general problems of the 2021 Volkswagen Atlas - part 1

The emergency sos/ emergency call function has failed. It appeared yesterday, so I began looking into the issue online. This issue is absolutely endemic and is occurring across multiple late model Volkswagen vehicles. Volkswagen is aware of this issue (per their guidance to vw mechanics which can be found using search tools), but they do not appear to be addressing it unless amd until customers bring their cars into their respective dealerships.

Circuit malfunction- faulty wiring causing abs, and epc damage and defects.

Hood release cable has snapped resulting in inability to access critical components on the vehicle or do routine maintenance. After researching, this is a common and know issue for this vehicle.

The daytime running light strip in the headlight fails. Identical failure to the Honda accord - which had a recall/warranty extension issued.

Sos light is on and my vw will not connect to my vw app. The call module has failed. Yes, I paid to get a diagnostic test and it was confirmed that it failed. If I get into and accident I will not be able to receive help. All of my friends have the same issue with vw. Some have paid to have it fixed some have not. I was driving and the sos went off. When I pushed it to call and see what happened they stated that something with the satellite triggered it and I had to take it into the dealer ship now to have it fixed.

When I went to start my vehicle on 6/26/25, I noticed that the instrument cluster was stating an error: "compass is not available". The vehicle continues to go through an entire list of items not available. Including the radio and infotainment system, navigation. I should also mention that the dash also was showing that the outside camera was not available to me. I live in a small town and shopping is very limited and I drive 32 miles for decent groceries and clothes for my family, and I rely on that radio for company, sometimes, and for weather and traffic so if I don't have these items I could get stranded in the middle of the desert. No one has looked at the car yet for this problem. I have no clue how this happened.

Pulling into a parking, backing out of my driveway on to the road, rolling with my foot off the gas preparing to brake the car shut off in gear. It is very dangerous happening when we back out of the driveway on to the road having to shift to park and manually restart the car. It happens with the auto shut off both on and off. This is a big issue that needs resolved before someone gets seriously hurt.

Daytime running headlights went out.

We bought a 2021. 5 Volkswagen Atlas that, starting around 15,000 miles, began having computer-related issues that were reported but never truly repaired. Over time, those issues escalated into serious drivability and safety problems. Beginning in mid-2025, the car started driving poorly. It had hesitation, dragging, poor fuel economy, and then began stalling, sometimes at idle and sometimes while driving. At first, repairs like a battery replacement were tried, but they did not fix the problem. In August 2025, the car stalled on the interstate in nashville with flashing epc and check engine lights and would not restart. Our family, including our children, was stranded in an unsafe situation. The car had to be towed, and a fuel pump was replaced. Even after that repair, the stalling and warning lights continued. Later in August, when the car continued to stall, don jacobs Volkswagen told us the problem was a warranty-covered evap (carbon) canister and that repairing it should resolve the issue. It did not. In December 2025, the car stalled again with flashing warnings and was deemed unsafe to drive. It was towed back to don jacobs, where a second fuel pump replacement was performed. In January 2026, the check engine light came on again and the car was returned to the dealership. At that time, we were told the evap canister had been left unattached from prior testing, not from the most recent repair. Since then, the vehicle has continued to drive poorly, with ongoing hesitation and dragging. In total, the vehicle has been in the shop four times, including three visits to the same dealership, and no one has been able to diagnose or permanently repair it. The dealership has told us they cannot proceed unless specific fault codes appear, even though the vehicle continues to malfunction and send diagnostic alerts through the Volkswagen app. Because of the repeated stalling, unresolved repairs, and lack of a clear path to fix the problem, we do not feel the vehicle.

I continue to receive an error message to " check rear tail light " . . . I have had the actual light and wiring assembly replaced. The error message continues. I have taken it to two vw dealerships - neither of which know how to fix the problem, and can only suggest days of a wild goose chase to find the problem. One dealership opined that the wiring was coroded, which was causing the error message. This raises other safety concerns of fire, etc.

Vehicle was stopped at a traffic light and running. Once the light turned, the vehicle shut off immediately after the accelerator pedal was depressed. Transmission had to be shifted to park to restart the engine. This happened three (3) times at the same light. This is the fourth incident in the last six (6) months.

Vehicle idles and dies, dashboard error shows manual restart necessary. This happens at red lights, in carpool, on the interstate if traffic has slowed, potentially a huge hazard for being rear ended. You have to put the car in park and manually restart the vehicle. Vw is inspecting today but has not been able to recreate the issue. Vw forum online has many car owners with the same issue and concerns. Check engine light and auto start/stop errors are almost continuous now. Check engine light came on/off about 4 months ago and would clear and then reappear. I assumed maybe bad gas that needed to burn off, the auto start/stop also had intermittent errors.

I was at a stop sign when I went to pull out from the stop sign the car stalled. I had to put the car in park press the start engine button again in order for the car to restart. This has happened at least 10 times since purchasing the car.

Upon starting the car all of the above warning lights came on the dashboard and did not function. Power steering,l and all adas did not function. Took to dealer and sensor was replaced.

3 weeks ago, the warning light of the front airbag turned on. The airbag system has a malfunction and is available for inspection I did research and found a safety recall on my car (vw Atlas SUV fwd 2021) with the code: 69pz I have not received any notice from my car dealer or manufacturer I am worried that the faulty airbag system could deploy in the middle of a drive or not deploy in case of an accident.

When I start my car, the infotainment center does not turn on, which means that I lose not just the luxury features that come along with it, but also the safety features, like the back-up camera and road sign recognition. Issues started in January 2025 as intermittent and are now an everyday, even multi-day occurrence. I suspect that it's due to the cold weather, as it didn't start happening until the temps got colder (snowy part of USA). . This is a safety issue, and makes me pretty concerned. I've tried to work with my local dealer, however they haven't been much help since the car's warranty expired in early January 2025. I was told that I have a faulty "5f module product 3g5-035-842-b". My concern is that we don't have access to the backup camera given the size of this vehicle. . Read more...

My daytime running light is inoperative and no longer works. This one small led strip on the passenger side light requires a $2,300 full headlight replacement, which is unreasonable for any consumer given the scope of the issue. My vehicle is only four years old, and several other customers are experiencing this same issue.

My passenger side led daytime running light failed. We just crossed over 50k miles. This is a 1300 part. After reading online it seems this is a major issue with these vehicles and around this mileage. This appears to be something that needs to be investigated and the manufacturer should have to cover under recall. It’s likely not a coincidence there are this many people reporting the same issue on the same vehicle models/years.

Upon starting car all adas functions did not work. Warning lights came on. Did not work for several days. Took to dealership and they found a sensor in tire to be faulty.

Sos light is not working with active subscription, showing error light. Seems to be a problem as multiple Volkswagen owner are having the same issue.

Brought car in for a noise 12k miles ago and dealer said all was well. I then brought the car back and they heard the sound, wanted to explore and take apart the engine and found I have a collapsed lifter on the exhaust cam which if a defect, should be completely covered by the manufacturer not just a portion of the repair. Also, this could cause further issues and damage with the car which is concerning since it had been going on for some time. I am just looking to see what further resolution can be made in regard to this. My car is still in the shop since last week. The dealership has been great in allowing me to have a loaner vehicle but I just want to make sure I don’t have more major issues form this not being taken care of as soon as it should have been.

Vehicle shuts off when driving. No faults pop up on the dash until 2 days ago when I was driving on the highway and it completely turned off. Message on the screen told me to manually turn it back on but I could not. The vehicle could not turn back on.

Emergency sos error. Dealership stated that the modulator is defective. It is draining my battery and requires to be jumped off to start. I have read in vw forums that this is a known problem effecting many vw, Audi and BMW owners.

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).

This is regarding the passenger side airbag/sensor that needs recall in my 2021 vw Atlas. Is there still no planned fix for this? if so, why not? we are getting close to 6 months from the first notice and it is inconvenient to not have passengers be able to ride safely.

My 2021 Atlas with around 28,000 miles turned off on me instead of restarting while the auto start/stop function was engaged. This happened 3 times. 1) June 26, 2024 I was in standstill traffic. My auto start/stop was engaged and when I took my foot off my brake to move, my Atlas engine turned off (power stayed on) and a message appeared stating “please start engine manually”. I had to switch my car from drive to park and then turn it on again. 2) June 26, 2024 I was parking and when maneuvering in to a parking spot and took my foot of the break, my Atlas engine turned off (power stayed on) and a message appeared stating “please start engine manually”. I had to switch my car from drive to park and then turn it on again. 3) July 8, 2024 same as number 2. Except I know for a fact that my start/stop was turned off. I took it to the dealership and they found that my battery failed and replaced it. About a week later is when the 3rd incident occurred. My car is currently at the dealership where “they aren’t finding any faults”. It is incredibly dangerous to have a car unexpectedly turn off on you while in the middle of a highway, intersection, or really around any other cars. The dealership cannot reproduce the problem; however, it is sporadic. Multiple forums online mention other owners having the same exact issue.

Just purchased vehicle, light: sos: emergency call function, service vehicle is continuously turning on, you turn off car, it goes away. Start car and drive, turns right back on. Have been to dealer and was told module would need to be replaced car is 3 years old. It's a constant beeping/ distraction. The potential consequences of not addressing the issue are unclear. There exist numerous blogs and consumer reviews about this issue, indicating that consumers must constantly expend funds to rectify the issue, when it should ideally be managed by the manufacturer. This is unacceptable. Are we being sold lemons here in California?.

When coming to a stop light, car occasionally shuts off engine completely. Needing car to be put in park and to push start button to restart car. It is not the automatic stop/start technology. Sometimes happend back to back and leaving us dead in traffic for a few seconds.

My vehicle has stalled out before for no reason and the dealership is unable to help in diagnosing the issue without a fault code. This issue has been ongoing since I purchased my vehicle in 2021. Three years later as I was making a sharp left turn going very slow my car stalled out, engine light came on and I received a start/stop error along with a message stating to restart the engine manually. Again this has been happing since I purchased brand new from dealership. Every turn I make going uphill, my vehicle stutters and rpms revved up which is very unsafe and has me on constant alert. Now that an engine code appeared, I am out of warranty and dealership still refuses to help with the issue. Code fault I received from engine light is p0496.

Frequently when the vehicle drives very slowly in bumper to bumper, or when coming to a stop the engine will completely stop. Electronics stay on but a message telling me to turn the car appears on the dash. I then have to put the vehicle in park and then press the power on button, put the car back into drive. The car continues to state there is an error with the automatic shut off feature. I have brought this to my vw dealership twice now for a fix. The first time they said it was an update which did nothing. The 2nd time they replaced a valve and that also did nothing. This has done this many times in bumper to bumper traffic and is very concerning/dangerous. It seemed to be less of a problem during cold weather and an increasing problem the warmer it gets.

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.

I recently purchased a certified pre-owned 2021 vw Atlas r-line SUV. It came with a warranty of up to 50,000 miles or through 2027. Shortly after I purchased the car (a few weeks in) the side passenger collision sensor would alert me from time to time (not consistently). I brought it in and the vw dealer shared that due to the minnesota winters and road salt, keeping a clean exterior of the car would help with the sensor issue. I have been washing my car weekly to avoid the noise and frustration of the false alert. It did not resolve the problem. Now (3 months since purchase) the front and side collision sensors are falsely detecting and alerting that something is present. When brought back to my local certified vw dealer, they "claim" it is due to a rock or "external influence" hitting and damaging the sensors. First, tell me how a side sensor gets hit by a rock. Second, the sensors should not have been made if small debris from regular road travel will cause damage within three years. Third, I only travel on highways. I do not need to take gravel/dirt roads, etc. For my personal and professional travel needs. I am the sole driver of the vehicle. I searched online and found several vw forums indicating the same issue on models since 2018 and for several different models within the vw make (including video evidence which I also have but cannot upload to this form submission). Here is one forum with similar video footage: [xxx] please review and investigate as a third party. Vw and dealers are outrageously charging over $1,000 for a sensor that should not have been approved in the build of the model if failing this quickly. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Vehicle stalled and shut off 5 times while driving in past month. Took it to vw dealership. They said low voltage on battery could make the stop/start feature not able to restart car. They also stated fuel injector #3 error was showing on diagnostic machine. After replacing battery, spark plugs, and gasket ($2300), dealership says that fuel injector error still showing and would cost $1400 to replace. They said it is recommended and my car shutting off is fixed with battery replacement. 24 hours after picking up from dealership, car shut off again. I have read on forums this is a known issue and many have resolved issue with evap cannister (charcoal) replacement. This is a big safety issue and vw needs to remedy issue as a recall.

Car shuts off randomly when slowing down. Changed out the charcoal canister and purge valve and it is still doing it.

Engine stalled again, no warning, no check engine light, nothing when coming to a slow stop. Had to place vehicle in park, shut ignition off, open driver side door, close door. Only then I was able to start the car. This is the second time this happened.