2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport owner complaints

The contact owns a 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. The contact stated while driving at low speeds, the emergency brake engaged independently. The contact also stated that the front driver’s side door failed to lock. The contact stated that the warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing an unknown chip to be replaced and a wiring failure. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 9,000.

The car was purchased brand new in 2020. In 2022, the heating core broke and had to be replaced. This has happened again. This is a safety issue, the defroster is blowing cold air and not clearing the windshield properly. Having to drive a vehicle while freezing is also a safety hazard. A vehicle that is 5 years old, should not have this happen twice. Volkswagen was contacted and said there was not anything they could do. I read online that many with 2019 & 2020 Atlas & Atlas Cross sports are having the same issue. It should not take an accident to happen for Volkswagen to do something, Volkswagen needs to correct this issue ASAP.

When driving vehicle upon coming to a completed stop, various fault messages are displayed 'electronic brake error/driver contact switch error, start/stop error'. The car detects that the door is open even though it is completely closed which causes parking break to activate immobilizing the vehicle ; the start/stop system then activates turning off the engine. This makes performing any low speed maneuver extremely difficult and dangerous as you must first find then press the electronic parking breaking button/take your foot off the break and wait for the start stop to deactivate/then accelerate. This has nearly caused an accident when executing a left turn into oncoming traffic the car stopped and the break activated while cars were approaching. Car was taken to the authorized vw dealer w

Multiple errors when starting car including windows on drivers side roll down randomly, cruise control does not work, when I step on brakes it throws the emergency brake on and jerks the forward causing everyone in car to jerk forward. Dealership states drivers side wire harness problem but had it replaced 3/2021 and now same exact problem 12/2021

The ControlNet module throws an error on the dash stating SOS Emergency error. The error cannot be cleared.

Gas tank seal failed causing collapse of gas tank and damage to fuel pump. Similar problem in other volkswagon vehicles such as jetta and golf that had recall in past. Volkswagon costumer service was notified, be failed to offer repair coverage due to fact I had the oil changed at a non volkswagon service center. No work was done on fuel system outside of official volkswagon dealership.

The fuel tank collapsed, leading to the fuel indicator not presenting accurate fuel levels, which lead to the cars immediate shut down on the highway at high speeds. Resulting in us almost getting hit by other drivers at high speeds. As we were losing power the epc light and engine light came on, however nothing prior. After taking it to the VW service department, we were told this is a common issue and when they were first presented with it they contacted VW assistance and were given a test to perform to determine the integrity of the fuel tank.

When picked up vehicle within days noise was heard from left side of vehicle, at the windshield. Both at low speeds and high, if something was placed in the corner like a towel the noise would stop. After vehicle went in to the dealers it was determined that the windshield was faulty, it had been incorrectly fitted and the whole windshield and all seals needed to be replaced.

Hood cable release snapped/broke during a routine oil change.

The warning light came on signaling an airbag problem. The dealer checked all the wires and connections and determined there must be a problem with vehemently airbag itself and they said it should be replaced.

Vehicles “Airbag Error” light has turned on. From what I’m reading this is a known faulty sensor that may prevent the front passenger airbag from deploying in a crash. This could increase the risk of injury to the front passenger. I contacted the Volkswagen dealer, there is currently no recall submitted for this because Volkswagen is not able to trace the issue. I am filing a claim because I am concerned for my safety and the safety of my passengers. I am not sure who I can contact in order to receive any assistance with this issue. Thank you.

All side airbags went off after a curb check going less than 10 mph around a corner.

on 11/18/24 Spark plug issues and misfire cylinder causing loss of power and acceleration with engine light check light on ,EPC and tire pressure. Other Issue with navigation system giving false of whereabout and wrong directions/turns. Occasional lost of power while driving on the street. Navigation system has been replaced twice but problem still continue. in 2021 and 2023.

On Sep 25 2025 my wife parked car in parking lot to check phone messages. The car was in park. When she finished she placed the car in drive. It began to accelerated rapidly even after the brakes were applied and struck a tree. Her foot was not on the accelerator. The car then rolled over onto the driver side door. A police officer in a nearby building saw the crash and said the car was probably at 30mph when it hit the tree. He and two other officers got my wife out of the car. After the car was towed away we contacted VW customer care and asked that the car be examined. The said when the car was returned to drivable condition they would examine it. Hartford insurance totaled the car and said they were not responsible to examine the care and referred us back to VW. Again VW will not go th

August of 2023 the vehicle was taken to Charles Maund VW in Austin Texas due to the hood latch disconnecting/breaking under the hood. November of 2024, just outside the 1 yr warranty period, the hood latch again had become disconnected/broken under the hood. There is an obvious defect in the hood latch system and puts drivers at risk as the hood cannot be opened if needed possibly stranding a driver on the road with a non-functioning vehicle and no way to assess or repair the issue. Think low oil, overheating engine, no wiper fluid, fuse blown, no way to assess the issue.

Pulled out of driveway onto major road. Brake fluid alert showed up on dash. Brakes completely stopped working. Was able to roll the car to a stop. Called tow truck which delivered car to mechanic. Mechanic confirmed that there were no brakes and advised that the brake master cylinder leaked into the brake booster which caused the brake booster to be damaged. Mechanic needed to remove and replace the the brake master cylinder and the vacuum brake booster.

Daylight Running Lights (LED stripe) went out but in order to replace it, the whole headlight chassis need to be replaced because it’s embedded as part of the head light chassis instead of by replacing the LED running stripe alone. This needs to be part of recall to as it’s a safety issue without daylight running lights

Persistent noise when turning steering wheel to the left, loud clicking more so when vehicle is stopped. Video evidence presented to dealer after it had been in to the shop once before and it was determined faulty steering rack,

Seat belts in rear left side do not retract, have to manually push the seat belts back in to get them to work

The vehicle randomly turns off and a message appears that states manually start the vehicle. It’s not the ECO start and stop system. I researched the Atlas online forum and this is a noted problem. The comments were very consistently noting that VW has not properly addressed the issue. There were numerous comments that the dealerships were unable to address the issue leaving the owner with a very dangerous defect. I encourage you to pursue this matter further. Thank you