Complaint volume
456 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2019 Volkswagen Atlas Complaints
456 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas, grouped by component category.
456 Total complaints
7 Crash reports
0 Fire reports
9 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are air bags, forward collision avoidance, service brakes. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 7 crash reports, 0 fire reports, 9 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 135 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 20,040 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to air bags, forward collision avoidance, service brakes?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2019 Volkswagen Atlas?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2019 Volkswagen Atlas
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas complaints?
7 Crash
0 Fire
9 Injury
0 Fatality
7 Towed
4 Medical attention
What are the most common 2019 Volkswagen Atlas complaint categories?
AIR BAGS 110
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 36
SERVICE BRAKES 26
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 26
STEERING 21
ENGINE 19
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 12
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 12
POWER TRAIN 12
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 8
456 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the Forward Collision Avoidance Emergency Automatic Braking engaged and the vehicle came to an abrupt stop. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the mechanic mentioned an unknown wiring harness that might be the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 72,000 |
| Sep 2022 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | While driving my 2019 Volkswagen Atlas, there was a sudden and significant loss of power accompanied by a check engine light and "ECP" warning light. My engine was sputtering and and would not accelerate. I immediately needed to pull off the road as it was not safe for other drivers. I turned the car off and then back on. The "ECP" light went away but the CEL remained and the engine still had a noticeable sputter. I brought my car to a local VW dealer for inspection. They diagnosed the issue as a faulty fuel injector that needed immediate replacement. Any further damage could cause a fuel leak which may lead to a fire hazard. They told me this was a known issue with VW Atlas'. After doing some further research, I see that an NHTSA investigation has already been issued regarding this issue. There are multiple Atlas owners who have reported the exact same issue. I reported this to VW customer service today and they told me they did not consider this a widespread issue, and until a recall is issued, there is nothing they can/will do. There have been no issues with the car prior to this, and this issue occurred out of the blue. It is extremely frustrating because, not only is this resulting in an insanely expensive repair, but my son was in the car with me when the car suddenly lost power on a busy highway. This is a significant issue impacting a larger population of VW owners. Thankfully for us, this was caught before there was a major fuel leak and danger of fire like many others have reported. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES | I was travelling at about 60 mph on a two lane road with no area to pull over. The car all the sudden slowed and to keep speed required alot more rpm. I found a place to pull over. I saw no lights but as I tried to get back on the road the traction control light came on. I thought it was because I was in some dirt. But as tried to get back to speed the car started to smell, was very sluggish, and required more power than ever before to come close. I pulled over again to find that the brakes were smoking. From my estimate the brakes were on this whole time. I shut the car down and then everything was fine again, if I left my foot off the gas and had the car in drive it would slowly move forward. Then the whole thing happened again, I could tell the behavior because the car would drop speed and then engine would be reving trying to keep speed. I pulled over again to restart the car to get it back to normal. This whole process at least 4 more times. Sometimes it happened after braking for a little bit and other times withoutbdping anything. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS | Without warning the airbag error light has come on | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1. The SUV battery will die at any given time. I've replaced it twice already 2. The care will give the all red notification that you're about to get in an accident, the car will then break fast then turn off | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | Problem first started in April 2022, start/stop malfunction, then the engine light would come on and car would decelerate until I pull over to the side of the road and turn off the engine. Once it restarted then it was okay. Brought it to the Dealer and they fixed it. Got the car back and it was working fine. However we noticed that the car RPMs would go up when pressing on the brake. Then in July into August while driving on the toll-roads at 65-70 mph, car engine would make straining noise then ETC and engine light come on, then the car decelerate. We press on the gas pedal and it would not pick up speed. It drastically reduced speed from 70 mph to 55mph. We would have to move to the shoulder and turn car off. Wait then then start the car. The car would be fine for another 2 weeks, before doing same thing. Finally on 8/26/22 it did same thing reduced speed on toll-road, would not pick up speed, ETC and Engine light came on with radiator light. But then it also overheated. We drove it home at 15mph. Then had it towed to dealer to be fixed, the radiator light was still on. We are hoping that this time it will be fixed and not cause any more trouble. Dealer is working on fixing the problems. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the windows would engage independently and roll down. The contact was unable to roll the windows up. The contact stated that the failure occurred increasingly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the failure was associated with NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V152000 (Air Bags) and the VIN was included. The dealer replaced the doors control module and the front door wiring harness; however, the failure reoccurred. Additionally, the contact stated while driving with or without cruise control activated, the automatic emergency braking (AEB) system would engage inadvertently. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH with the Adaptive Cruise Control activated, the vehicle stopped independently. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal and resumed normal driving. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the failure was associated with NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V152000 (Air Bags); however, the remedy repair failed to fix the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 15,000 |
| Aug 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The issue does not occur while I am driving at speed. It begins to happen when I am coming to a stop. The warning on the info center in the dash starts to beep and shows an image of the car with blinking lines saying I am about to hit something. This is while I am sitting at either a stop sign with nothing again NOTHING in front of me. A couple of times it has slammed the brakes on it. I have taken videos of this going on showing the image in the info and than showing that nothing is in front of me. I have had the vehicle to two dealers and their statement is that the car is not throwing a code. This past week The latest dealer got VW to replace the sensors. When I picked up the car as soon as I put it into gear it started again. I was frustrated and tired. My wife was already on her way home so I just left the dealer with the car. I bought the car new. No accidents. The only work has always been done at a dealer. This is a safety hazard as like I said it has slammed the brakes on it a couple of times. This only seems to happen when the temps are above 85 or so. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | When driving the forward collision warning comes on, beeps loudly and applies the vehicle brakes when nothing is in front of the vehicle. This caused someone to almost run into the rear of my vehicle. Also, if I use the automatic start feature of my vehicle, the cruise control feature is not available once the car is in motion and will not work until the car has been shut off and restart via the start button inside the car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On eight occasions this morning the faulty brake booster light has come on and the ABS light and brake light are also on inside my vehicle. The brakes are squishy and almost don’t feel like they work to 50% capacity. They are jerky and click and does not seem like a simple antilock braking system problem. This is happened randomly over the last three years that I’ve owned this vehicle. But it has never happened this many times consecutively in the short period of time. I’m afraid for the safety of driving this vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | AIR BAGS | THE AIR BAG LIGHT HAS BEEN ON SINCE I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP 2 MONTHS AGO. I WAS TOLD THAT IT NEEDED A NEW AIRBAG BUT I NEED TO WAIT BECAUSE THEY DIDNT HAVE ANY IN STOCK. THEY TOLD ME THAT IT COULD TAKE MORE THEN 1 MONTH TO GET THE AIR BAG. I TOLD THEM IF I COULD LEAVE THE VEHICLE UNTIL IT WAS FIXED BECAUSE I DIDNT FEEL SAFE DRIVING A VEHICLE THAT HAD THE AIR BAG LIGHT ON ON MY DASHBOARD AND NEED A NEW AIRBAG. THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE ANY VEHICLE AVAILABLE TO LEND ME ONE AND THAT IT WASNT UNSAFE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE EVEN IF IT NEED A NEW AIR BAG AND WITH THE DASH BOARD LIGHT ON SAYING AIR BAG NEED SERVICE. I WANT TO KNOW IF I CAN REQUEST THE DEALER TO LEND ME A VEHICLE AND LEAVE MINE WITH THEM UNTIL ITS FIXED? CONTACT INFORMATION: [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | AIR BAGS | The front passenger air bag light comes on indicating the air bag is off even when someone is sitting in that seat. An error light showes a warning on the dashboard when the deactivated air bag light is on but it will go off eventually for a while. I called VW directly & they said to "Google" it! We took it to a dealer & they couldn't offer an explanation only suggesting I check for a recall. My concern is that any passengers are not protected. I believe there is an issue with this vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The vehicle had a warning come up on the dashboard, the warning was as follows: “Brake Booster Faulty”. The brakes then felt like ABS was engaged (brake pedal pulsating) and the brakes fully engaged and took the car to a full and complete stop from 20 miles per hour. After turning the car off and back on the warning had gone away and we continued on. The warning then came on two additional times during the same trip and instead of stopping the car, the brakes would pulse and not work as well as should be expected. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Brakes did not work as expected and slammed themselves, had this occurred on the freeway that could have caused a pile up. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? No, but it has happened on multiple occasions and the dealer told us it was fixed previously. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Currently being inspected by the dealer. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? As noted the “Brake booster faulty” error flashes on the dashboard when this problem occurs. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | STEERING | Steering Wheel column fully locked while parked. Was not able to turn the car on as the steering wheel had issues. Had to call a tow company to take it to the dealership for repairs. They had to replace the steering wheel column module. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while waiting in a drive-thru line with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle lurched forward crashing into the vehicle in front. The contact stated that she attempted to shift into the park however, the vehicle shifted to reverse while the brake pedal was still depressed and the vehicle crashed into the vehicle in the rear. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that no one was injured. A police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where no failure cause could be determined as well as the failure was unable to be duplicated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact was awaiting a callback. The approximate failure was 29,900. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | 29,900 |
| May 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES | I originally had this "wiring harness" repaired on 4/22/21 because the car went wacky. This repair was done at Hendrick VW in Concord NC. In March 2022 I began to have issues again. I was on the way to the same dealer to have the oil changed and the vehicle randomly just slammed on brakes while driving. I informed Olga at the dealership and was told it was the wiring harness again. They had no clue when the harness would be in because it was backordered. May 11, 2022 while driving at approximately 40 miles per hour on a BUSY major road, my vehicle engaged the emergency brake and suddenly stopped. Multiple people slammed on brakes and swerved to avoid hitting me almost killing me. i took it to the same dealer and informed them it almost killed me, they were real quick to replace the harness again (although there was none in stock anywhere) and got me and out of the shop. i opened a case with volkswagen who told me they werent going to do anything about it because it hasnt been repaired 3 times and it wasnt in the shop 10 days, although i told them as well the car almost killed me. they are refusing to do anything and i dont feel safe in my car but have no choice | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | AIR BAGS,PARKING BRAKE | Thos vehicle has opened the rear hatch on two separate occasions, which was confirmed as an issue by both the local dealer, McLarty Volkswagen in North Little Rock, and Volkswagen Corporate. The airbag light is constantly on, and the parking brake may engage randomly. Volkswagen Corporate told us to "drive it as long as you feel comfortable with it, or just park it, but there isn't a plan and new parts can take 4-6 months to be ready." They also said no loaner vehicles are available due to the large amount of issues they are having. This is unacceptable as my wife and children ride in this vehicle daily and put their lives on the line with these issues. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My 2019 Atlas is showing many of the same symptoms of the current Atlas recall, but it isn’t listed on the site. My airbag light is flashing, the adaptive cruise control states that it isn’t available, and many other electrical systems have been failing. The problem began today. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The vehicle engaged the parking brake when there was nothing in front of me. This happened twice in one day. I currently have it at the VW dealership. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES | I was sitting at a stoplight when the vehicles in front of me started moving forward. I took my foot off the break so that I could roll forward slowly and my emergency brake engaged without me pushing the emergency brake button. At first I thought I had been hit from behind because I was jolted forward but when I looked at my dash the red PARK light was lit. And then turned off on its own. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES | 1. I was driving towards a stop sign at about 15-20mph(school zone) and all of a sudden the vehicle slammed its brakes and shut off. The dashboards’ lights were all on. Vehicle motor was no longer on. I had cars behind me and my children in the car, so I had to quickly put the car back in Park and turn the car back on via push start. I know there has been a recall out for this door harness issue, however my vin is not showing to be part of it. As I believe it should. 2. The Airbag Error is also intermittently been popping up on the dashboard. I have had these checked out at Findlay Volkswagen however they couldn’t reproduce the problem. There were no warning lamps that popped up before the problems occurred. I am the main transport for my children, and I can not risk any problems with them in the vehicle. These need to be in recalls! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | I bought the car new 2 years ago and the issues began around 11k miles and have continued every several months to it is current 45k mileage. On 4 occasions my car has powered down while driving speeds approximately 60mph and began shaking with the EPC and check engine light becoming illuminated. Of those occasions, 3 of which I was able to get the car to the side of the road and restart it to get to a servicer. 1 of those times I had to have to towed. On the fifth occasion the car began shaking and worsened with accelaration with both the check engine and epc light on. The dealer has only changed a coil to date. Other occasions they repaired recalls in hopes of stopping. Several times I have been told it was a misfire and they could not pinpoint the issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the sunroof glass detached from the sunroof frame. the contact pulled over to the side roadway before driving to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 25,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 25,000 |
| Apr 2022 | AIR BAGS | Airbag error came on 4/22/22. I looked up issue and noticed a recall for 2020 and 2021 models and a secondary recall that will be issued in May 2022 that is for 2019++models. I called VW Lee's Summit to have the recall issue(s) addressed and due to my VIN not being apart of a recall YET, and being over the mileage warranty, the dealership told me that I would have to pay a diagnostic and repair fee associated with the problem. I called VW Customer Care and the representative (Case No. 05192733) was very helpful, however had her hands tied to help me because I'm in a position of in-between recall notices and over mileage. This issue with the airbag is critical and I had hoped the dealership would have me come in, fix the issue and escalate to VW Corporate for reimbursement of costs. Desired solution would be adding my VIN to recall list and immediately having service. If the addition to the list is such that it is not expeditious, the safety concern should immediately be addressed and the dealership should seek reimbursement/payment from VW. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Front passenger side tire on vehicle ruptured after the driver struck a rock in the road during the morning commute. Driver stopped vehicle and changed damaged tire using the provided spare tire. The spare tire provided with the vehicle by Volkswagen is not a full-sized spare. Upon continuing the commute, the car began to malfunction. The electronic stability control featured engaged, braking the car to almost a stop. Driver was unable to accelerate. Each time acceleration was attempted the electronic stability control would engage causing the car to come to almost a complete stop. The tire air pressure sensors were also malfunctioning with the spare. In order to get the car safely to the destination, the driver had to manually turn off the electronic stability control feature and reset the air pressure sensors. This practice had to be completed each time the car was started. However, the driver discontinued using the car until the tire could be replaced. Once the tire was replaced, the car systems went back to driving normally. Volkswagen should recall these cars and provide a full-size spare tire as the VW Atlas is basically nonoperational on the small spare tire provided. It puts the driver of the vehicle in a very unsafe situation., | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |