Automatic Emergency Braking problems of the 2021 Volkswagen Atlas - part 1

For steering: there is a grinding noise that happens each time I turn my wheel when turning into a parking spot or making a non wide turn. It happens every single time that I do it. For automatic emergency braking: it turns on while I am in the middle of driving constantly.

On [xxx] my 2021 Volkswagen Atlas cut off on [xxx] at the red light and I was almost rear ended multiple times until a kind gentleman moved my car out of the intersection. It has been parked in my driveway since because the battery won't hold a charge. I had the battery tested but the machine read that something is draining the battery even without keys being in the car ignition switch. The windows goes up and down by themselves without the power being engaged. The car is surging and all of these things are included on a recall list for Volkswagen which I will include in this complaint but Volkswagen specifically kurt o from vw social media said that won't do anything to help. I truly believe they are picking and choosing whose VIN number to repair and the rest are left to their own vices. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

My vehicle while driving on the highway at 65-70mph had the automatic emergency brake system engage. We came to a complete stop and if the highway was not empty could have resulted in a traumatic incident for my family and I. I called Volkswagen and they do not have a fix for this issue. This is our only vehicle and we are not comfortable driving it. It could happen again and could be worse than the first time.

After heavy rain, the forward looking radar will start stop working with no warning, cause aeb and forward warning not functioning, greatly increase risk of collision. The problem is consistent with heavy rain, but dealer refuse to do any repair because it didn't happen normally. The problem appeared on 03/31/2024, 06/30/2024, 08/18/2024 every time there is a heavy rain, with picture as proof.

The forward collision warning activated out of the blue and the automatic emergency braking was applied for no reason. Was driving to go pick up daughter from school on March 11, 2024 at approximately 11:50 am. Driving on neighborhood road with speed limit of 40 mph. Driving at 40 mph with no other vehicles anywhere near me in front, behind, or in opposing lane. All of a sudden the front collision warning light on dash popped up and the emergency brakes applied for no reason! this caused the vehicle to seize up and come to a screeching halt. Luckily there were no vehicles behind me that could have rear-ended me, and there were no other vehicles coming from opposing direction that I would might have slid into. There was no reason why this should have happened. There were no vehicles anywhere in the vicinity. No leaves falling, no debris in the roadway, nothing. No inclement weather, it was sunny and dry but cold approximatley 40 f. Inspected front of vehicle afterwards and there was nothing obstructing the sensors or cameras on front end.

Component malfunction: emergency braking system (ebs) engaged without warning systems alerting inside the car cockpit at a speed of 50 mph on a high speed 4’ lane street. The car would not move forward and disengage the ebs until the ignition was turned off and appeared to reset the car. The driver was able to drive to the next driveway and inspect the car and review the site on the street where the car suddenly engaged the ebs. There was no visible evidence of debris or obstacles in the path of travel. Safety: the sudden stop physically jolted the driver, causing muscle soreness for several days. There were no cars in the area at the time, if there had been, the car would have created a major accident due sudden stop in traffic and potential physical damage to the driver. The sudden stop did impact the drivers shoulders and back muscles for several days of soreness. Dealership confirmation / inspection: the issue was reported to the dealership and the next day was driven to the dealership (at the request of the dealership service team). The dealership is currently inspecting the vehicle. No other inspections occurred outside the owners visual inspection of the wheel wheels and brakes immediately after the ebs incident prior warning lights / related incidents: there was warning lamps that lasted for about a mile of driving approximately a week before this incident and the car sensors have suddenly gone off in the past without any cars in the vicinity. The car has also been having wire harness issues in the drivers door that result in unresponsive or opposite operation of the window switch on the drivers side door.

We have an open case with Volkswagen, but the remedy part is on back order, in the meantime we have to use this unsafe car. The dealership where car was purchased from is not providing a loaner/rental despite being told by our Volkswagen care team specialist that he is obligated to. The car emergency brake comes on at every stop(I’m shook at every stop, knots in my stomach every single stop I make, stop sign, trying to park, red lights), driver side front and back windows open spontaneously, non stop beeping(anxiety inducing) when car is parked idle, driver side window doesn’t open manually pressing the button, car does not lock on driver door, like not at all, alarm will go on sometimes when opening, but it is never locked posing a serious threat, anyone can open my door if I am stoped at a light, or idling in car. Car can be stolen at any point, I feel unsafe and very distressed.

The remedy to my recall is not being performed within a reasonable time. I was in the road with my one year old and I was scared to get on the highway I was afraid someone would rear end us as the vehicle stops and turns on the check engine light and a warning light on my dash. I was driving and when I was coming to a stop the vehicle stops on it on and doesn’t give the person behind me enough time to break. I would honestly see if there is something that can been done as o don’t feel safe in my vehicle but I can’t afford to rent a car in the mean time it is my only transportation my son has a doctors appt @ 130 today and I’m afraid for his life and to drive there. I would really appreciate any help that you can offer.

Although this is not the first issue with my vw 2021 Atlas, it will be my last. As I was driving down a two lane highway to my daughter's softball practice, the emergency break turned on and my vehicle completely jolted to a stop. By the grace of god, no one was behind us. Prior to this recent incident, the windows started to roll up and down on their own and the "fault parking break" alert will appear on my dash. This occurs randomly, day or night, sunny or rainy, cold or hot. The vehicle has been to the dealership for this issue, but the alert continues. I purchased this vehicle March of 2021, issues did not occur until December and it has gone down hill quickly. Right now, this vehicle is deemed "undrivable" and will be at the dealership. This vehicle is also under the new recall where the airbags do not deploy. There is no fix for this.

Vw Atlas 2021 is having issues with the driver side harness which there is an active recall without repair for. Car started to show error messages related to parking brake, air bag functionality, windows roll up and down, parking brake has engaged while driving in early April. Multiple dealers contacted and no loaner vehicle or repairs identified or offered. Car feels completely unsafe to drive due to random braking and error messages.

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while driving at 20 mph, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a wiring harness failure. The dealer informed the contact that the wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

I was driving between 25-30 mph at dusk. Suddenly a loud red warning appeared on the dashboard, and the car came to a screeching halt. I did not touch the brakes - it happened all on its own. There was nothing in front of me, such as a collision. It was not raining. The only factor that changed, which might be completely coincidental, is that I was just going over top of a large metal plate on the street that is used to cover road construction. The plate was just like any other, and stuck up maybe an inch. By the brakes slamming on, I was hit by the car behind me, who was also going 25-30 mph. This caused my passenger to be thrashed around - luckily neither of us were hurt. The driver of the other vehicle was not hurt but his car's hood was badly damaged. He had two kids in the back seat. I see this article, but when discussing it with the dealer, they claimed to have no knowledge of the issue or recall, even though it says the issue has been happening since 2020. . Read more...

While my wife was driving home from work, all lights on the dashboard illuminated and the airbag warning symbol came on as well as both front windows opened on their own. Upon arrival at home as she pulled into the drive the emergency brake momentarily activated. Luckily the brake activated once she had pulled out of the main traffic or she may have been hit from behind. She called bud brown, our local vw dealer and was advised it was a known issue with the wiring on a door harness. She was advised that this part is not available and may not be available for many months and that there was nothing we could do. At present due to the known nature of the issue, it has not been inspected by vw or anybody else. At present when starting my car, only the airbag warning light is lit up. The car is available for inspection at any time and by anybody.

Warning lights and alarms would go off, the driver’s side windows would roll down and the car would suddenly brake while in traffic.

The vehicle slams the breaks while breaking, it is very violent and hurts my back when it does it. This would be the second time this same part had been replaced when it finally gets replaced. I have several close encounters with people almost rear ending me due to the sudden stops.

Several times while driving at 30-35 mph, 3-4 times so far, the emergency brake will just suddenly slam the car to a halt with the emergency brake. Also, the warning lights, possibly for collision, will just go off for no reason at all. Very scary and very dangerous. I have taken it to the dealer several times, as I have two young children, and they have not been able to diagnose or fix the problem.

My airbag light randomly went on a few days after my 10k miles inspection at the platinum vw dealership in hicksville, NY. I brought it in and was told there is a safety issue due to a faulty sensor in the passenger side door which can both cause the airbag not to deploy (or to randomly deploy) and can also cause the parking break to automatically engage while the car is in motion. While the vw dealership was totally not transparent about this, the rental agency told me that I was there were more than 15 customers before me with the same issue in the same car, and that one such customer's breaks automatically deployed while the car was in motion at over 30mph. I called vk corporate and they.

Driving my daughter to school and the car threw itself in park with the emergency parking brake. There has been a few instances of this along with windows rolling down, the car throwing codes and alarms going off. I was driving 10mph when it threw itself in park throwing my daughter and I forward and almost getting rearended. This is not safe. Dealer is aware and has ordered the part with no clue when they will receive it to fix my car.

We have 2021 Atlas purchased Nov. 2020 the aeb and parking collision sensors and system engage at random times while driving. The most recent incident was while parking the car 3/13/22 there were no cars in the parking lot and while turning into the lot and parking spot the aeb engaged and stopped the car completely this is not only unnecessary but while having kids in the car I was left to look around and be like what just happened. Finally parking the car the car was not near the curb on the front nor the side. This happens while driving and I would hate for it to happen on a freeway in rush hour traffic. Because of this feature defaulting like it has for the past months I know take surface streets on the way home from work. When taking the vehicle to the dealership they are dumbfounded have ran test and state there is nothing they can do- they are aware of the issue but its one of those things that "you had to be there" to experience what I am talking about. When I run the car net app - there are no recalls or updates or known issues with my vehicle. Yes the car is available for inspection. I would say in the past year this has happened 7-10 times. This feature is great when you need it or when it is supposed to work but at times when it is not needed puts our safety at risk.

My vehicle has had 2 fuel pump replacements, my emergency brake has gone off while driving and while idling 3x slamming me to a hard stop and end arguing my kids and I. I have also had multiple events of being in a turn lane or busy intersection with my automatic start/stop turned off and my car will not engage and throws a sign up on dash telling me to restart my car. This is dangerous!.

Parking break engages while driving. Windows roll down door contact light flashes.

Brought to dealer on 3/04/2022 engine check light was coming on and off at time and hill start assist error, drivers door module wire harness has shorted out and parts are on back order. Power seat moving by itself. Driver side rear window going down by itself. Remote start not working. Emergency brake not working and applying itself while driving. Issue still has not been resolved.

3/2/22 - radio randomly displayed "loading. . . . " 3/5/22 - message displayed about driver door contact switch 3/12/22 - message displayed saying "fault: electronic parking brake". Another message was displayed saying "attention: the engine is running". About 8 hours later, I was approaching a red light, when I put on the brake to slow down the parking brake self engaged causing me to come to a sudden stop. The car behind me almost rear-ended me. Twenty minutes later I tried to roll down the driver's window. It would not roll down, then the back driver's window started rolling down, then the front driver's window rolled down, then both windows was going up and down.

When driving at roughly 50+ mph the windows roll down one their own and the driver door contact switch error comes on. Once slowing down, the parking break engages when you are still moving the vehicle. I have contacted vw to get this serviced and they have told me there is no fix currently and that I will be charged to provide my own rental vehicle.

When I was driving anytime I started to slow down the emergency brake would activate and apply the emergency brake to stop the car. The back window also went down. The check engine light and warning message came on saying there was an error with the auto start stop feature. The dealership advised that the driver door wiring harness was needing replaced and they have been seeing this in the 2021 Atlas.

Door harness replacement needed, car is only a few months old, less than 10k miles. Various sensors go off indicating a contact door switch issue, and the parking brake will go off and windows will open. This happened to me with children in the car and snowy weather, which could have caused an accident when the parking brake went off while driving.

My car check engine light came on, the car stated beeping loudly, the automatic breaking system slammed the breaks on for no reason repeatedly and the windows were going up and down by themselves. The only way to get the car to stop all of this was to turn it off put it in park and restart it at which point it would move forward a little bit before the brakes would slam on again and the beeping and windows would repeat. I had two children in the car and it was very unsafe as the car kept stopping itself suddenly in city traffic. There was nothing wrong with the car before this all started. I took the car strait to the dealer where I was told they do not have the part to fix it (door harness) and they have no loaners to offer.

After starting the car and trying to reverse, the car would not go into reverse. In addition all warning on the dashboard went off and the windows rolled down. The car would not move. After shutting down and restarting the car it proceeded to accelerate only to suddenly brake in the middle of the road as if the emergency brake was activated. The windows would roll down again and all the warning signs on the dash would appear. I took my car to the dealer and I was told that it was the door latch and there was no estimated amount of time for completition. This has been 4 weeks now. I have had my car for only 6 months.

My 2021. 5 Atlas had experienced issues with window rolling down and parking break initiated as I was coming to a stop on Jan 3 2022. Dealership told me the harness needed to be replaced and they think I was ok to drive and would contact me when the part was in. Fast forward a month later I could barely drive as it kept breaking, I was driving and accelerating on to an expressway going almost 50 mph and the break initiated jolting my car (it felt like I had been hit). And I almost was as my collision alert went off when someone almost rear ended me! I drove straight to enterprise and had my Atlas towed to the dealership-were it is still sitting. I have heard there is a recall yet when I enter my VIN my vehicle is not listed on the recall so not sure how accurate they are able to find out which vehicles have this issue. My car literally had 9000 miles and is not drivable and not safe.

While I am driving my car start acting crazy first the windows go down following for some mesenges in the screen, error: driver door contact switch error: start/stop fault:electronic parking brake the electric brake is activated wile I am driving that was the mos scare thing happened to my family and me.

While traveling at approximately 45 mph, my vehicle suddenly stopped with no reason. My window on the driver side and left rear passenger window rolled down approximately 2-4 inches, my windows locked, driver side door kept locking and unlocking. My emergency brake suddenly engaged and multiple warning lights came on. I had to turn my car off for it to start responding normal again. It happened first 1/3/22 and again 1/26/22.

At random times during driving the fault electronic parking brake with turn on and abruptly stop the vehicle making it jerk forward. It will trigger the windows to roll down, and errors will pop up stating lane assist is unavailable with beeping noise. This puts my family at risk because I was completely scared when the parking brake automatically came on while exiting the highway and an 18-wheeler truck was behind me with my daughter in the car. I had to completely turn my vehicle off and back on to keep going. When I took my car in on February 1,2022 the service manager said that there were multiple vehicles in their possession with the issue. He said it would take a month to get it fixed. After speaker to a regional supervisor for Volkswagen they did not have a eta for getting the parts needed to perform the repair, yet I am still paying a mthly payment and insurance on a vehicle I own that's not in my possession. I have screenshots from my carnet app with the warning issues that I shared with the manufacturer. There seems to be no sense of urgency to get this repaired or provide a vehicle that is comparable to fit my family size while waiting on the parts for repair.

Emergency brake engages while driving. It has happened multiple times at speeds of 25-70mph. When this happened the warning lights and beeping would start, saying "fault electronic brake", error: driver door contact switch”, "warning, engine is running" windows in the back would also automatically start rolling down and up. It has nearly caused us to get into two high speed accidents with our children in the car with us. Vehicle is currently at dealership along with others with the same problem, has been there for over 3 weeks as they attempt to get a harness in for it. They are telling people because they are out of loaners that they have to continue to drive the vehicle. They are not safe to be on the road at this point.

My 2021 Atlas was braking or randomly turn off while I was slowing down at lights. The brakes were make a "gurgling" sound. I brought to service dept and was told they did not know what it was because they could not recreate it. The engine light went on 11/29/21 and I dropped at service. I was told it was the door harness. The service dept confirmed this. They actually told me I could drive but it might randomly stop-I didn't want to risk that because I didn't think it was safe. . I waited 3 months without my car for the part. I was not given a loaner or rental. I got my car back on 3/1.

The driver side door contact switch is faulty. It is throwing the emergency braking system on stopped or in park. There is no eta for repair at this time.