CSR

Volkswagen · NHTSA safety record

2022 Volkswagen Atlas

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

175

Complaints

3

Crashes

2

Fires

2

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2022 Volkswagen Atlas have filed 175 safety complaints with NHTSA between January 2022 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 49 of them (28%). The typical failure was reported at 44,000 miles, the median across the 13 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 7 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (7)

AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER

24V464000 · June 20, 2024

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Atlas and 2020-2024 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The passenger occupant detection system (PODS) may experience a fault in the wiring and deactivate the front passenger air bag when the seat is occupied.
The risk
A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the PODS sensor mat and wiring harness, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 30, 2024. Owner notification letters will be mailed in phases, on October 18, 2024, December 10, 2024, December 20, 2024, and January 17, 2025. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69PZ.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 271,330 vehicles across all model years covered

SUSPENSION:CRITICAL FASTENERS

22V807000 · October 26, 2022

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Volkswagen Atlas FL and 2022-2023 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The driver-side rear trailing arm bolts may not have been tightened properly, allowing them to loosen and fall out.
The risk
Unsecured bolts may cause the trailing arm to fracture, resulting in a sudden loss of vehicle control and increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the driver side rear trailing arm bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 25, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42M2.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 33 vehicles across all model years covered

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:HARD PARTS INTERNAL/MECHANICAL

22V753000 · October 7, 2022

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Audi Q5 Sportback, Q5, 2022-2023 Volkswagen Atlas FL, and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The engine connecting rod bearings may become damaged, which can result in engine failure.
The risk
A damaged engine can result in engine failure and a stall, increasing the risk of a crash. If the engine failure causes an oil leak, it can increase the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace an affected engine, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 6, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 13i4 (VW) and 13i5 (Audi).

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 76,515 vehicles across all model years covered

TRAILER HITCHES

22V657000 · August 31, 2022

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The trailer hitch bolts may have been insufficiently tightened.
The risk
Loose bolts may fall out, causing the remaining bolts to break, which could lead to separation of the trailer hitch and trailer, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will tighten the trailer hitch bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 28, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 66N8.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 3,184 vehicles across all model years covered

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

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM:INJECTORS

22V245000 · April 13, 2022

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Atlas FL and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The long fuel injectors may have been assembled without filters.
The risk
Long fuel injectors with missing filters may leak fuel, increasing the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the long fuel injectors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 20, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 24iD.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 1,382 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW

22V152000 · March 28, 2022

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Atlas, 2020-2023 Atlas Cross Sport, and 2021-2023 Atlas FL vehicles. The door wiring harness electrical contacts may corrode, disrupting the electrical connection and delaying the deployment of the driver or passenger front side air bag during a side impact crash.
The risk
A delayed air bag deployment can increase the risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will secure and, as necessary, replace any the front door wiring harnesses showing a fault code, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 20, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 97GF.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 222,892 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations (1)

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking

PE23017

Closed preliminary evaluation · opened September 28, 2023 · closed December 18, 2024

forward collision avoidance

On September 28, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE23017) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the Front Assist automatic emergency braking (AEB) system in model year (MY) 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles.The reports alleged that activation of the AEB system occurred while driving with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's forward path, resulting in sudden vehicle deceleration. Volkswagen indicated that it is aware of a total of 292 reports that may relate to the alleged defect in MY 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles.Volkswagen stated that some customers possibly had an inadequate understanding of Front Assist and its limitations.  However, many consumer complaints alleged that Volkswagen dealerships were unable to reproduce the condition or Volkswagen dealerships informed the consumers that this braking is considered normal Front Assist operation. ODI's analysis shows that MY 2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles have the highest rate of unique incident reports alleging AEB inadvertent activation when compared to their Volkswagen peers.The rate of unique incident reports alleging AEB inadvertent activation in MY 2018 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles was comparable to their Volkswagen peers. To date, ODI has received a total of 69 consumer complaints of inadvertent activation of Front Assist in MY 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles.  In total, ODI reviewed 264 unique (i.e., non-duplicative Vehicle Identification Numbers) reports that may relate to the alleged defect, which include eight reports of incidents involving an alleged injury and two reports involving a crash. PE23017 has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA24004) to further assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety related consequences of the inadvertent AEB activations in MY 2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 175.

ENGINE 49 28%
SERVICE BRAKES 46 26%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 41 23%
AIR BAGS 30 17%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 22 13%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 19 11%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 13 7%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 11 6%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 7 4%
STEERING 6 3%
SEATS 5 3%
POWER TRAIN 4 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2024 at 52.

2022 2024 2026
2022 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.

CHILD SEAT

1 injured · 50,000 miles

The contact owns a 2022 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 MPH, and pressed the brakes when suddenly the second row passenger side captain seat erroneously moved forward. The [XXX] child seated in a high-back booster seat in the second row passenger seat was pushed forward into the rear of the front passenger seat. The child had become trapped between the two seats. While trapped between the seats, the child also experienced distress caused by the seatbelt. The contact was able to free the child from between the two seat,s and the seat was eventually correctly repositioned. The child was later treated for trauma to the chest and abdomen. The cause of the

NHTSA complaint 11685050, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEATS

1 injured

The vehicle has middle row captains chairs. While slowing down for a stoplight, the captain chair behind the driver side lunged forward pinning my son’s head between his car seat and the back of my seat. Prior to the incident, there was no error indication (would pop up RED) telling me there was a bad latch when putting my son in his car seat. Is it available for inspection upon request? Yes, I still currently own the vehicle. My [XXX] old was not safe in his seat it flung forward he was stuck squished between two seats. I was unsafe as I was in a turn lane at a stoplight and got out of my vehicle to assist him. Thankfully, there were no cars behind me. The problem has not been resolved

NHTSA complaint 11707986, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire

While driving, the steering wheel warning light briefly flashed on my dashboard and then disappeared. Later, it came back on and stayed illuminated. A few minutes after that, my car caught fire, which spread to my garage and caused significant damage to my house.

NHTSA complaint 11626293. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

fire

Driving my car only a few minutes and it caught fire and blew up. Car was completely engulfed in flames. Son was barely able to get out before engine burst into flames.

NHTSA complaint 11714592. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Software update for the vehicle. Since we have completed the update we have had issues with the Radio unit flashing in and out intermittenly and finally the unit went black and will not work at all. This is now showing multiple fault codes including. Engine control module 1 (U105400), Brakes 1(C102D00), Adaptive Cruise Control (U112100), Dash Board (U111000), Gateway (U105400), Telematics Communication Unit (B104914, U112100,B1916f4), Light Control Left 2 (U140700,C123AFA) Light Control Right 2 (C123AFA). None of these codes started till the System update happened.

NHTSA complaint 11756322. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
i was exiting HWY 45 at highway speed. the car began to stutter, i lost control of the propulsion of the vehicle, the breaks did not seem to work, the EPC light came on after rolling to a stop. i had to put the car in park and upon turning the car off and back on the cars EPC light went off and i was able to drive it home. it now sits in my driveway and has not been moved since.

NHTSA complaint 11755826. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
While traveling at highway speeds with my family on our way to a college visit, the vehicle suffered a sudden, catastrophic loss of propulsion due to a complete breach of the automatic transmission oil cooler lines (Part numbers: 3QF317801C and 3QF317820C). The breach caused hot, pressurized transmission fluid to violently spray out of the vehicle, covering the highway and completely coating the vehicle traveling directly behind us, creating an immediate multi-car road hazard. The sudden loss of fluid instantly destroyed the transmission internals, disabling the vehicle on a high-speed highway and requiring us to be towed to a Volkswagen dealership. The certified VW dealership technicians

NHTSA complaint 11755619, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
While driving my 2022 Volkswagen Atlas, the infotainment system began malfunctioning. The audio stopped working intermittently, the touchscreen went black and displayed corrupted graphics, and the backup camera repeatedly cuts in and out or fails to display anything. Pressing the backup camera button can cause the infotainment system to shut down completely. I attempted to reset the system through a soft reset by pressing the power/volume button for 20+ seconds and when that didn't work I did a hard reset by disconnecting the battery for 15- 20 mins, but the issue persists. Because the camera is unreliable or unavailable when reversing or for my blind spots, I believe this creates a safety

NHTSA complaint 11752976, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
This car has increasingly started stalling out as I come to a stop in traffic at lower speeds. There is no consistent pattern behind when it will occur. At times, I feel my car's engine start to shudder like it's going to stall, but it is not immediately followed by stalling. I have taken it to a dealer last month because it stalled at least three times in a month. They replaced the battery because they couldn't find cause, and this past Sunday, the car stalled as I pulled into a parking spot and shut off. Each time, I have my auto engine off disengaged. It is NOT the engine turning off at a red light and re-engaging when I take my foot off the brake. The car will turn off and not throw any

NHTSA complaint 11751841, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Daytime running light went out and needs the whole assembly to be replaced which is $1400+ from the dealership. Vehicle is barley 4 years old

NHTSA complaint 11749401. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Volkswagen Atlas

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 40 5
2024 165 8
2023 123 5
2021 455 17
2020 27 4
2019 468 11
2018 460 16

Other 2022 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.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst