10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
500 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2021 Volkswagen Atlas body / paint problems

body / paint problem

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2021 Volkswagen Atlas Owner Comments

problem #10

May 012024

Atlas

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Peeling clear coat at 47,000 miles. Dealership said paint warranty ended at 36,000 miles.

- Lawrenceburg, IN, USA

problem #9

May 032024

Atlas

  • miles
The hood release broke, and we can no longer open the hood of the vehicle. There is no tension in the release mechanism, and it appears the release cable has broken/become loose. Without the ability to open the hood, I can-??t check my oil, refill engine coolant, refill wiper fluid, etc., let alone investigate an issue. Generally unsafe to drive. There were no warnings on the dash (the lever was simply dangling). We took the car to the dealer, and they confirmed the hood release was broken, and likely a bad cable (as anticipated). Online research confirmed this is a common issue among VWs, especially the Atlas.

- Chesterfield, MO, USA

problem #8

Nov 052023

Atlas

  • miles
I opened my hood while parked in my driveway to use the fuse puller tool in the engine fuse compartment as my infotainment screen was out and i wanted to check the fuse under the dash. There is a slight incline in my driveway but not much. I left my hood up while i used the tool and switched a fuse under the dash to check my infotainment screen. When i went back to put the fuse tool in the engine compartment and closed my hood i heard a low clang. I didn't think much of it and went back to close the fuse box under the dash. Then i noticed the hood release latch was not sitting flush to the vehicle and was pointing at a 90 angle up. I tried to push back into position but there is no hold and now my hood is locked. There is no way to open the hood with the under dash latch broken. My car has about 56,000 miles on it and I am scared to drive my vehicle not knowing if the hood will fly up at any moment. I called the dealer and because my car is out of warranty at 50k miles they refuse to fix the hood latching mechanism unless i pay out of pocket. I am scared to drive my 2 yr old vehicle because of all the little issues coming up right outside my warranty. No warnings or messages came up before the issue happened and I am not sure what will happen if I need to get into my engine compartment. This seems like a big safety issue and i am going to be left with correcting on my own before driving the vehicle again.

- Corpus Christi, TX, USA

problem #7

Sep 172023

Atlas

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The viechle appears to be having a very common issue of the Hood Latch being broken or snapping. I was left stranded with my car with a dead battery unable to access the battery to jump it.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #6

Feb 112023

Atlas

  • miles
I was hit from behind and slammed into the car in front of me while stopped at a light. The collision totaled my Atlas at 95% The air bags did not deploy nor did their give a warning for the collision. The damage was so severe that the inner frame of the vehicle is beyond repair. Recent warranty repairs were done to this vehicle prior to the accident one set to the dash electronics in the.ast 4 months. This car remains at the body shop awaiting INS settlement for the car

- Chapin, SC, USA

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problem #5

Sep 162022

Atlas

  • miles
I was driving my car and the moonroof exploded and shattered. Nothing his my car there were no cars in front of me, side of me, or behind me. There is no debris or any type of object. It is all over the internet about sunroofs and moonroofs exploding. The incident happened 09/16/2022.

- Benicia, CA, USA

problem #4

Jan 172022

Atlas

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Upon starting vehicle, dash screen indicated that there was an issue with the Driver Door Contact Switch, and back driver's window lowered automatically. This automatically triggers the emergency brake to engage. If you disengage the emergency brake, the vehicle beeps, acting like a door is open, even with all doors closed. There were other incidents where this did not happen until driving on the road, in which the vehicle would engage the emergency brake as it was stopping. The brake would have to be manually disengaged in order to keep driving down the street. This may have been a safety hazard to others around if the vehicle all of a sudden turned on the emergency brake. This problem is not new to the local Volkswagen dealer, where my vehicle has been for the last month. Eight other vehicles are there with the same issue. They said that a door harness replacement is needed, but this part is backordered for the foreseeable future.

- Bloxom, VA, USA

problem #3

Apr 302021

Atlas

  • miles
The plastic trim on the doors failed and became lodged between the seam of the fender and the front doors. The adhesive on the trim/badges failed and allowed it to partly peel off the door. I became trapped in the vehicle and was unable to open either door because pieces were jammed in the doors range of motion. I had to physically slam my body against the door from the inside of the car to break the jammed piece and open the door. My safety was at risk as I was not able to get out of my car and it was urgent. I would not have been able to get out of my car in the case of an accident or if my car became submerged in water such as a flood. I frequently transport my 70 year old father to medical appointments and I was unable to open the door to get him out of the car due to this issue. I reported this problem in April when I first noticed the trim badges coming loose, but VW failed to fix it properly. They took a metal putty knife and attempted to bend the fender and trim back into place in the parking lot. They did not take this issue seriously and pushed off repairs for months until I finally had this event and demanded they make this car safe. This car would not have passed the State Inspection and should have never left the dealers lot. I had another mechanic assess my car and he confirmed that this was extremely unsafe and the delay in repair could have been catastrophic. I have several pictures from April until present that show how severe the defect is on my car. There are several other reports of this problem in the VW forums where the badges on the doors have become jammed in the fender seam and prevented range of motion of the front doors.

- Stowe, VT, USA

problem #2

May 282021

Atlas

  • miles
The sunroof exploded while driving with no external object impacts. The retracted roof exploded sounded like a gunshot. I was driving about 75mph on Hwy 70 from Colorado to Utah. There were no vehicles around us.

- Aurora, CO, USA

problem #1

Oct 292020

Atlas

  • 5,000 miles
On Thursday, October 29th, I started my car after it had been parked outside for several days in the rain. After backing my car out of the driveway and then propelling forward, water (easily 1.5-2 cups) came out of the rear view mirror onto the paneling below. The water came out of the buttons as they were pushed on the panel. In addition, throughout the weekend, you could see the condensation in the buttons. As a result, the ac/heat paneling did not work correctly for several days. When I would turn on the car, the panel would light up and at times, I could not turn off some of the functions. This happened for at least 4 days. I called my VW dealership on Thursday, October 29th when I discovered this. However, VW could not fit me in to look at the car until Monday, November 2nd. Also to note, the engine light had come on and gone off several times throughout the weekend. I will also add the entire driver's side ceiling from the windshield to the sunroof was saturated with water. One push of the finger and water would come seeping out of the ceiling. After taking it to VW they could not find anything wrong with any sealing or any leak. I feel confident the sunroof was shut while my car was outside as it had been raining/sleeting for a week and I had no opportunity to use the sunroof.

- Stilwell, KS, USA

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