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Volkswagen · NHTSA safety record

2021 Volkswagen Arteon

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

14

Complaints

1

Crashes

1

Fires

0

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2021 Volkswagen Arteon have filed 14 safety complaints with NHTSA between July 2021 and March 2026. The most complained-about system is forward collision avoidance, named in 6 of them (43%). The typical failure was reported at 6,000 miles, the median across the 1 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 4 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (4)

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

22V514000 · July 20, 2022

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Golf GTI, Jetta GLI, Jetta NF, Arteon FL, Tiguan LWB, 2022 Taos, Jetta PA, Tiguan PA, 2021-2022 Atlas Cross Sport, and Atlas FL vehicles. The manufacturing process of the eMMC memory module in the infotainment system may cause the rearview camera image not to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
The risk
A rearview camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will update the infotainment software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 16, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91DV.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 43,091 vehicles across all model years covered

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:CRITICAL FASTENERS

21V695000 · September 8, 2021

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Arteon vehicles. The pressure input rod connection on the brake booster may be loose and could detach.
The risk
A detached pressure input rod will cause the brake pedal to fail, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will tighten the pressure input rod connection, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 28, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 47R3.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 99 vehicles across all model years covered

TIRES:PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS

21V274000 · April 21, 2021

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Arteon vehicles. The Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) sensors were incorrectly calibrated and may not detect the position of a wheel sensor after tire rotation. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."
The risk
The TPMS may misidentify a tire with low air pressure, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the wheel electronics and tire valves, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 25, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 44R2.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 149 vehicles across all model years covered

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

20V716000 · November 18, 2020

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas Cross Sport, Tiguan LWB, Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas FL and Arteon vehicles. The rear view camera could malfunction during an ignition cycle, leading to a black screen or infotainment system freeze. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
The risk
A black or frozen rear view image reduces the driver's visibility when reversing, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will update the infotainment system software, free of charge. The recall began December 11, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91BB/91BC.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 32,048 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 14.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 6 43%
LANE DEPARTURE 3 21%
TIRES 3 21%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 14%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 14%
AIR BAGS 1 7%
ENGINE 1 7%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 7%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 7%
WHEELS 1 7%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2022 at 4.

2021 2022 2026
2021 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

fire · crash · towed

Auto ran into a slow moving car at the top of a hill. Minor damage to other car. Fire started on the arteon and then totalled the car. This could have caused death. Car was inspected by insurance company and they determined the car to be a total loss. No other analysis has been completed. No warning lamps or message or symptoms of problems existed before.

NHTSA complaint 11473544. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

towed · 6,000 miles

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Arteon. The contact stated that while driving approximately 18 to 23 MPH, there was a loud clanking noise coming from the engine. The air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer but was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 6,000.

NHTSA complaint 11580634. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date: March 9, 2026 FORMAL COMPLAINT: Safety Concern Regarding Unintended Acceleration** Vehicle Information: Year/Make/Model: 2021 Volkswagen Arteon VIN: [XXX] Purchased From: Clay Cooley Volkswagen (October 2024) To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to formally report a series of escalating electrical and mechanical failures regarding my 2021 Volkswagen Arteon. While the vehicle initially presented minor electrical glitches, the situation has recently devolved into a severe safety hazard that puts my life, and the lives of others, at risk. Timeline of Issues: Since my purchase in October 2024, I have experienced the following: * Infotainment Failure: The radio display frequently fails to

NHTSA complaint 11723077, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

TIRES
Several of the tires showing delamination according to the dealership. Extremely hazardous to drive on tires as is. Manufacturer (Continental) advised me on 9/25/2025 they would replace 5 tires (car purchased new, came with full size spare). Continental representative give me their contact information and stated that they would have to deal directly with the dealership in order to complete the process. Dealership is stating to me at this point I will have to purchase the tires, the manufacturer will reimburse used them and they in turn will reimburse me. The dealer is in possession of my vehicle since Friday, 9/26/25 because they told me Ithe vehicle had to be on their premises before they

NHTSA complaint 11690832, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
TRAVEL ASSIST ALERT KEEPS GOING OFF FOR NO REASON. IT IS VERY ANNOYING

NHTSA complaint 11653933. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
This defect causes multiple, non-periodic, but repeated, "Travel assist unavailable" audible and visual alarms at seemingly unrelated and unpredictable times while driving. My favorite times are when you start making a turn after coming to a full stop and it alarms, asking you to take your eyes off the road and look at the dash. There is no way to turn the alarm off. It occurs even if you have the feature it is alarming about disabled or turned off. When the alarm triggers, the display has multiple yellow icons and frequently a large text/graphic in the middle of the digital cockpit. It can be extremely distracting. Apparently the fix is to replace the steering wheel. The steering wheel is

NHTSA complaint 11573717, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING
After the vehicle has been sitting for some time, it will repeatedly beep and display “travel assist not available” with a warning triangle. It seems to be steering wheel related. It does not do it sitting still, only while moving. This happens every morning for the first few minutes of driving - often for several miles, and is getting worse. Today, it happened over 10 times within a 1 mile drive. Started as rare and sporadic happenings about two months ago, now is nearly every time I start up and drive the car.

NHTSA complaint 11572319. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Volkswagen Arteon

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2023 13 1
2019 8 1

Other 2021 Volkswagen models

Every Volkswagen on this site — 152 vehicles, 256 recall campaigns and 2 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

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