NHTSA — Electrical System Problems

2021 Volkswagen Atlas (Page 2 of 5)

9.5

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
1,135 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 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2021 Volkswagen Atlas Owner Comments (Page 2 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #69

Apr 142022

Atlas 6-cyl

  • miles

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

The remedy to my recall is not being performed within a reasonable time. I was in the road with my one year old and I was scared to get on the highway I was afraid someone would rear end us as the vehicle stops and turns on the check engine light and a warning light on my dash. I was driving and when I was coming to a stop the vehicle stops on it on and doesn-€™t give the person behind me enough time to break. I would honestly see if there is something that can been done as o don-€™t feel safe in my vehicle but I can-€™t afford to rent a car in the mean time it is my only transportation my son has a doctors appt @ 130 today and I-€™m afraid for his life and to drive there. I would really appreciate any help that you can offer.

- Gardner, KS, USA

problem #68

Apr 122022

Atlas

  • miles
Hello. I have approx 12000 miles on my vehicle. Vehicle last week gave numerous warning lights and would not start. After leaving it a few hours I was able to start it but the engine light was on and warning that ABS was not active. Took it to the dealership who said there is a recall with no fix for a door wiring harness. Today, while driving the car, it came to a compete stop on the roadway and would not allow me to turn it back on. I drove the car back home and it would continuously stop and I would have to restart. I almost got into two accidents. There needs to be a more serious recall as someone is going to get hurt. Dealership says there is still no fix.

- Marina, CA, USA

problem #67

Apr 072022

Atlas

  • 17,000 miles
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while placing a child in the driver-€™s side rear seat of the vehicle the doors locked independently. The contact stated that the key fob and manual key was inoperable while attempting to unlock the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was notified of a wiring harness failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V152000 (Air Bags). The vehicle was not repaired due to parts not being available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 17,000.

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

problem #66

Apr 102022

Atlas

  • miles

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

Although this is not the first issue with my VW 2021 Atlas, it will be my last. As I was driving down a two lane highway to my daughter's softball practice, the emergency break turned on and my vehicle completely jolted to a stop. By the grace of God, no one was behind us. Prior to this recent incident, the windows started to roll up and down on their own and the "Fault Parking Break" alert will appear on my dash. This occurs randomly, day or night, sunny or rainy, cold or hot. The vehicle has been to the dealership for this issue, but the alert continues. I purchased this vehicle March of 2021, issues did not occur until December and it has gone down hill quickly. Right now, this vehicle is deemed "undrivable" and will be at the dealership. This vehicle is also under the new recall where the airbags do not deploy. There is no fix for this.

- Abilene, TX, USA

problem #65

Feb 182022

Atlas

  • miles
In January 18, 2022, when I cranked my vehicle and went to put it in reverse, the emergency brake engaged and my windows rolled down a quarter of the way. Accompanying this was a loud beep as well as warning lights glowing my dash. I thought it was a fluke, so I took the emergency brake off and killed the car. I cranked it back up and all was well. This happened several more times until I contacted the dealership on January 24, 2022. They informed me that this sounded like a door harness issue because I wasn-€™t the first one. They went ahead and ordered a part for my vehicle, but informed me that the part was on national back order. From January 24th until February 24, 2022, the dealership had no loaners to give me. Starting February 18th until the day the dealership had it, my vehicle started engaging the emergency brake while driving 40+ miles an hour. I felt extremely u unsafe and did not want my children in the vehicle, yet I had no vehicle to get us to/from work and school. I received a call from the dealership on February 23rd stating they had a loaner. I dropped my vehicle off on February 24th and drove a loaner until April 8, 2022 when they replaced my wiring harness. However, the wiring harness they replaced it with is faulty just like the one they took out, and it doesn-€™t satisfy the recall at all.

- Coushatta, LA, USA

problem #64

Nov 292021

Atlas

  • miles
Car would engage normal/parking break when driving at low speeds (15 mph) as well as when coming to a stop (2mph). Car would not allow parking brake to disengage. Rear driver side window would roll down 1/3 of the way. We would need to restart car to remedy issue, however this happened a number of times.

- Rockville Centre, NY, USA

problem #63

Mar 192022

Atlas

  • miles

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

After installing a software update, we noticed an issue with our Atlas where the parking brake is engaging suddenly at very low speeds, maybe around 4 mph but definitely before the vehicle is completely stopped. It feels very odd and has even come close to getting us rear ended from behind. It is intermittent and happens on seemingly random days/times, and at the same time as when the parking brake comes on, a bunch of audible alarms and warning messages pop up, and the drivers side windows roll down on their own about 4-5 inches. One of the dash warnings is saying something about a faulty door sensor.

- Parkville, MD, USA

problem #62

Jan 212022

Atlas

  • miles
This issue occurred several different times starting in early January. At first my drivers side windows would go down by themselves and I would see errors display but then the emergency brake on in my vehicle turned on by itself. Once the car was barely moving on the driveway and twice I was going about 25mph. The Volkswagen dealership told me it is the wiring harness that needs to be replaced in my vehicle. They cannot replace the wiring harness because it is on backorder and they cannot give me a loaner because "they just don't have any".

- New Baltimore, MI, USA

problem #61

Mar 282022

Atlas

  • miles
While my wife was driving home from work, all lights on the dashboard illuminated and the airbag warning symbol came on as well as both front windows opened on their own. Upon arrival at home as she pulled into the drive the emergency brake momentarily activated. Luckily the brake activated once she had pulled out of the main traffic or she may have been hit from behind. She called Bud Brown, our local VW dealer and was advised it was a known issue with the wiring on a door harness. She was advised that this part is not available and may not be available for many months and that there was nothing we could do. At present due to the known nature of the issue, it has not been inspected by VW or anybody else. At present when starting my car, only the airbag warning light is lit up. The car is available for inspection at any time and by anybody.

- Lenexa, KS, USA

problem #60

Mar 132022

Atlas

  • miles
Driving my daughter to school and the car threw itself in park with the emergency parking brake. There has been a few instances of this along with windows rolling down, the car throwing codes and alarms going off. I was driving 10mph when it threw itself in park throwing my daughter and I forward and almost Getting rearended. This is NOT safe. Dealer is aware and has ordered the part with NO clue when they will receive it to fix my car.

- Wayne, WV, USA

problem #59

Mar 252022

Atlas

  • miles

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

Parking brake automatically turns on while driving. This has put me at risk for accident when pulling out across traffic where my car stops mid acceleration or coming to a stop sign where my car stops early. Not confirmed by a dealer but has been reproduced multiple times. Has not been inspected. No warnings of this issue prior to the occurence. In addition my windows automatically roll down out of no where and my alarm system automatically goes off as well as an error with the automatic stop/start feature.

- Cocoa, FL, USA

problem #58

Mar 232022

Atlas

  • miles
My 2021 Volkswagen Atlas is having an issue with a faulty wiring harness in the driver-side door that causes the car to brake unexpectedly while driving in traffic, putting me at risk of causing an accident or being rear-ended. This issue also causes the windows the randomly roll down, and I can no longer lock or unlock the driver's side door. When I put the car in drive, the warning light for the door being open comes on the dashboard and it plays the warning sound as if the door is open. I first contacted Darcars Volkswagen in Silver Spring, MD regarding this issue on March 22, 2022, and was referred to Volkswagen Customer Care because there is no ETA for when the part will be available for the fix. Volkswagen cannot provide a rental or loaner car for me at this time, leaving me without a car and making loan payments on a car I cannot drive due to the electrical issue. I have asked Volkswagen to buy back this car at my loan pay-off amount since they cannot provide transportation while they fix this issue, and they do not know when the issue will be fixed. Volkswagen has yet to answer my request to buy back the car.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

problem #57

Mar 202022

Atlas

  • miles
Warning lights and alarms would go off, the driver-€™s side windows would roll down and the car would suddenly brake while in traffic.

- Fresno, CA, USA

problem #56

Mar 222022

Atlas

  • miles
Issue started 3months ago. Door contact error popped up on dash, then drivers back window rolled down. Happened 3 times in 1 day, then stopped. Now, March 22nd, issue came back plus more. 1st i couldnt open my drivers doors front and back, from the outside. Doors were unlocked. I had to climb over from passenger side to get in and open the door. Then driving the dash would beep, no error, then back drivers window would roll down half way on its own. When I stopped at stop signs or lights, everything went crazy. Dash errors would flash up and beep, -€œATTENTION ENGINE IS RUNNING-€, -€œSTOP AND START ERROR-€, -€œDOOR CONTACT ERROR-€, -€œFAULTY PARKING BREAK ERROR-€, then the back drivers window would roll down again. I immediately called and set up an appointment. I researched problem to see if others had this issue and saw the recall. When the dealership seemed not to care, I drove there And showed them the video I took of my dashboard. The service guy took the report and said he would order a door contact wire thing, but he didnt address the other issues i had or how it relates to the recall. He said he would call the next day and didnt. I called him today, 3/24 and he said the door contact part is on backorders. He offered me to take my car home until the part is in. Im reporting this because of the nonchalant, non critical the service department seems to have with this dangerous issue. My Atlas has only 7,500 miles and i use it to drive my kids. I would not have purchased such an unsafe vehicle, especially when it cant be fixed. Its a danger to my family and others on the road!

- Chesapeake, VA, USA

problem #55

Mar 132022

Atlas

  • miles
On 3/14/22 took my car in to the dealership with the following problems, window opening on their own car braking on its own at low speed, driver door functions not working and a bunch of warning lights coming on. Took my car out the same day and was working fine until 3/23/22 when all the problems i mentioned above started happening again. On the first visit the tech replaced the door latch for the driver front door cleared codes and rechecked. The tech also found 3 error codes U105400: information electronics control module 1 no communications U019900: Lost communications with " door control module A" B177501: Door warning light/entry light electrical error.

- Alexandria, VA, USA

problem #54

Jan 212022

Atlas

  • miles
Phantom breaking, vehicle alerts, windows rolling down, driver side door not opening, parking break engages, windows stop working.

- Putney, VT, USA

problem #53

Mar 162022

Atlas

  • miles
The vehicle slams the breaks while breaking, it is very violent and hurts my back when it does it. This would be the second time this same part had been replaced when it finally gets replaced. I have several close encounters with people almost rear ending me due to the sudden stops

- Ashland, KY, USA

problem #52

Feb 192022

Atlas

  • miles
Problem started initially with random safety alarms and lights going off. Then alerts that door was open, or Advanced Driver Assistance Systems were not available. Then windows would roll down, for no reason. This happened within the first 2,000 miles of driving. Then on February 19, 2021 after multiple alarms going off, the car initiated the emergency brake while I was driving in a parking lot. My car stopped on it's own, suddenly. Luckily there was no one behind me. There are 7,500 miles on the car when the emergency brake incident occurred. I took it to the dealer the next day and was told since the car stopped at such a slow speed it should be safe to drive.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #51

Mar 192022

Atlas

  • miles
It started on a Saturday with my car alarm going off after I unlocked and opened the doors. Then the check engine light came on. The next day the check engine light was still on. While driving the vehicle and coming to a stop at the red light, my vehicle-€™s parking brake came on automatically and then the car started to alarm. I turned the car off and then back on and the driver-€™s side windows rolled down. I rolled them up and began to drive home and again while coming to a stop the parking brake came on automatically. This is a brand new less than 16K miles and I-€™m having majors issues that are a safety hazard. Scary and unacceptable!

- Clarksville , TN, USA

problem #50

Feb 102022

Atlas

  • miles
My 2021.5 Atlas had experienced issues with window rolling down and parking break initiated as I was coming to a stop on Jan 3 2022. Dealership told me the harness needed to be replaced and they think I was ok to drive and would contact me when the part was in. Fast forward a month later I could barely drive as it kept breaking, I was driving and accelerating on to an expressway going almost 50 mph and the break initiated jolting my car (it felt like I had been hit). And I almost was as my collision alert went off when someone almost rear ended me! I drove straight to enterprise and had my atlas towed to the dealership-were it is still sitting. I have heard there is a recall yet when I enter my vin my vehicle is not listed on the recall so not sure how accurate they are able to find out which vehicles have this issue. My car literally had 9000 miles and is not drivable and not safe.

- Omaha, NE, USA

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