical:infotainment:software
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Golf GTI, Jetta GLI, Jetta NF, Arteon FL, Tiguan LWB, 2022 Taos, Jetta PA, Tiguan PA, 2021-2022 Atlas Cross Sport, and Atlas FL vehicles. The manufacturing process of the eMMC memory module in the infotainment system may cause the rearview camera image not to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Consequence: A rearview camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will update the infotainment software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 16, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91DV.
Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Golf GTI, Jetta GLI, Jetta NF, Arteon FL, Tiguan LWB, 2022 Taos, Jetta PA, Tiguan PA, 2021-2022 Atlas Cross Sport, and Atlas FL vehicles. The manufacturing process of the eMMC memory module in the infotainment system may cause the rearview camera image not to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Consequence: A rearview camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will update the infotainment software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 16, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91DV.
22V245000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:fuel Injection System:injectors
Apr 13, 2022
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Atlas FL and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The long fuel injectors may have been assembled without filters.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Long fuel injectors with missing filters may leak fuel, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the long fuel injectors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 20, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 24iD.
22V152000 · Air Bags:side/window
Mar 28, 2022
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Atlas, 2020-2023 Atlas Cross Sport, and 2021-2023 Atlas FL vehicles. The door wiring harness electrical contacts may corrode, disrupting the electrical connection and delaying the deployment of the driver or passenger front side air bag during a side impact crash.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A delayed air bag deployment can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will secure and, as necessary, replace any the front door wiring harnesses showing a fault code, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 20, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 97GF.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
1PE23017 · Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking
Opened Sep 28, 2023 · Closed Dec 18, 2024
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Forward Collision Avoidance; Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking
On September 28, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE23017) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the Front Assist automatic emergency braking (AEB) system in model year (MY) 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles.The reports alleged that activation of the AEB system occurred while driving with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's forward path, resulting in sudden vehicle deceleration. Volkswagen indicated that it is aware of a total of 292 reports that may relate to the alleged defect in MY 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles.Volkswagen stated that some customers possibly had an inadequate understanding of Front Assist and its limitations. However, many consumer complaints alleged that Volkswagen dealerships were unable to reproduce the condition or Volkswagen dealerships informed the consumers that this braking is considered normal Front Assist operation. ODI's analysis shows that MY 2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles have the highest rate of unique incident reports alleging AEB inadvertent activation when compared to their Volkswagen peers.The rate of unique incident reports alleging AEB inadvertent activation in MY 2018 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles was comparable to their Volkswagen peers. To date, ODI has received a total of 69 consumer complaints of inadvertent activation of Front Assist in MY 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. In total, ODI reviewed 264 unique (i.e., non-duplicative Vehicle Identification Numbers) reports that may relate to the alleged defect, which include eight reports of incidents involving an alleged injury and two reports involving a crash. PE23017 has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA24004) to further assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety related consequences of the inadvertent AEB activations in MY 2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking
On September 28, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE23017) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the Front Assist automatic emergency braking (AEB) system in model year (MY) 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles.The reports alleged that activation of the AEB system occurred while driving with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's forward path, resulting in sudden vehicle deceleration. Volkswagen indicated that it is aware of a total of 292 reports that may relate to the alleged defect in MY 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles.Volkswagen stated that some customers possibly had an inadequate understanding of Front Assist and its limitations. However, many consumer complaints alleged that Volkswagen dealerships were unable to reproduce the condition or Volkswagen dealerships informed the consumers that this braking is considered normal Front Assist operation. ODI's analysis shows that MY 2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles have the highest rate of unique incident reports alleging AEB inadvertent activation when compared to their Volkswagen peers.The rate of unique incident reports alleging AEB inadvertent activation in MY 2018 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles was comparable to their Volkswagen peers. To date, ODI has received a total of 69 consumer complaints of inadvertent activation of Front Assist in MY 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. In total, ODI reviewed 264 unique (i.e., non-duplicative Vehicle Identification Numbers) reports that may relate to the alleged defect, which include eight reports of incidents involving an alleged injury and two reports involving a crash. PE23017 has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA24004) to further assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety related consequences of the inadvertent AEB activations in MY 2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
Forward Collision Avoidance
On September 28, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE23017) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the Front Assist automatic emergency braking (AEB) system in model year (MY) 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles.The reports alleged that activation of the AEB system occurred while driving with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's forward path, resulting in sudden vehicle deceleration. Volkswagen indicated that it is aware of a total of 292 reports that may relate to the alleged defect in MY 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles.Volkswagen stated that some customers possibly had an inadequate understanding of Front Assist and its limitations. However, many consumer complaints alleged that Volkswagen dealerships were unable to reproduce the condition or Volkswagen dealerships informed the consumers that this braking is considered normal Front Assist operation. ODI's analysis shows that MY 2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles have the highest rate of unique incident reports alleging AEB inadvertent activation when compared to their Volkswagen peers.The rate of unique incident reports alleging AEB inadvertent activation in MY 2018 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles was comparable to their Volkswagen peers. To date, ODI has received a total of 69 consumer complaints of inadvertent activation of Front Assist in MY 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. In total, ODI reviewed 264 unique (i.e., non-duplicative Vehicle Identification Numbers) reports that may relate to the alleged defect, which include eight reports of incidents involving an alleged injury and two reports involving a crash. PE23017 has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA24004) to further assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety related consequences of the inadvertent AEB activations in MY 2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
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