Volkswagen / Atlas / 2018
2018 Volkswagen Atlas problems
Owners have filed 670 complaints about the 2018 Volkswagen Atlas with NHTSA. Electrical system accounts for 16.6% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of air bags at 14.9%.
Complaints670
Crashes13
Fires0
Injuries30
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Electrical system 16.6% · 111
Air bags 14.9% · 100
Engine 14.5% · 97
Service brakes 11.0% · 74
Unknown or other 10.7% · 72
Forward collision avoidance 5.4% · 36
Fuel/propulsion system 4.6% · 31
Steering 3.6% · 24
Severity
Of those complaints, 13 describe a crash and 30 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 6 model years of the Volkswagen Atlas in this data, 2018 ranks 3rd by complaint volume — 2021 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 172 in the last three years against 211 in the three before. The issues here may already have been addressed.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 16,850 miles.
In owners' own words
Had the car for 18months and have started having issues with the battery failing for no reason - car gives a message that the voltage is low and will not start. Happened after very short time of the engine being turned off a couple of times, no valid explanation from the dealer as to why suddenly started happening. Happened once on a highway, once at home. Now worried that we don't know when it will happen again. Electrical system · reported at 28,000 miles
The epc light will come on at anytime. Meaning while driving on a street highway or freeway. Which is a safety issue. The veichle will lose power and start to shake. The light will go off once turned off and turned back on. There most be some electrical issue. Not sure why there has not been a recall on the 2018. They have many complaints and issues. This has been an issue for months. Electrical system
Vehicle stops suddenly and shuts off. Sloped driveways. Vehicle in motion approaching end of any driveway with certain angles will suddenly slam on the brakes and shut down, leaving stranded until restart. Possible to be rear ended or hit from any direction where traffic may be coming from. Sensors beep quickly right before this happens. The vehicle has plenty of ground clearance. Electrical system · reported at 831 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…