general problems of the 2021 Volkswagen Atlas - part 2

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.

My 2021 vw Atlas se died at a drive thru again. And when I took my foot off the break, it didn’t start back up. I completely panicked. At start up initially I disable the start/stop as usual. At this stop sign, my engine completely shut off, dash said to manually start. I tried to pull off but my car just jolted as if I had the park break on. I hit the start button but nothing. I had to put it in park then start again. But I had to wait for traffic to pass and it killed again on me. I put it in park again, start button then was able to pull away. This happens randomly every few weeks with no warning. Pulling into a car wash, bank atm, drive thru, etc. . . I've taken it to multiple vw dealers who tell me that if they can't get it to recreate the issue, there's nothing they can do. But it's random and unpredictable. They told my wife to whip out her phone and try to get a video of when it happens again. Again, not possible. I printed off dozens of threads of other vw Atlas customers experiencing this exact issue but they told me they can't go off of crap I find on the internet. I called all 6 vw dealers within an hour away and none of them have ever heard of this happening which I find highly unlikely. I've chatted in with vw care team and they gave me the exact same thing, no repairs until they can recreate it. This is a huge safety issue. You think you'd be more worried about the liability issues here if you were vw.

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.

Head gasket failure. Dealership is going to replace the entire head (s) to fix the problem. An unknown amount of coolant fluid has leaked into the engine block. Untreated, the problem could have lead to engine failure while traveling at interstate speeds. Vw of lake charles currently has my vehicle while the repairs take place. I noticed the coolant level was around minimum level on the overflow tank twice in the last 1-1. 5 years. About 10 days ago, the coolant level dropped low enough for the sensor to go off, warning lights came on and the digital display stated low coolant. I also found dry coolant under the engine on the bottom of the car.

Engine stalled at slow speed. Had to place vehicle in park, turn ignition off, open door as if we were leaving, close door, and then I could start. No error code or check engine light was on, happen 3 times now.

2021 volkswagon Atlas, needed new oil pan after few months due to major oil leak. Had to pay out of pocket for rental 1 week. Wipers came flying off on driver's side hitting side window scratching car. Dealership said nothing wrong (my dad tightened bolts they were loose) heater in back started making horrible noise, said nothing was wrong. Needed new breaks, rotors numerous times. When backing up makes horrible noise, to this day. 10/7/23 driving down road at 28 mph my car stalled out. Did this numerous times w/in 3 weeks, brought to dealership said they couldn't find anything wrong. Kept happening brought it back. They change emission module & oil. Car started sounding like a tractor. Brought it to different dealership. Going down road at 45 mph with 4 kids in car. Car stalls out. No steering no breaks. Super scary. Car keeps stalling out, going down road at 58mph car stalls out, no steering no breaks again everything locks up. 18 wheeler behind me, 3 kids in car. Brought to another dealership, they stated never heard of car stalling out before. They stated other dealership put wrong oil in, they did another oil change and said my car was safe to drive. Car still kept stalling out almost every time I slowed down or came to a stop, or even when starting it before leaving had to restart numerous times. Fast forward car been in shop since 2/1/24. Said metal shavings in oil filter now needs new motor & theres bearings missing. (they told me car was safe to drive) we asked about safety issue, they said what safety issue? whycar keeps stalling? said never heard of this issue with the cars before. They want 9k for a rebuilt motor w/ way more miles than my car has now, ive been in rental for 3 weeks out of pocket pay. Dealership can't promise me this will fix car. Car is a death trap and I have precious cargo, I don't feel safe driving it. Research says lots of people having same issues. Vw rep says never heard of this. Called lawyers yup its a common lawsuit, lemon car.

My error start/stop keeps coming on and off on my vehicle, and it randomly dies on my while driving. It has died about 10 times by now in a week and a half. I have to put the car in park, then crank it again. I have contacted my dealership, but they state they can’t get it in until December.

When coming to a stop, the car rmp's fluctuate up and down, jerk/jolt, and stall while still in drive. The only way to restart the vehicle is to put it into park and then hit start. Sometimes, vehicle status indicates a start/stop error, but no check engine light would come on. I have a huge safety concern about this because the vehicle is in motion when it stalls, and the only way to restart is to put it in park. This causes the flow of traffic to stop abruptly, increasing the outcome of an accident.

Vehicle will shut off completely while in motion without any warning. It’s a danger when vehicles are behind you and not paying attention that can cause an accident. It’s done it multiple times. I’ve had what they “thought” was the issue fixed but the check engine light came came back on three weeks later. The auto start/stop button works when it wants to. It’s at the dealership now (day 3) hopefully they will find the issue. Not to mention I’ve only had it for 6 months now.

Our vehicle has an auto start/stop function. At least a dozen times since we've owned the vehicle, the engine does not restart after a stop at a traffic light or in stop go traffic. The vehicle must be placed in park and the engine must be restarted. An error displays on the dash that says "please start engine manually" with the graphic for the start/stop system. This is extremely dangerous because the car basically stops in the middle of traffic and needs to be reset. I have brought this in to two separate dealers for diagnostics and least 3 times. The dealers say they cannot replicate the issue and there is no error recorded to the obd-ii computer so they cannot diagnose. In online forums, this appears to be a common problem and dealerships refuse to diagnose or fix. It is extremely unsafe and nhsta should investigate.

Got error: start-stop.

The vapor canister (charcoal canister) and related parts have failed on 3 different occasions over the past 1. 5-2 years. This caused the car to stall while operating without any warning from the vehicle. The cars has to be put into park and the engine restarted before it can be operational again. The dealer has inspected and replace parts of the system each time it has happened, and has explained that this is a known problem for the vehicle. No final solution has come from vw corporate to solve the problem, so they have been instructed to keep replacing the components as necessary.

I was sitting at a stop light and the car just shut off and would not re-start. It was very dangerous. The start/ stop system was enabled as it always is - since it defaults to this feature when you start the vehicle. The electronics starting glitching when the car shut off. This is not the 1st time the car would not start, it has happened 3x over the course of 3 weeks. When we try to jump start the vehicle it has taken up to 30 minutes to sit on charge to get the car to turn over. We have had the battery tested and charged at vw all test come back that it is a good battery. Seems that the start/stop system is faulty and drains the battery. I have spoke to vw and booked an appointment to have the look at this issue. Something is seriously wrong with this vehicle and start/stop system. I have read many posts that I'm not alone with vw Atlas leaving families in dangerous situations because the car just shuts off and won't re-start.

Engine cuts off at slow speeds or at a stop. Engine failure requires placing vehicle in park and restarting. This occurs at least once per day. Display notes that vehicle requires manual restart. Took to dealer and they advised nothing was wrong.

While the vehicle is in motion, the warning buzzer keeps dinging saying the engine is running. The red flashing light (in the door) flashes. Keep getting the warning triangle for the door harness problem. Also keep getting error:start/stop. My parking park has also engaged a couple of times while in motion. This is dangerous and needs immediate attention. This happens every day.

Today I was making a left and mid roll to go, the engine turned off. I was in the middle of the 1st lane. I had to park my car and restart it. Thank god there was not a car coming, I would've been hit. I also had cars behind me. I had my car scheduled to go in tomorrow, 4/16/22, to check on lights that go on and off starting on, 4/12/22. It is the yellow priority 2 light with the front assist light, which was not turned on this morning. These lights have gone on before and I have taken my car in for it and was told nothing was wrong. This is the 3rd time my car has turned off while driving. I have taken it in for this problem as well and was told nothing was wrong. I do not feel safe in my car and do not want to drive it anymore. I left a message for the service manager.

When starting the car and backing out of our driveway, the car stalls it has to be put in park and then the ignition start button has to be pushed. This has happened several times.

While driving on March 12, 2022, multiple alarms beeping and warning indicators appeared on the dashboard and the emergency brake suddenly engaged immediately halting the car to a complete stop. This happened multiple times during a short drive. On March 16, 2022, while this vehicle was parked with the engine running, more warning indicators appeared. The first was " fault: electronic parking brake" and the second was "caustion: engine is running". Right after that, two windows partially rolled down on their own. About 5 minutes later, as I was pulling into my driveway, the same two warning indicators came back on - this time the vehicle was in motion. This vehicle is scheduled for routine maintenance on March 22, 2022 and this was mentioned to the service department at the time the appointment was made. The vehicle has not yet been inspected. There is no warning when these issues are going to happen making it unsettling to drive this vehicle not knowing when or if it will abruptly stop on the road or highway. This is definitely a safety issue. Photos of the March 16, 2022 indicent are attached to this.

While driving at highway speeds at random the vehicle would brake on its own engage the parking brake and roll windows down. We tried to have the vehicle looked at boise Volkswagen and they refused to schedule and inspect the vehicle. We even advised the dealer of an open safety campaign/recall and they also still refused to service the vehicle. Unfortunately next closest dealership is 157 miles away from our home.

On four occasions, (at a stop light/intersection, in a car line, in a drive thru, and in a parking lot), the engine has shut off while driving. All four times, I have been in drive and the car will stall and a "start engine manually" message pops up. Each time, I had to completely stop, put the car in park, restart the engine, and put it back in drive. This has definitely put myself and the safety of others at risk because it has caused my car to stop while on the road, as well as other locations where there are moving vehicles. If my vehicle were to stall at a time when I am in the middle of traffic, the time it takes to react to put the vehicle back into park, then restart the engine, then put it back into drive could lead to an accident. I. Havw tried to call the vw dealership and left several messages to report these incidences, but they have not returned my calls. I have also tried to calw customer care, but I haven't been able to get through. The "start engine manually" alert only shows when the engine has cut off and the car stalls. No other indicator or warning lights are present.

Alerts of door being open, back windows then go down and parking break engages out of nowhere. The check engine light comes on and there is a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark. Driver door contact switch”, “attention: engine is running”, “fault electronic parking brake”, and the emergency brake automatically engaging.

On January 8, 2022 I was driving on a main road about 30 to 35 mph when the vehicle suddenly shook violently and the engine shut off. There was loud beeping and the computer system lit up saying error: engine at the same time the emergency brake was activated. There was also a message about a door error. Luckily there were no cars around me at the time. I put the car in park and started it again. I was fairly close to home but this happened 3 more times, one time when I was pulling out on a road and traffic was coming toward me. I finally got the car home and since it was the weekend parked it. Monday morning I contacted vw road assistance and they towed it to the dealership for repairs. This is a very serious and dangerous problem with the 2021 vw Atlas. If you were traveling on a major highway going 70 mph and your engine just shut down you could be seriously injured or killed. Please look into this serious defect in the 2021 vw Atlas.

Today, December 1, 2021 my Atlas completely shut off while driving twice. This has happened 2 times prior on separate occasions, bringing the total times to 4 to date. Today it happened first in the morning while I was exiting the school parking lot and attempting to enter the main road of traffic. It completely stopped, turned off, and asked me to put in park before I could turn the engine back on. It then happened again while driving in a parking lot. It completely shut off and would not move. In all of these instances I felt in danger and at risk of causing or being involved in a car accident due to this sudden engine failure. All 4 times have been within the past few weeks, but today was the worst in that it was twice in the same day.

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.

While driving, the car shutoff completely. It is from the auto on/off, this has happened several times and all times while driving.

On three occasions while driving 5-10mph in traffic our Atlas has shut off without warning. A message then appears on the digital display that reads “please turn on engine manually. ” the only way to do this is to come to a complete stop and put the vehicle in park before starting the engine which by the time the engine starts, other cars have to steer to avoid our Atlas stopped in a lane of traffic. The first time it happened we thought it was a fluke but then two additional times within the first three months of owning the vehicle is not a coincidence. The vehicle was inspected by the dealership with no red flags.

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving approximately 2 mph, the rear windows inadvertently rolled down independently. The contact also stated the vehicle stalled. The contact shifted to park(p) and restarted the vehicle. The contact also stated the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power and while driving. The vehicle was shifted to park(p) and restarted. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined failures with three recalls on the Volkswagen Atlas for low speed, intervention park brake, and NHTSA campaign number 22v152000 (air bags). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 1,000.

I was driving back to work after taking my son to school I was sitting at a light and the engine completely shut off. The auto start/stop system on the vehicle was active. The dash said to please start engine manually. I put the car in park, turned on my hazards because it was morning traffic, took my foot off the brake, put it back on the brake, pressed the start button and the vehicle didn’t start. I pressed the start button again the engine half way started then turned off (I did this twice). On the fourth time it started up and I was able to proceed to work.

3200 miles on vehicle and ecp light came on. Heavy smell of gasoline and vehicle went into limp mode. Gas was pouring out the bottom of the hot engine and dripping onto the ground below. Opened the engine hood and there was lots of smoke or steam. Seriously concerning for a fire.

I was on my way home from work in the Atlas and while sitting at a red light in college football game day traffic (I live and work near the campus) the auto start/stop system was deactivated but the whole engine shutting off. The dashboard said “please start engine manually” I put the vehicle in park then pressed start. It would not start. So I had to open the vehicle door (in the midst of traffic and cars honking because the light changed) close the door, put my foot on the brake and press start. It did not start. So I repeated the same thing and it started. At that point I had to gas it because cars were going around me because my car stopped and wouldn’t start.

After 3 months of owning this brand new car, the parking system started to act up. My parking sensors would beep for no reason, windows would roll down and my parking brake would come on when I was driving. I took the car to the dealership and they did an electrical update. Two months later the same issue happened again, as well as my engine light came on because my coolant was low. Again I took it to the dealership where I was told a door harness sensor needed to be replaced and my head gasket needed to be replaced as well. My car has been in the shop for almost two months as the part is on back order. Now there is also a recall for the air conditioner. This is the worst experience with a new car I have ever had. I have initiated the process of trying to get Volkswagen to buy it back. When I spoke to the service manager he told me he has 9 other Atlas’s in the shop for the same reason. Customer care has been no help. I will never buy another Volkswagen again.

Driving onto the highway from the on ramp the vehicle shut off and lost control of the vehicle. Would not right away. This occured 4 times in the last 3 months. First, 3x. I thought it was me clicking or touching something on the car, thought now I know it was not me the 4th time. Im sacred.

This is the second Volkswagen Atlas we have purchased after the first had the exact same code p2047 evap system issues. This Atlas is brand new and it only took 3,000 miles for it to start having system issues. During driving with cruise control enabled the vehicle kicked itself out of cruise control and deactivated the acc cruise control along with regular cruise and disabled the remote start with a check engine light.

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 mph and decelerating, the vehicle stopped abruptly. The driver's side rear window independently rolled down and the parking brake inadvertently engaged. The contact was able to pull over and drive to her residence. Additionally, the alarm was beeping. The check engine and battery warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that a message was displayed that the engine was still running. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the door harness needed to be replaced; however, the parts were on back order. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.