Complaint volume
433 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
2021 Volkswagen Atlas Complaints
433 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Volkswagen Atlas, grouped by component category.
433 Total complaints
8 Crash reports
1 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 exterior lighting, air bags, unknown or other. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 8 crash reports, 1 fire report, 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 36 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 21,554 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to exterior lighting, air bags, unknown or other?
- 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 2021 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.
2021 Volkswagen Atlas
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2021 Volkswagen Atlas complaints?
8 Crash
1 Fire
9 Injury
0 Fatality
10 Towed
6 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Volkswagen Atlas complaint categories?
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 47
AIR BAGS 37
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 33
ENGINE 28
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 25
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 25
SERVICE BRAKES 22
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 13
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 11
STRUCTURE 11
433 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Warning lights and alarms would go off, the driver’s side windows would roll down and the car would suddenly brake while in traffic. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact discovered that her vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V152000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was notified of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact was referred to the manufacturer but was offered no additional assistance. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | Parking brake automatically turns on while driving. This has put me at risk for accident when pulling out across traffic where my car stops mid acceleration or coming to a stop sign where my car stops early. Not confirmed by a dealer but has been reproduced multiple times. Has not been inspected. No warnings of this issue prior to the occurence. In addition my windows automatically roll down out of no where and my alarm system automatically goes off as well as an error with the automatic stop/start feature. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES | Phantom breaking, vehicle alerts, windows rolling down, driver side door not opening, parking break engages, windows stop working. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | Issue started 3months ago. Door contact error popped up on dash, then drivers back window rolled down. Happened 3 times in 1 day, then stopped. Now, March 22nd, issue came back plus more. 1st i couldnt open my drivers doors front and back, from the outside. Doors were unlocked. I had to climb over from passenger side to get in and open the door. Then driving the dash would beep, no error, then back drivers window would roll down half way on its own. When I stopped at stop signs or lights, everything went crazy. Dash errors would flash up and beep, “ATTENTION ENGINE IS RUNNING”, “STOP AND START ERROR”, “DOOR CONTACT ERROR”, “FAULTY PARKING BREAK ERROR”, then the back drivers window would roll down again. I immediately called and set up an appointment. I researched problem to see if others had this issue and saw the recall. When the dealership seemed not to care, I drove there And showed them the video I took of my dashboard. The service guy took the report and said he would order a door contact wire thing, but he didnt address the other issues i had or how it relates to the recall. He said he would call the next day and didnt. I called him today, 3/24 and he said the door contact part is on backorders. He offered me to take my car home until the part is in. Im reporting this because of the nonchalant, non critical the service department seems to have with this dangerous issue. My Atlas has only 7,500 miles and i use it to drive my kids. I would not have purchased such an unsafe vehicle, especially when it cant be fixed. Its a danger to my family and others on the road! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | On 3/14/22 took my car in to the dealership with the following problems, window opening on their own car braking on its own at low speed, driver door functions not working and a bunch of warning lights coming on. Took my car out the same day and was working fine until 3/23/22 when all the problems i mentioned above started happening again. On the first visit the tech replaced the door latch for the driver front door cleared codes and rechecked. The tech also found 3 error codes U105400: information electronics control module 1 no communications U019900: Lost communications with " door control module A" B177501: Door warning light/entry light electrical error. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES | Problem started initially with random safety alarms and lights going off. Then alerts that door was open, or Advanced Driver Assistance Systems were not available. Then windows would roll down, for no reason. This happened within the first 2,000 miles of driving. Then on February 19, 2021 after multiple alarms going off, the car initiated the emergency brake while I was driving in a parking lot. My car stopped on it's own, suddenly. Luckily there was no one behind me. There are 7,500 miles on the car when the emergency brake incident occurred. I took it to the dealer the next day and was told since the car stopped at such a slow speed it should be safe to drive. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The vehicle slams the breaks while breaking, it is very violent and hurts my back when it does it. This would be the second time this same part had been replaced when it finally gets replaced. I have several close encounters with people almost rear ending me due to the sudden stops | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My 2021.5 Atlas had experienced issues with window rolling down and parking break initiated as I was coming to a stop on Jan 3 2022. Dealership told me the harness needed to be replaced and they think I was ok to drive and would contact me when the part was in. Fast forward a month later I could barely drive as it kept breaking, I was driving and accelerating on to an expressway going almost 50 mph and the break initiated jolting my car (it felt like I had been hit). And I almost was as my collision alert went off when someone almost rear ended me! I drove straight to enterprise and had my atlas towed to the dealership-were it is still sitting. I have heard there is a recall yet when I enter my vin my vehicle is not listed on the recall so not sure how accurate they are able to find out which vehicles have this issue. My car literally had 9000 miles and is not drivable and not safe. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | On four occasions, (at a stop light/intersection, in a car line, in a drive thru, and in a parking lot), the engine has shut off while driving. All four times, I have been in Drive and the car will stall and a "start engine manually" message pops up. Each time, I had to completely stop, put the car in park, restart the engine, and put it back in Drive. This has definitely put myself and the safety of others at risk because it has caused my car to stop while on the road, as well as other locations where there are moving vehicles. If my vehicle were to stall at a time when I am in the middle of traffic, the time it takes to react to put the vehicle back into park, then restart the engine, then put it back into drive could lead to an accident. I.havw tried to call the VW dealership and left several messages to report these incidences, but they have not returned my calls. I have also tried to calW Customer Care, but I haven't been able to get through. The "start engine manually" alert only shows when the engine has cut off and the car stalls. No other indicator or warning lights are present. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | It started on a Saturday with my car alarm going off after I unlocked and opened the doors. Then the check engine light came on. The next day the check engine light was still on. While driving the vehicle and coming to a stop at the red light, my vehicle’s parking brake came on automatically and then the car started to alarm. I turned the car off and then back on and the driver’s side windows rolled down. I rolled them up and began to drive home and again while coming to a stop the parking brake came on automatically. This is a brand new less than 16K miles and I’m having majors issues that are a safety hazard. Scary and unacceptable! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving on March 12, 2022, multiple alarms beeping and warning indicators appeared on the dashboard and the emergency brake suddenly engaged immediately halting the car to a complete stop. This happened multiple times during a short drive. On March 16, 2022, while this vehicle was parked with the engine running, more warning indicators appeared. The first was " Fault: Electronic parking brake" and the second was "Caustion: Engine is running". Right after that, two windows partially rolled down on their own. About 5 minutes later, as I was pulling into my driveway, the same two warning indicators came back on - this time the vehicle was in motion. This vehicle is scheduled for routine maintenance on March 22, 2022 and this was mentioned to the service department at the time the appointment was made. The vehicle has not yet been inspected. There is no warning when these issues are going to happen making it unsettling to drive this vehicle not knowing when or if it will abruptly stop on the road or highway. This is definitely a safety issue. Photos of the March 16, 2022 indicent are attached to this. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Our car starting firing many warning every time we would drive it including breaking without us telling it to. We took it in twice for it to be fixed, the first didn't work and the second they replaced a door chasey and I hope it works long term. Very scary to be driving with 2 little kids in the back and a possessed car. Super dangerous. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | When driving at roughly 50+ mph the windows roll down one their own and the driver door contact switch error comes on. Once slowing down, the parking break engages when you are still moving the vehicle. I have contacted VW to get this serviced and they have told me there is no fix currently and that I will be charged to provide my own rental vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS | Airbags Light on , associated with faulty wire harness. Car at dealer waiting for part. Back ordered for 5 months: told unsafe to drive. Dealer said airbag delay after collision | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | The shocks will all of a sudden come up with “parking brake Fault”, “start/stop” fault, “driver door switch fault”, Che j engine light comes on. It will then randomly throw on the parking brake while driving causing the vehicle to come to a complete sudden stop while driving then the back windows will roll down. It does this off and on… | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Shortly after purchase, we would get warning signals, without cause. Then at 18000 miles, both passanger windows rolled down and would not roll up. After recycling the engine countless times, window rolled up. Took to dealer. They stated the window harness needs to be replaced, but not apart of a recall. Stated it could take six months to get replacement part, but it was safe to drive. The next day, warning signs all over dash went off, windows rolled down and would not go up. Contacted VW corporate. Was told by corporate, this part is the "heart" of the electric system and it could cause a safety issue, but they had no loaners. I was told the they are unsure went the part would be in. So now I have an undrivable, less than a year old vehicle, with no replacement. I am still making payments and I am expected to keep that update to date, even though VW has produced an undrivable, unsafe vehicle. I was told by VW American, I would be contacted again by 3/25/22. There should be no reason we have thousands of vehicles on the road, we know are unsafe. This is putting not just VW owners and their families at risk, but those who are on the road with them. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | After starting the car and trying to reverse, the car would not go into reverse. In addition all warning on the dashboard went off and the windows rolled down. The car would not move. After shutting down and restarting the car it proceeded to accelerate only to suddenly brake in the middle of the road as if the emergency brake was activated. The windows would roll down again and all the warning signs on the dash would appear. I took my car to the dealer and I was told that it was the door latch and there was no Estimated amount of time for completition. This has been 4 weeks now. I have had my car for only 6 months. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES | Could automatically brake at slow speeds, windows would go up and down basically the car would go crazy. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | AIR BAGS | The air bar error light came on. The issue is the door harness wiring needs fixed. There are no parts available to fix this issue. I took the car in on January 27, two days after the light appeared. There is a possibility that the air bag would not deploy and the dealership said others with this issue deploy the emergency brake while driving. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | 1. My car has randomly slammed on the brakes while driving. I was driving with my daughter and when it happened, she thrusted forward and almost hit her head on the dash. The seatbelt did lock. I reported it to my dealer and the car was checked out and found no issues. They just said that people have been complaining about "squeaky" brakes, which I have taken my car in for before along with a grinding noise coming from my front driver side brakes and was told nothing is wrong. 2. Two times my car has turned completely off while driving. I brought it to the dealer and was told they couldn't find anything wrong. It happened 2 times in 1 week. One time was pulling into a parking spot and another time was when we were at a stop and the light turned green for us to go. I had to put my car in park and restart my engine. What would happen if I was driving 50 MPH on a highway and the power went off and I had no brakes and couldn't slow down? I was very upset that the dealer could not find anything wrong. I have left 3 messages for the service manager and he never returned my call. I do not feel safe in my car but am stuck with this car for another 2 years. Something needs to be done! My neighbor's Atlas is the same year and model and his car has been in the shop for over a month with the same issues. 3. I was in a drive thru last week and the "central warning light" went on with another light ( I can't rememberthe other light) and the service department couldn't find anything wrong. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 MPH and decelerating, the vehicle stopped abruptly. The driver's side rear window independently rolled down and the parking brake inadvertently engaged. The contact was able to pull over and drive to her residence. Additionally, the alarm was beeping. The check engine and battery warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that a message was displayed that the engine was still running. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the door harness needed to be replaced; however, the parts were on back order. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 15,000 |
| Mar 2022 | PARKING BRAKE,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the parking brakes and alarms illuminated on the instrument panel. The driver’s and rear passenger’s side windows rolled up and down independently. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed; however, the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified; however, informed the contact that parts were not available. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 15,000 | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 15,000 |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My vehicle has had 2 fuel pump replacements, my emergency brake has gone off while driving and while idling 3x slamming me to a hard stop and end arguing my kids and I. I have also had multiple events of being in a turn lane or busy intersection with my automatic start/stop turned off and my car will not engage and throws a sign up on dash telling me to restart my car. This is dangerous! Consumer stated they knew it was a safety issue but could not help me. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that when starting the vehicle with the auto start first then after getting into the vehicle, there was a 12 volt battery in which was not charging, as well as, advising the contact to stop driving the vehicle warning displayed. The vehicle's start and stop failed to function. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the alternator had failed and the wiring harness needed to be replaced. The contact found that their vehicle's failure related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V616000 (Electrical System) however their VIN was not included. The vehicle had not been repaired as of yet due to the necessary part was on back order. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case regarding the matter. The failure mileage was 6,009. | Crash: No Fire: No | 6,009 |