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2023 Volkswagen Atlas Recalls & Complaints

5

open safety recalls on record

Critical

176 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.25 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Critical22V753000

Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Hard Parts Internal/Mechanical

damaged engine can result in engine failure and a stall, raises the risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

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. (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.

Serious22V152000

Air Bags:Side/Window

delayed air bag deployment can raises the risk of injury.

Remedy & full details

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. (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.

Serious22V718000

Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Foundation Components:Hoses, Lines/Piping, And Fittings

brake fluid leak may increase the distance required to stop, raises the risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

Dealers will replace the affected brake lines, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on November 23, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 47T2.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2023 model year Atlas FL and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. Certain brake lines may leak at the threaded connections.

Serious24V464000

Air Bags:Sensor:Occupant Classification:Front Passenger

deactivated passenger air bag raises the risk of injury during a crash.

Remedy & full details

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. (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.

Serious25V434000

Service Brakes

loss of vehicle control raises the risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

Dealers will replace the bolts as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 25, 2025. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42HX.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport and 2023-2024 ID.4 vehicles. Certain bolts on the chassis, brake system and/or suspension (such as bolts for certain cross member, engine mount, control arm, subframe, rear brake carrier, etc.) of affected vehicles may not have been correctly tightened during the manufacturing process.

Complaint volume

176 this model-year 9 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

6Crashes
0Fires
8Injuries
0Deaths

Across 176 complaints. Severity Index 0.25.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Engine33 · 19%Electrical System26 · 15%Air Bags22 · 13%Unknown Or Other20 · 11%Service Brakes15 · 9%Fuel/Propulsion System12 · 7%Exterior Lighting11 · 6%Forward Collision Avoidan…5 · 3%
  1. Engine — 33 reports
  2. Electrical System — 26 reports
  3. Air Bags — 22 reports
  4. Unknown Or Other — 20 reports
  5. Service Brakes — 15 reports
  6. Fuel/Propulsion System — 12 reports
  7. Exterior Lighting — 11 reports
  8. Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings — 5 reports
  9. Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking — 5 reports
  10. Power Train — 5 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

2018 (16) · 2019 (11) · 2020 (4) · 2021 (17) · 2022 (7) · 2023 · 2024 (8) · 2025 (5) · 2026 (2)

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.