Complaint volume
30 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
2025 Volkswagen Atlas Complaints
30 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2025 Volkswagen Atlas, grouped by component category.
30 Total complaints
1 Crash reports
0 Fire reports
0 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 forward collision avoidance, power train, power train,electrical system. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 1 crash report, 0 fire reports, 0 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 4 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 5,440 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to forward collision avoidance, power train, power train,electrical system?
- 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 2025 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.
2025 Volkswagen Atlas
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2025 Volkswagen Atlas complaints?
1 Crash
0 Fire
0 Injury
0 Fatality
1 Towed
0 Medical attention
What are the most common 2025 Volkswagen Atlas complaint categories?
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2
POWER TRAIN 2
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 2
STEERING 2
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1
30 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | POWER TRAIN | At 10,000 miles Upon starting the vehicle, it appeared to operate normally with no warning messages displayed. However, immediately after beginning to drive, the transmission began shifting extremely harshly between gears. Within a short distance, the transmission shifted with such force that the drive wheels briefly lost traction and the tires chirped/skidded. At the same time, a warning message appeared on the instrument cluster stating: "Transmission overheating – vehicle is still safe to drive." Prior to this incident, there were no transmission warning lights, messages, or noticeable symptoms. The vehicle was taken to an authorized Volkswagen dealership for inspection. The dealership retained the vehicle for approximately 14 days but was unable to duplicate the condition. The dealership advised that they found no faults, could not identify any transmission issues, and could not locate any record of the transmission overheating warning message in the vehicle's history. The sudden and severe transmission behavior created a safety concern because the unexpected harsh shifting and loss of traction could have caused loss of vehicle control, particularly in traffic or adverse road conditions. To date, the cause of the condition remains unknown. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2026 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Unknown cause and effect. Driving 25-30 MPH per the stated speed limit when suddenly the car braked, going from the estimated speed to 0 in the middle of the road nearly causing a rear end collision. I had to restart the car, put it back in drive and release the parking brake to avoid impeding traffic any further. There were no dash indicators or indication noises. Just a sudden and abrupt braking. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2026 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION | On April 20, 2026, my 2025 Volkswagen Atlas (approx. 31,000 miles) experienced a sudden malfunction where the vehicle became stuck in neutral and would not shift into drive or reverse, despite starting normally. This occurred without warning and rendered the vehicle inoperable, requiring it to be towed to a dealership. Prior to this incident, I experienced intermittent issues with the remote start function through the mobile app, as well as repeated warning messages related to the front/parking sensor system. These warnings had been occurring in the days leading up to the failure. At the time of the incident, the vehicle could not be moved or driven, which created a safety concern due to unexpected immobilization. This type of failure could potentially leave a driver stranded in unsafe conditions or locations. A tow technician was eventually able to shift the vehicle upon arrival; however, due to the seriousness and unpredictability of the issue, the vehicle was still transported to the dealership for inspection. As of this report, the issue has not yet been diagnosed. Dealership personnel indicated verbally that the issue may be related to a recall, although no official confirmation has been provided. If this is accurate, this raises additional safety concerns. The vehicle is currently at the dealership and available for inspection. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2026 | TIRES | tire size 245/60/R18/105T car was purchased new in 2025, after 4750 miles of driving i reported having 5 flat tires . It appears to me that these tires are soft ( maybe for sales purposes ) but are not correct for vechicle weight and class plus perhaps Flordia heat and temperatures . each time a screw or nail was found . i can understand 1 or 2 but 5 in only driving limited miles as I am retired I asked to get a partial refund so I could purchase a better tires and they are not responding or telling me to contact the tire company. Its not the tires per say but the selection VW has made to sell their cars | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2026 | SUSPENSION,WHEELS | Front axle bolt on passenger side loosed and the entire wheel can move over one inch from side to side | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2026 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2025 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost automotive power. There was a beeping sound coming from the instrument panel, and the alarm system unexpectedly activated. The contact stated that the electrical system occasionally failed to function properly. The vehicle was able to restart; however, the alarm continued to sound and required several attempts to turn off the alarm. The contact became aware that the alarm had activated for the third-row seats even though the seat was not occupied. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times; however, the failure could not be duplicated, and the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 3,208. | Crash: No Fire: No | 3,208 |
| Mar 2026 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | The contact owns a 2025 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic, the vehicle stalled. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated, and the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle failed to restart. The contact was unable to move to the side of the road and called the Police. The Police helped to push the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the transmission control module needed to be updated. The transmission control module was updated; however, several weeks later, while the vehicle was at the dealer for a maintenance check, the contact was informed that there was an oil leak. The dealer found engine oil inside the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 10,000 |
| Mar 2026 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | In December all of the cameras and front assist sensors stopped working. When I called to get into a Volkswagen dealer they first told me to get a car wash and that should solve it. When that didn’t work they weren’t able to get my car in for about 1 month. I’m that time we collided with deer on the highway and none of the collision assists worked. Now my car repaired and it’s still not working. My car was new in July 2025. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2026 | SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | Wednesday (02/18/2026), while driving to work, the vehicle stalled in the middle of the road at a red light. It would not move at all. I had to call roadside assistance, and the vehicle was ultimately towed. Being stranded in the middle of an intersection with traffic approaching at speed was not only humiliating — it was life-threatening. Vehicles were coming from behind, and I narrowly avoided what could have been a serious accident. Suddenly, my dashboard started showing all sorts or error and warning message. It showed ESC (Electronic Stability Control) error, Hill start assist error, Maneuver braking function currently not available, error start/stop, Rear traffic alert is currently not available, Transmission error etc. To make matters worse, the tow truck took approximately 1.5 hours to arrive, leaving me exposed at a busy junction the entire time. This incident caused significant mental distress and professional consequences, as I was unable to reach my office and had to formally explain my absence with supporting documentation. This level of unreliability from a new vehicle is simply unacceptable. It has not even been a year since I purchased this vehicle, and I have experienced repeated issues from the very beginning. This situation is extremely frustrating and completely unacceptable for a brand-new vehicle. Beyond these serious safety incidents, I have faced ongoing issues with the infotainment system since purchase. I was repeatedly told it was a software issue and that it had been fixed, yet the problem continues to persist. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | The vehicle has a speed limit sign feature where it displays the speed limit of the road you are on in the windshield. However, this is displaying inaccurate speeds limits which is very dangerous. I have contacted Volkswagen about the issue and they advised that there is nothing they can do. If someone where to use my car and trust the information that Volkswagen it could be very dangerous. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | VEHICLE TURNED ON AND QUICKLY SHUT OFF. VEHICLE HEALTH REPORT SENT A WARNING OF THE ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION AND POWERTRAIN NEEDING TO BE SERVICED IMMEDIATELY. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | The windshield has a cracking and/or popping sound in cold temperatures. The car was 2 weeks old with less than 1709 miles on it in 12/2025. Took back to dealership for service check. They confirmed the sound, but verified the windshield was safe and properly installed. They made sure seals were in all proper places on the windshield. The dealership stated all new cars make these types of sounds in cold weather. The vehicle now has 4250 miles and in cold temperatures still makes these same sounds. There currently are no cracks anywhere on windshield. There were no warnings signs or indications other than temperature change. The sounds are very unsettling, and it seems very unsafe. I have had many new cars/SUV's and have never experienced this with a windshield. I truly feel this is something that should be investigated given if the car was ever in an accident, I don't see how the windshield would not be compromised given cold temperatures are having an impact on its strength. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | I was driving on the road and my car just turned off. The car turned off mid drive. When I tried to turn the car on again, the engine revved and within a few seconds the car turned off again. The dash showed an error message "Error: Drive system. Please service vehicle." When the tow truck came, the tow truck driver said he has seen this issue before with VW Atlas cars. He tried to turn the car on again, and the same thing happened. When this happened, I felt extremely unsafe because the car just stopped in the middle of the street and I was unable to turn it back on or get it to move from the middle of the street. Thankfully it was not a busy street and there were no cars behind me. There were no warning messages prior to the failure. The car initially started as usual with no warnings of this problem prior to beginning the drive. The error message only appeared after the car stopped mid drive and before the dash screen shut off. The car was towed to the service center. They acknowledged the problem and have not been able to provide a reason for the malfunction. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | This morning I noticed a five inch crack in my windshield. I have not hit anything or had road debris come up and hit the windshield. I live in Spokane WA where there is a lot of freeze and thaw. My son has the same vehicle and his windshield cracked in the same spot. Going online to the vw atlas forum and this seems to be a common issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | SEAT BELTS | I am writing to formally escalate a serious safety concern regarding my 2025 Volkswagen Atlas, purchased in March 2025 from Prestige Volkswagen in Turnersville, NJ. The middle row left seatbelt has demonstrated an intermittent failure on multiple occasions over the past month. Specifically: At times, the seatbelt will not latch At other times, it appears to click, but can then be pulled out without pressing the release button This issue has been personally experienced by myself, my husband, and my mother, on separate occasions. Because the failure is intermittent, it does not occur every time the seatbelt is used — which is exactly what makes this defect concerning. I brought the vehicle to Prestige Volkswagen Turnersville, where the service department and service manager stated they cannot replace the seatbelt unless they can duplicate the problem. Their assessment consisted of manually tugging on the buckle until it appeared to function properly. I explained that testing a stationary seatbelt in a service bay is not equivalent to real-world forces during a motor vehicle collision, and that an intermittent failure of a federally required safety restraint presents a significant risk of injury should the buckle disengage during an accident. Despite this, the dealership has refused to replace the seatbelt assembly. I also opened a Volkswagen Customer Care case, which was escalated to a manager Aaron. I was informed that after speaking with the dealership, Volkswagen would not authorize replacement because the issue could not be duplicated. I am requesting Volkswagen of America’s direct assistance in resolving this safety concern. A seatbelt that fails intermittently is not operating as designed, regardless of whether the defect can be reproduced on demand. I respectfully request authorization to replace the affected seatbelt assembly under warranty to ensure the safety of all passengers. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | EHICLE SAFETY DEFECT — INSTRUMENT CLUSTER FAILURE & TRANSMISSION/SHIFTER FAILURE My 2025 Volkswagen Atlas has two serious, ongoing safety defects that Volkswagen and the dealership have failed to repair. The digital speedometer/instrument cluster blacks out while driving, leaving no speed visibility. This has occurred multiple times with my four young children in the car. The vehicle often will NOT go into Drive unless I shift 3 or more times. This is an intermittent shifter/transmission malfunction. The dealership’s repair order states “NO REPAIRS PERFORMED FOR THIS CONCERN.” For the blackout issue, they only disabled HD Radio as a temporary workaround. A VW technician told me on video that no permanent fix exists. The same admission was made over the phone by another VW technician. For the transmission issue, the dealer wrote “unable to duplicate,” did no diagnostics, performed no repair, and documented no second inspection despite verbally claiming one occurred. I have now been without a safe vehicle for 32+ days. Volkswagen denied me a loaner multiple times. VW corporate has not responded to my requests for buyback, and the defects remain uncorrected. These are unresolved safety defects affecting visibility of speed, drivability, and transmission engagement. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | The infotainment system, which controls most of the functions of driving safely, is down again for the 2nd time since I purchased my Atlas on 6/9/25. The first time it happened, the local VW dealer had me bring it in on 8/30 & they "fixed" it relatively quickly. They stated it was a local issue & had many Atlas screens that went down but they didn't know why. Now on 10/16 this occurred again, I called the local VW dealer & was told they can't get me in for over 2 weeks. I have a long trip planned before that & also I am heading back south for the winter prior to the date they can get me in. I was told I can drop off the vehicle for an unknown time frame - which leaves me no vehicle at all unless I rent a car for this unknown time frame. A second service advisor called me back to advised it is now a nationwide issue & as of now, there is no solution to fixing it. So why would I drop off my vehicle if there is no solution for this issue? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact owns a 2025 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the infotainment display unit was inoperable. During the failure, the back over prevention camera display was inoperable along with the front and rear window defrosters, and blind spot monitoring system being inoperable. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure and the contact was informed that a satellite system issue had caused the failure on several different model vehicles. No further information was available. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 5,500. | Crash: No Fire: No | 5,550 |
| Oct 2025 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The car is in cruise control on the freeway, going 70-80mph and suddenly decelerates/brakes slam on, to slow down. The front collision will come on and the car will come to almost a complete stop when there is absolutely NOTHING in front of me. The vehicle will alert there is no driver, when I have both hands on the wheel, and start braking. These sudden stops and slow downs are going to get me or someone else killed. This is an ongoing issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | POWER TRAIN | This problem was noticed shortly after vehicle was purchased and it could potentially be dangerous; although there has been no accidents yet. After waiting at a light or waiting to make a turn when clear, there is an unusually long or slow response to acceleration. Acceleration pedal would be pressed and car does not move. This is particularly dangerous when making a left turn with oncoming cars. Typical response is to step on pedal more to get vehicle to move, but once the car does respond, it would shoot forward. Only happens when car is starting to go from a stop but does not happen everytime. Vehicle is currently about 1000 miles but this has been after shortly after purchase. Vehicle was purchased new with 5 miles on odometer. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2025 atlas- brand new with 6000 miles on it. Yesterday afternoon the screen shut off and turned back on several times and then shut off for good. My radio doesn’t work, I can’t control my AC, the sensors don’t work, etc. Literally nothing works other than the gas and brake pedals. I called the dealership this morning and they claim that everyone who has an atlas is having this same issue and they don’t have a clue what the problem is. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2025 | STEERING | STEERING WHEEL RACK | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2025 | SERVICE BRAKES | The contact owns a 2025 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, the brakes independently engaged. The contact was unable to disengage the brakes. The vehicle was stopped in the middle of the road with several warning unknown lights illuminated, and undisclosed messages were displayed. The contact turned off the vehicle, and after several restarting attempts, the contact was unable to disengage the brakes. The contact was unable to move the shift lever. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that an undisclosed update was needed. An unknown update was performed on the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 3,000 |
| Sep 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The autonomous braking activates out of no where while driving. Violently hard and nothing around. A message appears on the dash board saying it can not sense hands on steering wheel. Also while backing up it will activate and no one is near the car or it even activates in an empty parking lot. The car jolted so hard when this happens and everyone went flying forward. No ..the dealer has had the car for 8 days and says they can not replicate the problem. He asked me for permission to drive it to Land O Lakes and I said no the car is very dangerous and that is a huge liability . I gave them permission to drive it around local only. No the vehicle has only been inspected by the dealer. He said since they can not replicate it he can not have a mechanic from Volkswagen assigned to it. No nothing appeared only after. Also, the brakes squeak and sound like it’s grinding on metal like a very old car. Also the front assist beeps loud when nothing is in front of the car. Also, when I go to start the car at times, it will not detect the key. I will bring the second key and it will not detect the second key also. Also the radio screen constantly disconnects everything and it will turn black and then display 0000 with a date of April 6 2025. Also while driving the app will say the door is open. The trunk is open the windows open when everything is closed. That also happens at 2 AM or 3 AM. It will say the trunk is open. The door is open and everything is closed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2025 | LANE DEPARTURE | When driving on a road with lane markings after the vehicle has been sitting in direct sunlight for about an hour the Lane Keep Assist system will fail due to over temperature warning in the windshield camera module. The dashboard will display the message “Lane Assist is currently not available. Please see owner's manual.” and any driver assist system that utilizes the lane assist system will become unavailable for about 15 minutes. After about 15 minutes of driving the errors will go away as the system reboots itself with no notification that the system functionality has returned. The “over temperature” error was confirmed by my local VW dealership on June 10, 2025 but has occurred 3 separate times. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |