Exterior Lighting Problems of Volkswagen Atlas - part 2

The daytime running lights are integrated into the headlight assembly so when the ights fail they cannot be replaced by the car owner by replacing a bulb. They also fail at very low mileage. Mine have failed before 70k miles. To replace the drl the entire housing must be replaced and this costs upwards of $2k per headlight or $4k for both. That is almost 10% of the purchase price of the car! for headlights that the owner should be able to buy and replace themselves for $60.

See all problems of the 2022 Volkswagen Atlas 🔎.

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.

See all problems of the 2021 Volkswagen Atlas 🔎.

The rear light bar/tail light assembly fills with water and causing turn signals and light bar to intermittently not work. This occurred the first time that the vehicle was left out in the rain at approximately 65k. It is always parked covered and I do not drive in the rain. Many other Atlas have this issue much sooner if they are left in the inclement weather.

See all problems of the 2024 Volkswagen Atlas 🔎.

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 daytime running lights are know to fail within 30-50k miles and the only option is to replace the whole housing unit. This is an unreasonable expectation that customers are purchasing a vehicle at 40-60k and then having to set aside 2k for a headlight replacement.

Drls are simultaneously going out in my not quite 4 year old car. I’m currently at 90k miles. It is available for inspection upon request. . There were no warning lamps. This was discovered on inspection in January 2026. The vw dealership in bakersfield, CA and the vw dealership in oklahoma city, ok inspected and found the same issue.

Both low beam headlights went out within two weeks of each other and the vehicle just hit 100,000 miles. Dealership states that replacing the entire headlight assembly is the only fix and will cost $3,000. So now both headlights (safety issue) are out and the vehicle cannot be driven safely. Other vw Atlas vehicles are having the same issue around 50-60k miles. There should be a recall on the head lamps for safety concerns and liability reasons.

See all problems of the 2018 Volkswagen Atlas 🔎.

Dlrs faulty and went out around 77k miles. I cannot burn lights in daytime. Yes, has been confirmed by leith vw of raleigh there were no warning lights of the light going out.

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...

The passenger side low beam headlights failed at roughly 100k miles. The replacement part and labor quote from the dealership was roughly $1,500. I was able to find an oem part online for $800 and install myself. Roughly 12,000 miles later the driver side low beam headlight has failed which will require a replacement as well.

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.

My 2024 Volkswagen Atlas se began collecting visible moisture inside the rear tail light assembly less than 18 months after purchase. Over time, this led to intermittent lighting failure, sometimes the lights function, sometimes they don’t. This is a safety concern, especially at night or in poor weather. After researching the issue, I found that this is a widely reported problem among vw Atlas owners and has even been referenced in vw’s own technical service bulletin 94-22-01, which is published in the NHTSA database. The bulletin calls this “normal condensation,” but this is beyond that there is visible water pooling and electrical malfunction and I know of others who report the same thing. Vw is down playing this to avoid the recall. Despite being under extended warranty, this is not covered because vw considers it cosmetic unless there’s proven seal failure. The vehicle is available for inspection and has been evaluated by a certified vw service center. Volkswagen needs to address this as a design or sealing defect, especially when it affects vehicle safety systems like brake and signal lights.

While under warranty the passenger side headlamp unit was replaced. This was about one year ago- now the drive side has gone out on a car that is less than 3 years old. The dealership quoted me $1792. 33 for this repair. There is no reason why these should be going out when they are led. I am part of a facebook group for Atlas owners and this a known issue. I see the daylight running light on multiple Atlas vehicles daily when I am driving around town. 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.

Daytime running light failure at 36k miles on one side. Entire assembly requires warranty replacement with acc sensor calibration. Appears to be a common issue.

See all problems of the 2023 Volkswagen Atlas 🔎.

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.

Daytime running lights are both inoperable. This is a known issue with these vehicles. Both went out at the same time and are $2000 to replace. It’s a robbery.

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.

Head lights not fully functioning. Day time running lights not providing adequate visibility. There have been many complaints and many owners experiencing this issues routinely around the same amount of miles. There was no indication of the issue in any way shape or form on the dashboard .

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.

Daytime running lamps on both left and right side have failed and no longer working. Right side lamp failed first at roughly 95k miles on vehicle and was followed by left side failure at approximately 100k miles on vehicle.

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.

?vehicle tries to pull me into a completely different lanes I have no intentions of trying to go into while on the highway ?vehicle completely shut off while driving. Electrical panel flashed with all the lights then said to start vehicle manually. ?vehicle's gas saving feature when stopped, works intermittently and randomly, even with same applied brake pressure.

See all problems of the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas 🔎.

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.

Unknown - bought vehicle last year. The right passenger headlight led strip went out which ended up costing $1600. The drivers side headlight led strip just went out, which is going to cost me another $1600. Looking online, it looks like many other vw Atlas owners are experiencing the same issues, all within 20-60k miles of having their vehicles. There needs to be a safety recall for these headlights. To have to pay $1600 to get this fixed is absolutely ridiculous. The only way to fix the led strips is to replace the entire headlight which is why they're charging so much money to do so.

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.