general problems of the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas - part 1

Component failed: abs braking system / wiring harness. Safety risk: while driving at highway speeds with my service animal, the vehicle suffered a catastrophic abs failure. The brakes became unresponsive, and the dashboard displayed multiple critical safety warnings, nearly resulting in a collision. Confirmation: the failure was confirmed by schumacher vw (west palm beach) during a forensic inspection. They identified the cause as a corroded/damaged wiring harness—the exact defect visible in a diagnostic video from jim ellis vw one week prior. Warning symptoms: "front assist" and sensor warning lamps appeared on [xxx]. I paid jim ellis vw for a diagnostic; however, they failed to repair the visible defect and later falsely denied to the bbb that the diagnostic ever occurred. Summary: this vehicle (VIN: [xxx] ) has a documented safety defect that was identified by a technician but concealed by dealership management. This concealment led to a total loss of braking assist while the vehicle was in motion. The vehicle is currently available for inspection at schumacher vw. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I am reporting a critical safety failure of the abs wiring harness following service at jim ellis Volkswagen. I originally brought the vehicle in for a "front assist" safety light diagnostic. Immediately following the service, the abs wiring harness failed, disabling my braking safety systems. The dealership is currently withholding the diagnostic report and technician notes that would confirm the state of the wiring harness during their inspection. This failure has rendered the vehicle undriveable and creates a severe safety risk to the driver and public.

Brake booster faulty, alert continuously came on and off while driving at different speeds created drastic changes in cars braking ability that were potentially hazardous if driver did not pull over.

Driving at constant speed on highway, vehicle either loses acceleration and / or applies brake for short moment. Tapping the accelerator appears allow the vehicle to resume to initial intended speed. Automatic braking, not intended by the driver is a safety risk for both this and adjacent drivers. The problem has been reproduced by a dealer service center. No other agencies have inspected the vehicle's problem. No warning lamps, messages or other symptoms evident. Dealer has had the vehicle to two weeks and has not provided a viable resolution.

While approaching an intersection at about 20 mph, vehicle suddenly applied the front collision braking and almost caused an accident from the vehicle behind me. There were no vehicles in front of me or any other obstacles. Other 2019 models have been recalled with he same issue for a harness wiring or software update. This is dangerous and risks my family's life.

The abs or aes malfunctioned while driving. The brakes were automatically applied, without warning, with a medium amount of traffic and vehicles behind me. This poses a significant safety issue to myself and others when the brakes get applied without warning. A vehicle behind me had to swerve to avoid rear-ending me and others had to go around me on an onramp to the highway. I am taking my vehicle to Volkswagen of waco today to have this issue looked at. I am also looking into a dashcam to see if I can get the issue on camera in case the dealership isn't able to duplicate the issue. This issue has occurred other times, this has not been an isolated incident. I do get a faulty brake booster light while the vehicle is braking so there is no warning before it happens, just me flying into my steering wheel.

Electronic brake keeps activating on its own. Passenger airbag warning light goes off when no one is in the seat.

While driving approx 20mph while turning a corner in a neighborhood, the fault brake booster warning went off and braked my vehicle. The car continued to flash this warning and the brakes were not easily depressed (felt somewhat like when abs happens in icy roads). This happened multiple times until I could get home. Took the vehicle to vw dealer and they replaced a sensor. 3 weeks later the same warning and braking situation happened while in a parking lot. Returned to dealer and still being evaluated. Online, this is a recall for 2019 Atlas' but not for my VIN. Concerned this should be included in a recall. Worried for my safety as this has happened multiple times including after repair and causes the car brakes to go automatically and unexpectedly.

I was driving on the freeway on 10/13/2023, it was raining and I was startled by an alarm and a flashing warning on my dash stating brake booster failure, the abs light went on and I was concerned because I recently had by brakes done at the Volkswagen dealership in brooklyn center minnesota on 10/4/2023. I was afraid of not being able to brake and I pulled over and put my car in park and I received a park assist failure warning on my dash as well as the park assist light turned on by the shifter. I shut my car off and called Volkswagen in brooklyn center. I was assured that my brakes wouldn’t stop working and the service tech was unaware why the red light near my shifter for the park assist would turn on by itself. The dealership was about to close and I was told that I could maybe be squeezed in on that following Monday and eventually was scheduled. I restarted my car and received another error for the electronic stabilization control. I called back the dealership and was able to catch the tech before he left and I was concerned about driving it. I was told, you are basically driving a 1985 Volkswagen, be aware you don’t have the safety features. My car was reviewed on 10/24/2023, I was provided with a rental car and was told the problem was the abs electronic braking module that this is known to go out at my mileage. I do see that others have had this issue and there was a recall, but I was told my VIN number was not included. Prior to this I did report driving in a mall parking lot and I had an alarm go off for a collision warning and my car suddenly braked on it’s own and no vehicle was around me. I have also been in slow traffic and periodically had the collision warning go off and the vehicle was a good distance in front of me. I was told that that can happen with the sensors. I’ve also been driving in the winter and I’ve gotten the warning look that it’s safe to move alarm alot when I’m stopped in traffic, I’m guessing that it’s due to ice near the sensor.

I was driving between 35 and 40 mph on a 252/providence road at wallingford Ave in nether providence twp, PA 19086 last night at approximately 8:30p. It was dark, about 65 degrees and not raining. Road conditions were dry. The pavement is under repair with a temporarily patched utility trench for new water or gas lines in the drive lane. Just before the stated intersection, there are 2 large temporary steel plates on the road, which are somewhat raised (not flush). I was lightly applying the brakes to reduce speed. As my front tires made contact with plates, the collision warning flashed on the dash screen, no audible warning, and the brakes automatically and suddenly applied. The vehicle wheels locked and there was tire screeching heard. The vehicle came to a complete stop. There were no other vehicles in-front, behind, or on-coming. The vehicle stayed straight and there was no collision or damage. I am guessing the vehicle collision system sensed a shadow, 'saw' the light reflecting off the plates, or indicated a slippery surface due to the steel plate. The anti-lock brake system apparently didn't work as the wheels locked. The vehicle just stopped! I was the only occupant and for the record, in no way impaired. I'm pretty attuned to how my vehicle drives and reacts. Occasionally I'll get a false audible and visual alarm indicating a forward vehicle detection when there is nothing there. I've noticed this on dark, winding roads where I figure the glare from my headlights caused a false indication. This is the first time I experienced automatic, emergency braking.

At random times, at random speeds, my instrument lights will illuminate with a beep and display the brake light. Sometimes just the brake icon, sometimes the brake and abs, and sometimes both along with the engine light. At the same time my vehicle will violently brake on its own. When I depress the brake pedal to gain control the pedal is "jerky", rigid, and difficult to push in. Sometimes this lasts for a moment, sometimes longer. This is very dangerous and seems to occur more frequently. A 'brake booster faulty' message appears on the dash. Then dissappears.

I informed the vw service center approximately a year or more ago that it felt like the vehicle's brakes were stopping on their own. The service center claimed that they could not reproduce/detect the issue. Now there is a class action lawsuit regarding the matter yet no recall or safety issue regarding this matter attached to my VIN. There are people who likely do not know about this apparent issue and it is very dangerous to have a vehicle that will suddenly stop on its own. So far, my local service center refused to fix this issue along with two other safety issues. I am concerned that vw knows it is producing unsafe cars yet still puts them out in the market for consumers.

The vehicle will make a loud alarm and the dash will display "brakes booster faulty". The vehicle then will brake itself regardless of where you are and brake pedal will not work properly. This could cause you to get rear-ended as the vehicle will simply stop!.

The forward collision warning randomly went off while crossing a bridge. Nothing was around. The car abruptly stopped itself and was unresponsive to the gas pedal and steering until it was fully stopped. No problems were detected at the dealer. We are afraid to drive our children in this car due to the risk of being rear-ended on a highway with a child in a rear-facing car seat. If this ever happens in a tunnel, it would undoubtedly cause a mass casualty incident.

I have owned my Atlas for seven months. During this time my 2019 vw Atlas sel will slam on the brakes without any need to. This has happened five times. There is not an object or person around, but the brakes engage and all the sensors start beeping. I will need to put my car in park and restart my engine to drive again. I consider myself lucky that the incidents have happened in parking lots or while entering the roadway with no other cars have around. One month ago my car was taken in to an auto body shop for a repair due to a back bumper collision. The repair seems to have made the problem worse since these braking incidents have happened since the collision/repair. The auto body shop says the manufacturer "codes" are reading as "o" so the car is clear and ready to drive, but the braking/sensor system is still not working properly. I hope vw will reevaluate the safety of this sensor/braking system.

Start/stop error lightafter already replaced by dealership brake booster faulty epc light comes on-off randomly.

While driving on the highway, a warning flashed on the dashboard- faulty brake booster. The pressure of the brake pedal was significantly diminished and was accompanied by a clicking sound. The red brake warning light illuminated. After 5 minutes, proper brake functioning was restored. Within a period of 20 minutes, the above sequence of events was repeated 3 times. After stopping and parking, the warning light went out. Upon start up later in the day, the same faulty brake booster warning sounded and the brakes again were spongy and choppy. The following day, when driving to the vw dealership, the same message flashed on the dash multiple times and brake functioning was impaired.

Suddenly warning lights illuminate- brake booster faulty, start error, abs. Brakes then feel spongy, jerky hard to slow down and stop safely. Vehicle then needs to be towed to dealership for repair - vacum sensor c10a301 replaced. This has happened three times 4/22/21, 8/5/21 and 6/7/23. Dealership claims to need the part for refund from vw for warranty repair. This is a dangerous situation and needs to be remedied, especially as this is a family car.

When starting the vehicle, the warning system will flash and display several errors, mainly "parking brake failure" and the light on the parking brake control will flash. Parking brake will disengage after several attempts and warning will go away. Problem started about 1 month ago and is becoming more persistant.

At random time, during slower speeds, many vehicle would “jerk” mad produce a brake booster faulty warning and the brake light would illuminate on the console. The brakes would then become “spongy” and difficult to operate. The light would stay in, or turn off after a while and driving would resume as normal. Difficult to replicate but scary how random it is.

Abs and brake warning light come on dash making the break pedal click, causing the car to break abruptly or lock. Usually happens while at a complete stope or if driving below 30 to 20 miles an hour.

The car sensors pick up objects that are not there which then causes the emergency brake system to engage on its own. Anytime in the vehicle there is no stop beeping from the sensors detecting objects that are not a threat. When entering an intersection is when the car seems to engage the emergency break the most. When this occurs I am stuck not moving when oncoming traffic heading towards me. I have almost been tboned in collisions several times by this error in the system. I have taken it to the Volkswagen service department several time over 2 months and they said the car does not read an error code so they can not help. They acknowledged there was a problem and they believe it is the sensors but said they can not do anything with it due to Volkswagen policies. We have presented video evidence of the issue to the dealership and they even saw it happen in their parking lot. The car is under warranty from the manufacture for 7 years and 84,000 miles. I reached out to Volkswagen directly and they said if the car doesn’t read an error code they won’t do anything. The car is unsafe to drive in at this time.

I was driving on the highway around 60 mph. Without warning, my car's brakes fully engaged. There was no car or object ahead of me. A warning light that had the words "brake booster" was displayed but I couldn't make out what else it said as I was trying to regain control of the vehicle. Thankfully, there was no one behind me otherwise this could very well have resulted in a high-speed accident. The car went from 60 mph to around 20 mph. I pulled off the side of the road as quickly as possible.

Vehicle emergency break activates, unable to release, or when teleased after multiple attempts the light continues flashing on the break button and warning alert on the dasboard. The first time it happened I arrived to destination and parked, when parked as I am waiting it activated when the door was opened. It has not been inspeacted yet, it fist started about 1 week ago. Its unpredictable when it will happen.

Warning light indicated brake booster faulty, brake light came on and brakes felt different pressing down.

My vehicle has completely just shut down atleast five times since owing it. I have a special needs son who is in the vehicle with me all the time. The vehicle engine will shut down with no warning and not restart. Traffic behind me not aware that my vehicle has shut down after the light has turned green. It has shut down at various times in the middle of traffic. I’m fearful for myself and child that an accident is just a matter of time. I read complaints from others who state they have experienced the same problem. I’m concerned for the safety of others and me and my son. No warning is given before it just dies. I don’t feel safe in this vehicle. This vehicle needs to be fixed immediately. My vehicle has approximately 38,000 miles on it currently. This occurred either when I have stopped completely at a light, or when trying to start up the vehicle. Respectfully, vap.

My vehicle beeps loudly and says “brake booster faulty”. My brakes become spongy or hard to engage and I usually have to start the car over again. This has become a frequent issue and I’m afraid to drive my vehicle now. I’ve tried to catch a video but I can never get my phone out in time. . I am shocked that this is a common issue and it has yet to be recalled.

On two occasions, I started to back up and the emergency brake system engaged, slamming the car to a stop, as if someone were behind me but there clearly was not. I had a car full of 10 year old girls and they all screamed. Two days ago, I was traveling a city street at 35-40 mph and the emergency braking system engaged and slammed the car almost to a full stop, while in busy traffic. The cruise control isn't currently working either, it throws an error when you try to set your speed. I travel approximately 40 miles round trip to work 5+ days a week at highway speeds. If the emergency brake were to engage while I'm doing 65-70 mph in rush hour traffic and lock the brakes, it will cause an accident. What if it is raining? there is no way someone traveling a few car lengths behind me will be able to stop suddenly. I will injure myself or others and I'm honestly scared to drive my Atlas right now so it is at the local vw dealer for further inspection. I told them my worries and this needs to be recalled quickly. It is a known issue, they asked me if my windows were rolling down when this happens, which is reported in the vm forums.

While driving, the instrument cluster will light up with red warnings about the braking system not available, I remember seeing "brake booster" in the warning, and need to pull over immediately. At that point, it feels that I have lost the brake booster and I need to step on the brakes very hard to stop. It is scary, as it occurred while driving in the city, with speeds from 30-35 mph and cars behind. It has happened 3 times over 9 months. It is not easy to reproduce as I don't know what causes it. Whe it happens again, if its safe I will try to take a picture as well. . Read more...

The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while 17 mph the vehicle made a sudden stop, the front assist, the cruise control symbol, and stability control system waring lights all illuminated. The contact pulled over and turn the vehicle off and restarted, the contact stated he felt as the vehicle was slowing down while accelerating. The dealer was contacted, and the dealer stated they will contact the contact back. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 59,600.

While driving( multiple scenarios ranging from 10 mph, 70 mph, 30 mph and even while car was parked) alarm would go off and message displaying “brake booster faulty” while also illuminating the “brake” light on dashboard. Brake pedal then becomes stiff and/or spongy, while not working properly. Once car is turned off and back on, “abs” light is also illuminated. Could not brake my car today with 2 children in backseat. Very dangerous.

I have had the emergency brake suddenly deploy about a dozen times since purchasing this car. All have been at relatively low speeds, as in parking lots or when making a turn on street. There has been nothing in my path to cause the emergency brake system to deploy. I took it to the dealership and they said that the computer only registered one deployment and there was nothing that could be done.

I was travelling at about 60 mph on a two lane road with no area to pull over. The car all the sudden slowed and to keep speed required alot more rpm. I found a place to pull over. I saw no lights but as I tried to get back on the road the traction control light came on. I thought it was because I was in some dirt. But as tried to get back to speed the car started to smell, was very sluggish, and required more power than ever before to come close. I pulled over again to find that the brakes were smoking. From my estimate the brakes were on this whole time. I shut the car down and then everything was fine again, if I left my foot off the gas and had the car in drive it would slowly move forward. Then the whole thing happened again, I could tell the behavior because the car would drop speed and then engine would be reving trying to keep speed. I pulled over again to restart the car to get it back to normal. This whole process at least 4 more times. Sometimes it happened after braking for a little bit and other times withoutbdping anything.

On eight occasions this morning the faulty brake booster light has come on and the abs light and brake light are also on inside my vehicle. The brakes are squishy and almost don’t feel like they work to 50% capacity. They are jerky and click and does not seem like a simple antilock braking system problem. This is happened randomly over the last three years that I’ve owned this vehicle. But it has never happened this many times consecutively in the short period of time. I’m afraid for the safety of driving this vehicle.

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? the vehicle had a warning come up on the dashboard, the warning was as follows: “brake booster faulty”. The brakes then felt like abs was engaged (brake pedal pulsating) and the brakes fully engaged and took the car to a full and complete stop from 20 miles per hour. After turning the car off and back on the warning had gone away and we continued on. The warning then came on two additional times during the same trip and instead of stopping the car, the brakes would pulse and not work as well as should be expected. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? brakes did not work as expected and slammed themselves, had this occurred on the freeway that could have caused a pile up. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? no, but it has happened on multiple occasions and the dealer told us it was fixed previously. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? currently being inspected by the dealer. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? as noted the “brake booster faulty” error flashes on the dashboard when this problem occurs.