Complaint volume
116 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
2023 Volkswagen Atlas Complaints
116 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2023 Volkswagen Atlas, grouped by component category.
116 Total complaints
4 Crash reports
0 Fire reports
5 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, engine, 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 4 crash reports, 0 fire reports, 5 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 10 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 39,622 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to air bags, engine, 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 2023 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.
2023 Volkswagen Atlas
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2023 Volkswagen Atlas complaints?
4 Crash
0 Fire
5 Injury
0 Fatality
6 Towed
4 Medical attention
What are the most common 2023 Volkswagen Atlas complaint categories?
AIR BAGS 19
ENGINE 13
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 13
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 9
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 8
SERVICE BRAKES 7
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 5
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5
POWER TRAIN 3
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE 2
116 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2023 | STEERING | I was making a right turn, I pressed the gas and turned my wheel right to make the turn and the steering wheel then locked and I couldn’t straighten it out and ended up driving over the sidewalk and crashing into a building. My car was totaled and I went to the hospital due to airbag burns. My insurance picked up the car and it is available to be inspected. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the instrument panel went black. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the radio/Navigation system head unit needed to be replaced. The radio/Navigation system head unit was replaced; however, two weeks later the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to call the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 1,834. | Crash: No Fire: No | 1,834 |
| Sep 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | The first incident that occurred is that my car came to a complete stop while I was backing out of a driveway. I did not move at all while I pressed the accelerator (tried this while in drive and reverse), but my car stayed on. No lights or warning signals came up. Turned car off and on again, and I was able to drive away with no issues. Exactly 1 week later, I was trying to cross a 4-way intersection - all stop signs. When it was my turn to go, I took my foot off the brake, but my car did not move. The only warning/message that came up was to manually start my car. I was unable to start my car again, and it felt like the brakes locked up. I couldn't press them down all the way. After about 5 minutes, I was able to start my car and move it off to the side of the road. It was 8 PM and I was 1 hour away from home with my infant in the back seat. My car was towed to the nearest dealership the next morning. I am being told there are 3 known recurrent issues with the Atlas model since 2017, but Volkswagen will not change any parts until a fault is picked up by the computer. The dealership has not picked up any faults, and I am told I will probably have to bring my car back 3-4 more times before anything will be done. I now have to drive my car knowing it will most likely shut off again at any time, and I have my infant with me 99% of the time. I am scared for our lives. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The rear door on the SUV has opened spontaneously while parked on two occasions. The car has been owned by me for just 3 months and has 3577 miles on it currently. Within 2 days of taking delivery (129 miles) the care needed reprogramming. I noted a warning light and error message with auto start / stop 2 days ago. The dealer has not been able to reproduce this intermittent problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES | When the vehicle is wet (after car wash or when it rains), the breaks start screeching and the breaking jerks suddenly. It’s a terrible sound and terrible feeling because it’s unexpected and abnormal | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that his wife placed a cushion on the front passenger’s seat and the occupant detection system failed to recognize that a passenger was seated in the seat, causing the air bag to turn off. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the front passenger’s side air bag senor had not recognized that there was a cushion underneath the seat. The contact was advised not to place the cushion on the seat. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 544. | Crash: No Fire: No | 544 |
| Jul 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | I'm emailing due to issues with my 2023 Cross Sport I purchased. It's a dire situation, as I had issues with my 2021 Cross Sport and VW ended up repurchasing the vehicle from me due a number of safety concerns. During my search for a new vehicle, I could not find anything that I liked so I ended up contacting Hawk VW in Joliet, IL to ask about the new 2023 Cross Sport and asked if they were aware of any issues and they said no. I purchased a 2023 Cross Sport on September 28, 2022 in hopes that I would have a more pleasant experience. This is a decision that would come back to haunt me. I contacted my salesman on October 12th to let him know that the car wasn't driving well. I told him there seemed to be a kind of jerk or stall while I was driving. He told me that "the Cross Sport and all VW's do have an assist feature where if you suddenly press the gas the car will try to react that is were the sudden acceleration will occur." I told him it wasn't a sudden acceleration...it was more like a jerk and hard to explain. This would happen while I was driving. I kept driving and it would still happen, but I just went along with him saying it was the assist feature. On May 23rd, I emailed him to let him know that my car had off twice in a week with a message saying manually start engine. I took it in on June 5th and was told it was the fuel pump and fuel pump sensor. On June 13th I let them know it cut off again. I took it in on July 5th and was told it was the EVAP canister. Now today, July 10th, they are saying they will replace the fuel tank as well and the part should be in Wednesday. I feel as if VW is definitely aware of these safety issues, as there's a VW forum out there and a lot of owners are having the same issues. Something needs to be done before someone gets hurt, or worse. I pray that doesn't happen but this is truly ridiculous and frustrating at this point. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The “Front Assist” feature malfunctioned while driving. While driving at 29 mph, the vehicle “Front Assist” feature initiated. A red warning icon illuminated on the dashboard signaling an imminent/impending collision and caused the vehicle to immediately lock the vehicles brakes and seat belts. There were NO pedestrians, vehicles, or objects ahead or remotely close to the roadway. The front of the vehicle was clear or debris and foreign objects. It was sunny and clear. If the roadway was rainy or snowy — the brakes and steering locking up would’ve been catastrophic. Vehicle has not been to dealership for inspection/testing of the system as event occurred earlier today. Vehicle has not been inspected by manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others as of present. Other than this event occurring once before, there has been no indication or warning lights — other than the large red dashboard icon. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The wireless phone charging pad causes phone to become extremely hot to the point where the phone stops working and shows a warning message about its hot temperature --fire risk. Phone was in the wireless charging pad for about 30-minutes. My family and I have I-phones (Apple I-Phone Model 12). Prior to the hot temperature incident, the wireless charging pad would not charge the phone and on many occasions would not even register that the phone was on the pad to charge. This has happened with and without the phone's case and with different phones. The vehicle was checked by local VW Service department but not fixed because there is no repairs/updates provided by VW, per Service Advisor. Therefore the issue remains. Please address the wireless phone charger pad issue. Thanks. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE | Car was returned from VW dealer Friday for door harness replacement. Saturday night around 930pm we were driving on the toll road when the car starts malfunctioning at 75mph. Various warnings flashed and beeped. My husband was trying to keep control and merge over to slower lanes so we could pull over to safety. During this time the speedometer showed we were going zero which we clearly were not, windows started rolling down then the vehicles screens and outside lighting went black. This is at night while trying to get over 3 lanes of traffic safely. We coasted off ramp where car died. Had interior lighting on knobs, but no outside lights and could not start or be put into neutral. Stranded with windows stuck down and waiting long time for a tow truck due to holiday weekend (night before Easter). Poor tow truck driver had a difficult time due to how the vehicle locked up and could not be put into neutral, not even manually. The tow truck driver was finally able to get the car loaded and gave us a ride home. Due to holiday, VW roadside assistance was not available and couldn't tow to dealer until Monday. Monday morning the VW tow company had a difficult time getting vehicle loaded because the way it locked up and still would not start. It had power such as interior lights, but would not start, couldn't be put into neutral and windows still down. Due to the fact this has happened several times in this BRAND NEW vehicle I was able to record the incident. I can attach recording and screenshots if it will let me. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Purchased brand new 2023 Atlas Premium R line. First few weeks noticed exposed wires above pedals under steering wheel area, A/C not blowing cold air and touchscreen glitches. Took back to dealer March 2-18. They put a panel over exposed wires factory forgot. They also said they could not find anything wrong with AC or touchscreen. It was working fine, then few days later same problems followed by total power loss/ car completely shut off and locked up when accelerating at a traffic light. Then about week later car abruptly came to a complete stop while driving on road. No warnings prior, after randomly braking itself various alerts flashed and beeped while windows malfunctioned rolling themselves down. Screens then went black. The next day tried to test it out slowly to drive it back to the dealer, but did the same thing twice within 20 min. Luckily was driving at a slower speed this time. Had it towed to the nearest VW dealer where it currently is now. Reporting this braking, electrical malfunction because not only is a car that randomly stops and brakes itself dangerous to the people in it, it's a safety hazard for anyone behind or near it. Shocked this could even happen, I looked up the issue and found VW had a similar problem in others with the door harness, but this was at a faster speed and more than the brakes failed and went haywire. Something electrical or faulty wiring may seriously be wrong with these 2023's and don't want anyone to get hurt. The pictures attached are from second incident. Didn't know it was going to brake and stop so didn't have time to capture it stopping, and at the moment first instinct is to control car and pull over safely. But did manage to take pictures of random error codes before it goes black and back to normal like nothing happened. So scary and unsafe. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Shortly after leaving the dealership, and while driving on the highway, I was cut off by another vehicle and the front assist / collision avoidance did not turn. I immediately reported the issue to the dealership, and the next day the representative came over, reviewed all the settings, and confirmed that it was properly configured. Nonetheless, it still did not work. Moreover, the alert has only occurred sporadically and under odd circumstances, such as an empty intersection (but not always, even though I drive by the same intersection very frequently). I took the vehicle to the service department for inspection, and they told me that all of the sensors appear to be working correctly. Nonetheless, it is clear that the system is not working. Indeed, it should have activated (at least the alarm) under other circumstances, and it has not. I wrote to VW in February, and they have not responded. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | AIR BAGS | The Airbag warning light turns on/off at random times while operating vehicle. Sometimes the light remains on until the vehicle is restarted. During the events, only the driver was in the vehicle and nothing was on top of the passenger seats. There is also a pop-up Airbag message that displays on the dashboard panel and stays on for several seconds, when the Airbag warning light turns on. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I was driving on a city road and making a right turn on a green light, I glanced to the left to avoid any driver possibly crossing a red light as I usually do as a defensive driver! Before I know it my SUV had jumped the median divider into the other side of the road and landed on another vehicle stopped. The safety system did not give me any signals to stop or to auto stop. I was very slow and from previous experience with this vehicle it did stop at being close to a concrete side of the street but in this situation it did not. None of ADAS parts of the system worked! My ATLAS is badly damaged so is the other car. I have other issues in the last month that were not as dangerous but are glitches in the safety and technology package. I contacted VW but they said that the design does not cover this, which is not correct based on other situations I noticed in the last three months since I purchased this vehicle. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I was driving on the highway when suddenly the sunroof shattered, sending broken glass all inside the vehicle right above the passenger seats. Nothing hit the window as there were no cars around us, in broad daylight, with clear skies. It is unknown what caused this other than a manufacturing defect. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | While driving down the road at about 50 mph, the vehicle engine shut off. The vehicle lost all power to the engine, dash board, and steering. The vehicle was unable to be moved as it could not be shifted into neutral so as to push it out of the roadway. After approximately 30 minutes, the vehicle was able to restart. The vehicle then drove for about 1 mile before it lost all power again. This incident created a grave risk, as the vehicle stopped in the lane of traffic, without any warning, and was unable to be moved. The vehicle is approximately 1 month old, with less then 4000 miles on it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |