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2023 Volkswagen Atlas

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2023 Volkswagen Atlas do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 169.

About this comparison →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 11 of 130 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 35 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 32 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Air Bags. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

4 crash reports0 fire reports5 injury reports

Engine complaints

35 reports
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Mileage unknown · Aug 28, 2026
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemUnknown Or Other

Vehicle has issues with sputtering and stalling out when at idle and while reversing after warming up. The first time that the vehicle actually stalled while reversing, it had to be put into park and restarted. I took it to the dealership and they replaced the in tank fuel pump. When I got the car back it was still acting a litt…

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Vehicle has issues with sputtering and stalling out when at idle and while reversing after warming up. The first time that the vehicle actually stalled while reversing, it had to be put into park and restarted. I took it to the dealership and they replaced the in tank fuel pump. When I got the car back it was still acting a little strange but I thought it was just the computer relearning process. Shortly afterward (approx 100-150 miles later) it started struggling at idle again. Yesterday the vehicle again died while reversing, which required being placed into park and restarting. The idle was struggling but I was able to reverse and continue driving. The idle remained in a state of struggle, sputtering and almost dying, as well as extremely slow acceleration until I was able to get onto the highway for a bit. However, it did struggle a bit during the bumper to bumper traffic that I came upon during the drive. At highway speeds the vehicle's acceleration is fine. I am able to use the Automatic Adaptive Cruise as well as drive without the cruise feature. The temperature of the vehicle is always normal and I ensure that the fuel gage does not drop below 1/4 of a tank and if it does it is during the trip to the gas station. I only use QT gas in my vehicle.

NHTSA ODI #11760372

Mileage unknown · Aug 5, 2026
EngineFuel/propulsion System

2023 Volkswagen Atlas R-Line. While driving (moving) on a congested road the vehicle signaled "Please start engine manually" the gas pedal became unresponsive. Power steering, radio, A/C, all still worked, but I had to come to a complete stop to restart engine. The same thing has happened multiple times now with the last one bei…

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2023 Volkswagen Atlas R-Line. While driving (moving) on a congested road the vehicle signaled "Please start engine manually" the gas pedal became unresponsive. Power steering, radio, A/C, all still worked, but I had to come to a complete stop to restart engine. The same thing has happened multiple times now with the last one being in the middle of the road trying to complete a U-turn. This is incredibly dangerous for not only my family but others on the road not expecting a vehicle to stall. This has been identified by multiple other owners on-line. There is no warning or change in operation of the vehicle prior to the message coming up. This could lead to a crash, or worse a fatality.

NHTSA ODI #11755094

Mileage unknown · Jul 20, 2026
Engine

4 times now when the vehicle, 2 times while the vehicle is moving forward and 2 times while the vehicle was moving in reverse the engine has completely shut off and the car stopped moving. The dash said the engine was off and the vehicle needed to be shifted to park and the engine turned back on. During this time the vehicle als…

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4 times now when the vehicle, 2 times while the vehicle is moving forward and 2 times while the vehicle was moving in reverse the engine has completely shut off and the car stopped moving. The dash said the engine was off and the vehicle needed to be shifted to park and the engine turned back on. During this time the vehicle also lost power steering and brakes. I’ve taken it to the dealership multiple times and they could not diagnose the issue or duplicate it and tell me I need to pick the vehicle up and to just bring it back again.

NHTSA ODI #11751507

Mileage unknown · Jul 4, 2026
Electrical SystemEngineExterior Lighting

The vehicle shuts off unexpectedly. When parked or reversing. Requires the car to be put in park and then restarted.

NHTSA ODI #11748253

Mileage unknown · Jun 15, 2026
Electrical SystemEngine

This vehicle has the auto stop start feature. The engine has shut off 3 times while driving and had to be restarted with the ignition since purchasing this vehicle. Twice at a red light and once while braking in a parking lot. This has created an extremely dangerous situation in traffic. When the light turned green the vehicle w…

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This vehicle has the auto stop start feature. The engine has shut off 3 times while driving and had to be restarted with the ignition since purchasing this vehicle. Twice at a red light and once while braking in a parking lot. This has created an extremely dangerous situation in traffic. When the light turned green the vehicle would not move. The vehicle had to be shifted to park and then started with the ignition. The traffic behind us almost rear ended the vehicle. The one time while braking in a parking lot the vehicle turned off while moving and braking. Had to move the vehicle to park and then restart.

NHTSA ODI #11744100

Mileage unknown · May 19, 2026
Engine

There was a recall on my PVC part in my 2023 atlas. An effect of a clogged pvc is an oil leak. The Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) system relieves built-up pressure inside your engine. When it fails or clogs, this pressure traps air inside the crankcase. The excess pressure often forces oil out through the weakest points, …

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There was a recall on my PVC part in my 2023 atlas. An effect of a clogged pvc is an oil leak. The Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) system relieves built-up pressure inside your engine. When it fails or clogs, this pressure traps air inside the crankcase. The excess pressure often forces oil out through the weakest points, which can mimic a bad seal or gasket. I took my car to the dealership in Md and they claim that I need to get new seals on several parts of my car but they claim that my oil leak its not related to the PVC. This is a 2023 car with one owner and no previous problems. There are thousands of complaints online about the PVC part continuing to fail and continuing to cause oil leaks in consumers cars. The oil leak has also caused my driving belt to fail and in my case shred while driving. This is unsafe and makes cars slow down instantly and can cause major car accidents. Why are consumers expected to pay for seal replacements when its related to failed parts on a car. The VW dealership said that my engine light would need to be on for them to say its a result of the failed PVC but my engine light was on when I dropped my car off. The dealership said they will not replaced parts that were effected from failed PVC due to car being out of warranty. My research tells me that Volkswagen is legally responsible. Because auto manufacturers are governed by strict liability laws, they are responsible for injuries and property damage flowing from the defective product they sold.VW wants consumers to pay $842 dollars to replace a part that cost less than $20. The VW company said that I needed to get my recall repair done earlier in order for them to honor the damages however Ive never seen a recall that came with a time limits on car repairs. This is highway robbery and VW needs to be held responsible for failing to maintain accountable and damages to consumers.

NHTSA ODI #11738832

Mileage unknown · May 4, 2026
EngineFuel/propulsion System

Our Atlas’ engine will turn off unexpectedly from time to time. This usually happens when the vehicle is stopped whether it be at a stop light, stop sign, carpool, etc. We brought it to the dealership and the replaced a part and indicated it should fix it; however the problem has persisted.

NHTSA ODI #11735683

Mileage unknown · Apr 17, 2026
Electrical SystemEngine

My vehicle is a 2023 Volkswagen Atlas. It has a serious and recurring safety issue where the vehicle shuts off unexpectedly while driving. This has occurred on the freeway while driving at approximately 65–70 mph, which is extremely dangerous because the vehicle loses power while in traffic. After a previous repair at the deal…

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My vehicle is a 2023 Volkswagen Atlas. It has a serious and recurring safety issue where the vehicle shuts off unexpectedly while driving. This has occurred on the freeway while driving at approximately 65–70 mph, which is extremely dangerous because the vehicle loses power while in traffic. After a previous repair at the dealer, the issue returned again after several months. The vehicle was previously scanned with a basic diagnostic tool, but no permanent solution was found. I have contacted dealerships, but I have had difficulty receiving assistance in Spanish, and I have been ignored when requesting Spanish-speaking support. Because of this, I will need to visit in person with someone who can help me communicate in English. I travel with my child in this vehicle, and the vehicle shuts off regardless of how long I have been driving, which creates a serious safety risk. This is a major safety concern as the vehicle shuts off without warning while driving at highway speeds. I am requesting a full investigation of this issue as a potential safety defect.

NHTSA ODI #11731972

Mileage unknown · Mar 21, 2026
Engine

I am reporting a significant safety compliance issue involving a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) vehicle and the fraudulent reporting of a safety recall completion. On March 21, 2026, I attempted to purchase the vehicle listed above. This vehicle is subject to NHTSA Recall 22V753 (VW Campaign 13i4) regarding engine connecting rod fai…

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I am reporting a significant safety compliance issue involving a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) vehicle and the fraudulent reporting of a safety recall completion. On March 21, 2026, I attempted to purchase the vehicle listed above. This vehicle is subject to NHTSA Recall 22V753 (VW Campaign 13i4) regarding engine connecting rod failure. Before signing, I requested documentation proving the recall had been performed. The dealership staff repeatedly insisted that the recall "had to have been completed" as part of the CPO process. Upon my further insistence, the dealership finally admitted that the recall work had NOT been performed and stated it would "be completed on Monday." However, a check of the VIN on [XXX] and VW’s public portal shows "0 Open Recalls," indicating the dealership has officially marked this safety recall as "Closed" or "Completed" in the system despite the remedy not being applied. This dealership is actively marketing and attempting to deliver a vehicle with a known engine failure risk as "Certified" while falsifying federal safety records. This is a clear violation of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act and poses an immediate risk to any consumer who might purchase this vehicle believing the safety defect has been remedied. Vin number is [XXX] I can't personally verify that the vin number falls within the lot described, however given their response was "our bad we're doing this on Monday" I can only come to the safe conclusion in my purchase decision that it does recall this recall procedure and that they fraudulently marked this recall as completed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI #11726093

Mileage unknown · Mar 12, 2026
Electrical SystemEngineFuel/propulsion System

While driving on the highway at 65 miles per hour, my Atlas shut itself off. I had to put it into park and restart the ignition. It turned on after 2 attempts but just barely. It turned on and gave enough power to move forward very slowly but virtually no propulsion. It turned on briefly, I pressed the gas and then it shut off …

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While driving on the highway at 65 miles per hour, my Atlas shut itself off. I had to put it into park and restart the ignition. It turned on after 2 attempts but just barely. It turned on and gave enough power to move forward very slowly but virtually no propulsion. It turned on briefly, I pressed the gas and then it shut off but had enough to cruise to get to the shoulder across the highway. There was no shoulder next to the lane I was in. Luckily the cars around me saw that I put my hazzard lights on immediately and did the same. Once at the shoulder, tho the system had shut down again... the Atlas suddenly engaged and sped up on its own. The control panel of the car was "resetting" itself still from the initial shutdown. The system appeared to reboot itself after putting into park and pushing the ignition button. And was still "processing" while I attempted to get it to the side of the road while it shutdown again. Once it was "rebooted" that's when the system appeared to "catch" and the car "sped up" by itself. Once all that happened, probably in the span of 5 minutes or so, I was able to drive 15 miles away safely to a gas station, turned off the car, got gas and it re-started like nothing had happened and drive fine home, about 2 miles further. The instrument panel including map and "driving screen" has shut down before while driving a few times, but never anything with the engine. While stopped at a light a few times, the car has previously "shut itself off" and restarted fine after being put into park and restarting ignition. This is by far the worst and most dangerous experience I've had that could have resulted in a fatal collision, had the cars around me not also been paying close attention and helped me out by slowing behind me and creating awareness for others approaching at 65-75 MPH as well.

NHTSA ODI #11723790

Official recalls

5

25V434000 · Service Brakes; Suspension

Jun 30, 2025

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport and 2023-2024 ID.4 vehicles. Certain bolts on the chassis, brake system and/or suspension (such as bolts for certain cross member, engine mount, control arm, subframe, rear brake carrier, etc.) of affected vehicles may not have been correctly tightened during the manufacturing process.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A loss of vehicle control increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the bolts as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 25, 2025. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42HX.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Suspension

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport and 2023-2024 ID.4 vehicles. Certain bolts on the chassis, brake system and/or suspension (such as bolts for certain cross member, engine mount, control arm, subframe, rear brake carrier, etc.) of affected vehicles may not have been correctly tightened during the manufacturing process.

Consequence: A loss of vehicle control increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the bolts as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 25, 2025. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42HX.

Service Brakes

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport and 2023-2024 ID.4 vehicles. Certain bolts on the chassis, brake system and/or suspension (such as bolts for certain cross member, engine mount, control arm, subframe, rear brake carrier, etc.) of affected vehicles may not have been correctly tightened during the manufacturing process.

Consequence: A loss of vehicle control increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the bolts as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 25, 2025. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42HX.

24V464000 · 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.

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).

22V718000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:hoses, Lines/piping, And Fittings

Sep 26, 2022

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2023 model year Atlas FL and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. Certain brake lines may leak at the threaded connections.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A brake fluid leak may increase the distance required to stop, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the affected brake lines, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on November 23, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 47T2.

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

1

PE23017 · 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.