general problems of the 2021 Volkswagen Atlas - part 1

Driver's side daytime running lights have gone out already after fairly low mileage. Have since discovered this is a very common issue for this model and requires entire headlight assembly replacement, which is over $1,000. This prohibitive cost lessens the likelihood of replacement for many drivers and since it is not legally required it negates the added safety value of these lights.

The daylight running lights failed at the same time. This a closed system so vw wants 1000 per headlight unit.

Both led headlight running day lights went out together.

This vehicle is equipped with led daytime running lights. These are designed to be long-life, however, as has been noted multiple times in this forum, half of the passenger-side drl on my vehicle has stopped functioning. The repair cost for this item is in excess of $2,000 as the front bumper needs to be removed and the entire headlight assembly replaced. Most drivers will choose to defer replacement, thereby negating the safety value that the drls are intended to provide.

One of the headlights failed at 80,000 miles (the other headlight was replaced due to car accident years ago). Volkswagen Atlas models are consistently experiencing a failure of led headlights prematurely when they should last 10-15 years. There is a class action lawsuit against Volkswagen to force them to recall and correct the issue as they have known and failed to correct this critical safety issue. It is unsafe to have these vehicles on the road with faulty headlights, for both the drivers and occupants as well as the other vehicles on the road with them. This particular vehicle has been inspected by a certified mechanic. The dealership would not return my calls in a timely manner and the vehicle needed to be inspected and fixed as quickly as possible as this is a safety issue. There have been no warning lights or messages from the vehicle or my vw app to notify me of this issue prior to failure or after.

Led passenger daytime light malfunctioned, and now led driver's headlight has stopped working. Cost to replace each headlight was quoted by 3 dealerships at $3,000 each. Cannot afford to fix this major safety issue. Led lights should not be going out! it should not cost $3,000 to replace headlights! I will need to drive without lights!!.

The integrated led daytime running light (drl) strip within the passenger-side headlight assembly failed prematurely at 79,136 miles and remains available for inspection on the vehicle. This failure directly compromises road safety by reducing the vehicle's visibility to oncoming traffic during dawn, dusk, and inclement weather, increasing the risk of a head-on or intersection collision. While I have not yet obtained a formal dealership estimate, this is a known non-serviceable component that typically requires a full headlight assembly replacement costing upwards of $1,500 to $2,000. No warning lamps, messages, or symptoms like flickering occurred prior to the total failure. As this is a factory-installed safety component designed to last the life of the vehicle, its sudden failure suggests a widespread manufacturing defect in the led circuitry. Out daughter used the car to go eat with a friend at a restaurant and noticed the light out when she unlocked the car.

Led headlight and drl burned out and bulbs cannot be replaced, the entire headlight assembly needs to be replaced costing upwards of $1500. Commonly known problem with vw Atlas, occurring right after the car falls out of manufacturer warranty. Dealership refuse to replace at their expense.

Passenger daytime running lights stop working. Vehicle has low mileage but beyond warranty due to years owned.

Daytime running light on passenger side has failed. Repair is complex and estimated at a minimum of $1200 for a part that should last for the lifetime of the car. Numerous other reports of this issue for 2021 vw Atlas model year.

The headlight on my vehicle failed, and when I took it to the dealer, I was told this is a known and ongoing issue that they deal with constantly. Despite being aware of this widespread failure, Volkswagen continues to install the same defective headlight assemblies. These are not simple bulb replacements—the entire headlight assembly must be replaced at a cost of approximately $1,900 per side, not including labor. This cost is completely unreasonable for most vehicle owners. As a result, many people will be forced to drive with non-functioning headlights because they simply cannot afford such an expensive repair. This creates a serious and unnecessary safety risk for drivers, passengers, and everyone else on the road. Volkswagen is fully aware that these headlights fail prematurely and repeatedly, yet no corrective action has been taken to redesign the component, reduce the cost, or issue a recall. Continuing to sell vehicles with a known defective and safety-critical component is unacceptable. Headlights are not a luxury feature—they are a basic safety requirement. There needs to be an immediate recall or manufacturer-covered repair for these headlights. Owners should not be financially punished for a defect that Volkswagen already knows exists, especially when the failure directly compromises vehicle safety. The current situation puts the public at risk and demands prompt action.

The cars headlight drl burnt out and no way to replace them or turn of warning off without paying dealership $2k to replace whole light housing. . Read more...

Daytime running lights are not functioning and vw wants $1500 per side to replace. This is not reasonable.

Dual daytime running light (drl) led headlights failures. The led drl strips integrated into the headlight assembly stopped functioning within 3 years of ownership (60,000 and 75,000) miles. . The failure requires replacing the entire headlight assembly, which can cost over $2,000 per unit, as the led strip is not separately serviceable. Drls are critical for vehicle visibility during daylight, reducing the risk of head-on and front-corner collisions by making the vehicle more conspicuous to other drivers. There is absolutely no reason these lights should be going out when they are intended to last up to 20 years and I believe vw is at fault and this should be a recall.

Passenger daytime running light has stopped working at 61,952 miles. This light is not able to be replaced by itself which is the issue. The entire lighting assembly has to be replaced costing $1400 for single, passenger side assembly, not including labor. At this cost, it is unrealistic and unreasonable to replace this safety feature every time it goes out. This is an unsafe design due to the fact that many customers would not be able to afford to pay more than $1400 to replace the light causing a potential safety hazard.

Passenger side led daytime running light is out at 67,000 and is going to cost over $2k to get replaced. Led lights should not be going out that quickly. I have also found lots of the same complaints online for the same year, make and model.

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

Daytime running lights went out after 50k miles (warranty is out at this point). To fix this issue vw is requiring to change the whole light fixture, which costs more the $1,000. This is an outrageous expense to fix a single led strip to support drls, and forces drivers to go without lights to avoid paying for it. This issue is very common on this model, with multiple online sources/forums with the same experience.

Drivers side drl led complete failure at 62000 miles. Known issue all over the internet. I bought the extended warranty. I called to check coverage and they told me absolutely not covered even though I have the platinum level extended warranty. Only fix is remove bumper and replace headlight assembly, then dealership has to supposedly reprogram the new headlight and the cruise control or they won’t work if you tried to replace the assembly at home to save money. Vw obviously knows of this issue and to my knowledge has done nothing to help customers. The safety concern with this is the other solution to the drl led going out, if you can’t spend $2000 on a light, is to use an ob-11 and deactivate all drls. This could make the vehicle less visible under certain conditions and potentially lead to a collision.

My daylight running headlights are out, went out before 40k miles. They said they would have to replace the whole assembly for over 1000 each. I have read many people’s complaints with the same issue. How can a car company not provide safe headlights that last more than 40k miles. I cannot afford to fix it and with all these Atlas on the road with people in the same financial situation it is dangerous. They should have to replace these assemblies through recall before someone gets killed.

Our led headlight failed at 80,000 miles and is not just a simple bulb change. We have to replace the entire headlight and the cost is over $1000 for one.

Passenger side daytime running light led strip out at 50k miles. Leds have long life span and should not go out so soon. Concerned there is electrical issue as the vehicle has had multiple recalls including sensors and other electrical components.

Day time running lights burn out too quickly. They are led lights and should last longer than 50,000 miles of the cars life span. Volkswagen does not see it covered under their extended warranty either. It is a costly repair and should be further investigated as Volkswagen has not fixed the issues.

The daytime running lights went out at 45,500 miles. Called dealership and I am one week out of warranty. The cost to fix one is $2000 and requires complete new assembly and reprogram cruise control. Absolutely ridiculous for a daytime running light that burned out. Should be able to replace or offer assistance from vw.

1. Component/system failed, available for inspection? failed passenger side led daytime running light (drl) strip in headlight assembly, likely due to led burnout or wiring issue. Entire headlight unit needs replacement ($1k+ quote). Available for inspection upon request. 2. Safety risk? non-working drls reduce vehicle visibility in daylight, increasing collision risk by 10–20% (per NHTSA). Poses danger to driver, passengers, and others, especially in low-light or fog. 3. Confirmed by dealer/service center? confirmed via service center 4. Inspected by others? inspected by service center 5. Warning signs prior to failure? no warning lamps/messages typically appear for Atlas drl failures. Noticed issue around 55k miles; no dashboard alerts.

Received message that daytime side light was out in my 2021 vw Atlas. Went to the dealership and they said that it will cost $3,152. 23 for entire headlight assembly to be replaced because bulb cannot be changed as it is led. I did research on the issue in reddit and there are many many 2021 vw Atlases with the same issue! they have also opened up complaints in NHTSA. It is cost prohibitive to fix a light on this car and a major safety issue.

Daytime led running light (front passenger side) stopped working and has not come back on. I am told the whole lighting assembly has to be replaced at a cost of $800 to $1,000. I have seen many other complaints online from owners of the same vehicle that are experiencing the same issue with one of the front led daytime driving lights.

We were pulled over yesterday for having a headlight out, but it ended up not being a headlight, it was the led runner light on the passenger-side headlight assembly. Our vehicle is only at 68,214 miles. The Volkswagen dealership quoted me about $1,800. 00 to have it replaced, which I thought was exorbitant. In doing research on this issue, most 2021 Atlas have the identical issue, the led runner lights going out at the 50k - 70k mile mark. Currently it is impossible to even find stock of new headlight assemblies because of the number of vehicles that have had this issue. This should be a recall due to a defective headlight assembly, not a cost to the consumer. I've driven several vehicles past the 200k mile mark and I have never had to have a headlight assembly replaced, and especially not after only 68k miles. It would be unusual to have to replace a headlight at that many miles, let alone an led strip, which should essentially last the life of the vehicle. There is a group considering bringing a class-action lawsuit against vw for the faulty electrical systems in the 2021 Atlas, so I hope this gets addressed quickly.

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.

The daytime running light has gone gout prematurely.

The led day time running lights have started to go out. They are completely out in the passenger side and one of the two out on the drivers side. Unsafe once all are out. These lights can not be replaced as the whole housing for 2k each side. So 4k to fix a safety issue of daytime running lights.

Daytime running light strip (led) on the passenger side stopped working at about 70,000 miles. The main daytime running light also does not work on that side. Online forums are full of this very same complaint, most failing at about 50-60k miles. The led strip is housed within the entire headlight assembly, so the repair is around $2,000. The part alone is $995 from vw. There is no option to simply replace the led strip. This malfunction does not affect the main headlight at night, only during daytime operation. This problem should require a recall, as it affects visibility by other drivers. I welcome inspection, as this appears to be a very common issue. No other warning messages, etc. Were given.

Dlr lights on passenger side failed at 62k miles. Common problem with vw Atlas lights.

Led lights on headlight are gone out! parking lights malfunctioning! inspected by car shop and interfering with passing state inspection!.

My car (2021 vw Atlas se) has 63 xxx miles, and the left side running light just went out. I took it to the dealer, who informed me this wasn't covered by any warranty and that replacing the running light would cost $1400. This is ridiculous, and so after doing more research, I found that I am among hundreds of other owners of this vehicle type who are having the same issue around the 60k mile mark. This cannot be a coincidence. Other owners suggested that I submit my claim in the hope that you will get vw to do a recall to fix this issue.