NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
What owners actually said
130 reportsMileage 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
Mileage unknown · Feb 26, 2026
Back Over PreventionFuel/propulsion SystemPower Train
Current mileage: 55,000 miles, and the warranty expired at 50,000 miles. Shortly after the expiration, a bunch of warning alerts started to pop up, along with a solid yellow check engine light. I had the error codes read, and it came back as, “P2402 SAE: EVAP System Leak Detection Pump Control Circuit: High." In order for any wo…
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Current mileage: 55,000 miles, and the warranty expired at 50,000 miles. Shortly after the expiration, a bunch of warning alerts started to pop up, along with a solid yellow check engine light. I had the error codes read, and it came back as, “P2402 SAE: EVAP System Leak Detection Pump Control Circuit: High." In order for any work to be performed, VW demands a $212 diagnostic fee in order to even determine what is wrong with the vehicle. If the EVAP pump is found to be bad as the code suggests, it would cost anywhere between $700-900 to fix. So, I took to Google to figure out what is going on. There are pages and pages of documentation from other VW drivers who have the exact same issue. So, why has it not been listed as a safety recall yet? That's what I want to know. Many VW drivers reported that they were given a warranty extension for this KNOWN issue, so I thought...that's all it would take for me to be happy. So, I called the same dealership back and was told that my vehicle is ineligible for the warranty extension even though I am experiencing the exact same issue of the people who were given the warranty extension. Many other VW customers have reported this known issue as well because VW is aware of the issue but is not doing anything about it. As far as I know, the car runs fine, but the alerts and check engine light are there every time I start up the car and never go away. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. My safety and the safety of others is put at risk every time I drive. When I get into my car, several alerts go off. Very distracting and dangerous. When I go to back out of my driveway, the backup camera works for a few seconds and then blacks out and goes back to the main screen and starts beeping new alerts. Very dangerous. As I am driving, all of the alerts are going off again, thus distracting me behind the wheel. With the codes present, it will not allow me to use remote start on either my key FOB or in the app.
NHTSA ODI #11720742
Mileage unknown · Feb 6, 2026
Unknown Or Other
My sos light has been disconnected for days and VW customer care will not put in an IT ticket until it hits a certain amount of time and then I would have to wait another 20 days to hear back from them. Not having this feature working is not safe and I also cannot use my app to start my car which is frustrating. I’m hearing it w…
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My sos light has been disconnected for days and VW customer care will not put in an IT ticket until it hits a certain amount of time and then I would have to wait another 20 days to hear back from them. Not having this feature working is not safe and I also cannot use my app to start my car which is frustrating. I’m hearing it was created by some satellite update VW pushed through causing many people to have this issue. It needs to get addressed and not at the customer’s expense which is what the dealerships are doing.
NHTSA ODI #11716211
Mileage unknown · Jan 30, 2026
Visibility/wiper
My car windshield as cracked where the rearview mirror attaches. The crack is approximately 10 inches long. This was not caused by road debris or a small pebble. Almost one year to the day this is the second, very similar windshield crack. Is there product defect inherent to the VW Atlas windshield ? Please investigate this. T…
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My car windshield as cracked where the rearview mirror attaches. The crack is approximately 10 inches long. This was not caused by road debris or a small pebble. Almost one year to the day this is the second, very similar windshield crack. Is there product defect inherent to the VW Atlas windshield ? Please investigate this. Thank you.
NHTSA ODI #11714545
38,000 miles · Jan 27, 2026
Fuel System, Gasoline
The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that on the first day the vehicle was purchased, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed th…
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The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that on the first day the vehicle was purchased, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the carbon canister and evaporative (EVAP) canister had failed. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer. The contact was informed that the carbon canister and evaporative (EVAP) canister had failed. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.
NHTSA ODI #11713756
Mileage unknown · Jan 26, 2026
Engine
While operating my vehicle, the engine shuts off and stalls unexpectedly, including while driving at low speeds. When this occurs, the vehicle loses power and must be manually restarted, creating a dangerous situation, especially in traffic. This issue began within the first year of ownership and has continued despite multiple …
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While operating my vehicle, the engine shuts off and stalls unexpectedly, including while driving at low speeds. When this occurs, the vehicle loses power and must be manually restarted, creating a dangerous situation, especially in traffic. This issue began within the first year of ownership and has continued despite multiple service visits. Early on, the dealership was unable to diagnose the issue and at times stated the condition was “normal.” Volkswagen dealerships later identified the issue as related to a defective canister / EVAP system component. The same component has required multiple repairs, including a repeat failure after the initial repair. Volkswagen issued an extended warranty covering this defect. Despite these repairs, the vehicle continues to shut off and stall, including while driving. The vehicle has also experienced remote start failures with messages instructing the driver to manually start the engine, which a dealership confirmed is related to the same defect. This creates an ongoing safety risk, particularly because I transport children in the vehicle.
NHTSA ODI #11713326
Mileage unknown · Jan 23, 2026
Engine
The oil separator / PCV system on my 2023 Volkswagen Atlas failed prematurely, causing oil leakage and abnormal crankcase pressure. This resulted in oil escaping into the engine bay and related components. Failure of this system can lead to oil contacting hot engine surfaces, potential fire risk, loss of oil pressure, and possib…
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The oil separator / PCV system on my 2023 Volkswagen Atlas failed prematurely, causing oil leakage and abnormal crankcase pressure. This resulted in oil escaping into the engine bay and related components. Failure of this system can lead to oil contacting hot engine surfaces, potential fire risk, loss of oil pressure, and possible engine damage. The defect occurred well before expected service life. Volkswagen has issued a service action related to premature oil separator/PCV failure, indicating the manufacturer was aware of this issue. However, owners were not proactively notified prior to failure. This appears to be a pattern issue affecting multiple vehicles. I am concerned about the safety implications and the risk of repeat failure even after repair.
NHTSA ODI #11712919
Mileage unknown · Nov 13, 2025
Engine
Engine turns off completely traveling at moderate speeds in drive gear while approaching and then stopped at lights or stop signs. Issue became more constant and prevalaint with time. Message then shows up " Please start engine manually P". Vehicle then has to be put in "park" and manually restarted. All this is completed in …
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Engine turns off completely traveling at moderate speeds in drive gear while approaching and then stopped at lights or stop signs. Issue became more constant and prevalaint with time. Message then shows up " Please start engine manually P". Vehicle then has to be put in "park" and manually restarted. All this is completed in a panic and a rush as your are on a road with traffic and cars behind you. Randomness and type of stall makes it difficult to document issue live and in it's entirety as it happens. Issue cannot be foreseen. This is a very dangerous situation and a accident waiting to happen. This is a known issue on this model VW commencing in prior year models as documented by thousands online on forums, chats with documented fixes. Such as one being extended warranty "VWP-23-04 on part. VW dealers visited refuse to address potential causes or related parts as issue cannot be "recreated". Have presented documentation of times and dates this has happened and pictures of dash message but since vehicle "technically" doesn't show a FAULT, issue is not being addressed by dealers. VEHICLE COMPLETELY SHUTTING OFF WHILE DRIVING IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS FOR DRIVER AND PASSENGERS, AS WELL AS OTHER DRIVERS.
NHTSA ODI #11699184
Mileage unknown · Oct 7, 2025
Engine
Complaint Summary: The PCV valve (oil separator, part number 06Q103495F) has failed twice within 20,000 miles on my 2023 Volkswagen Atlas 2.0T. The first failure occurred around 50,000 miles and was repaired under warranty. The second failure happened around 70,000 miles, after warranty expiration. Description of Issue: In both…
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Complaint Summary: The PCV valve (oil separator, part number 06Q103495F) has failed twice within 20,000 miles on my 2023 Volkswagen Atlas 2.0T. The first failure occurred around 50,000 miles and was repaired under warranty. The second failure happened around 70,000 miles, after warranty expiration. Description of Issue: In both cases, the failure was identified when the low engine oil warning light appeared, followed by visible oil leakage across the top of the engine and the catch plate area. Upon inspection, oil was found covering surrounding components, and the dealer confirmed the PCV assembly had failed and was leaking internally and externally. The PCV system is integrated into the valve cover, and when it fails, it causes crankcase pressure loss, oil blow-by, and potential engine damage or fire risk if oil contacts hot components. This is not normal wear; it’s a known recurring failure on EA888 2.0T engines used across multiple VW models. Safety Concern: A leaking PCV valve can cause: •Excessive oil consumption •Oil spray onto engine components, posing a potential fire hazard •Unstable idle or stalling due to vacuum imbalance •Risk of engine damage if crankcase pressure rises The part has been revised multiple times by Volkswagen but continues to fail prematurely. The lack of a recall or warranty extension leaves owners paying for repeated replacements of a defective component. Request: I urge NHTSA to investigate widespread premature failures of the PCV/Oil Separator assembly (06Q103495F and superseding parts) on Volkswagen EA888 Gen 3 engines used in the Atlas, Tiguan, and other VW/Audi vehicles. This appears to be a design flaw rather than a normal maintenance issue and could lead to oil fires or mechanical damage if ignored.
NHTSA ODI #11691958
Mileage unknown · Oct 5, 2025
Electrical SystemEngine
I bought the car in 2023 with 700 miles on it. Since then when coming from a stop the engine delays for about 5-10 seconds when pushing the gas, it eventually goes and happens often but not every time. Another issue is when coming to a stop the car turns off without any warning. When you try to go you have to put it back in park…
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I bought the car in 2023 with 700 miles on it. Since then when coming from a stop the engine delays for about 5-10 seconds when pushing the gas, it eventually goes and happens often but not every time. Another issue is when coming to a stop the car turns off without any warning. When you try to go you have to put it back in park and start the car again. This has happened about ten times in two years. The last couple of times it has happened more regularly and in dangerous situations. I have brought it to two different dealerships as I have a 5 year warranty. First one told me they couldn’t replicate the issue but only drove the car 1 mile. Second drive it 30 miles and also told me there was nothing they could do. I started a case with VW and they called back saying they may have an idea and i need to bring it back for a third time but they have silent since. They also refused to tell me what it was they wanted to check.
NHTSA ODI #11691477
Official recalls
5Jun 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.
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.
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).
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.
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 ↗