Volkswagen / Atlas / 2023
2023 Volkswagen Atlas problems
Owners have filed 181 complaints about the 2023 Volkswagen Atlas with NHTSA. Engine accounts for 18.8% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of electrical system at 15.5%.
Complaints181
Crashes6
Fires0
Injuries8
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Engine 18.8% · 34
Electrical system 15.5% · 28
Air bags 12.2% · 22
Unknown or other 11.0% · 20
Service brakes 8.3% · 15
Fuel/propulsion system 7.7% · 14
Exterior lighting 7.2% · 13
Forward collision avoidance 6.1% · 11
Severity
Of those complaints, 6 describe a crash and 8 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 6 model years of the Volkswagen Atlas in this data, 2023 draws comparatively few complaints; 2021 is the outlier year.
Filings are rising — 144 in the last three years against 37 in the three before. For a vehicle this age that usually points to a wear-related failure owners are hitting now.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 33,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Driving 45 mph on the highway, the vehicle suddenly loses power and shuts off. Dash instructed me to place the car in park and start the vehicle manually. This has happened 4+ times in the last two months. Volkswagen dealer states that no codes are showing and they are unable to fix it. This is extremely dangerous!! Engine
On a few occasions, even with the Start/Stop function disabled, the vehicle has completely shut off with no warning. It must be put it in park and restarted. Once it even turned off while reversing out of driveway and the steering wheel locked. Engine
This car has been in the shop on 6 different occasions and has yet to have anything properly repaired. It has brake/rotor issues since about 15,000 miles. It has a really bad oil leak that it has been in twice for now. Engine
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…