On Monday 6/10/2019 at 18:10, I was driving West on California highway 91 in riverside California. I was on the phone with my wife, the car was on cruise control, going 65 mph. There were no cars in front of me, I was driving in the second lane from the right. My car approached an 18 wheeler truck and it was passing the truck. The truck was on the right lane, my car approached on the next lane to the left. The car was still on cruise control and I was still on the phone with my wife. As the car was passing the truck, the VW Atlas executes an emergency brake as if something was in my way. The car gave no warnings before applying the brakes hard.

- Riverside, CA, USA

As I'm driving and tap my breaks, my steering wheel shakes. I took it in for repair and the dealer tells me my front rotors are warped. I've only driven 20,000 miles and I've got to replace the rotors? they tell me I've got to pay and it's not under warranty, I call the manufacturer and they refuse to help me. Its a low mileage SUV with rotor issues, that tells me VW uses low quality products and won't stand by their product.

- New Braunfels, TX, USA

Even though my vehicle was not covered by previous recalls I have just had a problem with the brakes. The brake petal went all the way to the floor, and the vehicle did not stop. The vehicle was moving less than 5 mph. Active start stop system (fuel efficiency) was engaged but I do not know if it was active. Vehicle was in stop and go traffic headed downhill. I was exiting a parking garage on a city street.

- Stone Ridge, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2018 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that the brake booster failure indicator illuminated. Shortly after, the brake pedal went up and down on its own and had to be depressed with full force in order to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to neftin westlake Volkswagen (3550 auto mall dr, thousand oaks, ca 91362) on two different occasions where they replaced the low pressure sensor for the brake booster and the vacuum hose. The manufacturer was contacted. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 13,039.

- Agoura Hills, CA, USA

While driving yesterday I was exiting a shopping plaza on a city street and turned right and my car completely stopped in the middle of traffic. Many cars were coming and had to slam on their breaks thankfully avoiding a collision. This is because of the maneuver breaking sensors. I drive and constantly hear beep beep beep from them sensing something, when in fact nothing is even near my car. This is a serious flaw. Please do a recall asap to fix this.

- Gilbert, AZ, USA

Was driving down my driveway and the electronic brake all of a sudden malfunctioned and turned on, and locked up all movement. The system was screaming electronic brake malfunction, do not drive, brake is activated. I was able to eventually put it back up near my house in the parking portion of the driveway. This is not the first time that the brake has malfunctioned however it is the first time that it has done it while I was driving, normally I can turn off the car wait about 5 minutes or so and then it'll stop malfunctioning however this time the brakes locked up and the car would not move. I could not get the brake to turn off. Had the car towed to the dealership (still showing a malfunction after vehicle was off all day). At the dealer for several days, they said they could not replicate the incident and the car does not keep a log of malfunctions internally so there was nothing to be done. I have a long list of problems with sensors, camera systems, and other electronic failures going back through August 2018

- Lebanon, MO, USA

2/20/2019 at 16:19 pst - I was driving on a cloudy afternoon, approaching a railroad crossing, about 100 ft away. My Atlas' radar was tripped by something and the car slammed the brakes to avoid a crash. Except there was nothing on the road. I am glad there were no cars around me otherwise I would have been involved in a crash.

- Riverside, CA, USA

The automatic emergency braking system keeps activating without reason, slamming on the brakes, when there are no obstacles in front of the vehicle. This happens even when 'front assist' and 'lane assist' are switched off. During our trip from Texas to Arizona and back, this has happened more than 10 times. It always occurs when the cruise control is switched on, while in the left lane, passing a semi truck. Each time, the Atlas was clearly in our lane and the truck was definitely in its lane, not wandering over the lane divider. It has happened when on a straight away and also when passing a truck on a left curve. This is a significant safety hazard. If any vehicle had been close behind us when it activated, it would have slammed into the back of us.

- Tomball, TX, USA

Transmission/motor is making a whispping sound when you accelorate on the gas. Have reported multiple times and I am not the only one who has experienced this. It is a terrible sound. Car is less than 20,000 miles

- Jonesborough, TN, USA

There have been seven recalls on the 2018 Atlas launch edition. Cook VW in fallston has refused to repair at least 5 recalls. It's been months and they haven't repaired anything. We took faith in these people and they could care less for my family's safety. Today we got a recall letter about the ignition. That makes 6 recalls they will not fix. Multiple occasions. Don't have dates but they should be in the database at this dealership. They all happened in 2018.

- Havre De Grace, MD, USA

2018 Volkswagen Atlas sel has a safety system called maneuver braking. The function of the braking is 'maneuver braking protects the driver from a collision. It prevents unpleasant damage to the bumper, and to any objects near the vehicle, ' says developer lynn brennecke. I was exiting a parking lot making a left hand turn across 4 lanes of traffic. It was nighttime, my headlights were on, clear weather, around 70 degrees. The area was a residential/industrial mix. The parking lot exit had a slight slope. When the traffic was clear I accelerated to enter the travel lanes and the Atlas activated the "maneuver braking" therefore bringing the car to a complete stop and the engine turned off. I was well into the second travel lane when this occurred. There were no obstacles such as other vehicles, traffic cones, animals, branches etc. This could have been a deadly, what if the break in traffic was not large enough for the vehicle to stop completely and restart before traffic arrived. I have no idea when the Atlas will suddenly decide it is time for a "maneuver braking" episode. This is a huge safety issue.

- Chula Vista, CA, USA

The vehicle was purchased 10/31/18 and on 11/4/18 we arrived at a relative's home in westchester. This area has no sidewalks or parking lane. We pulled onto the shoulder of the street to park. The street is a slight hill and the shoulder was very uneven. The front of the car was uphill. My husband had cut the wheels to the road when pulling in. Once in park and the car off, he exited and walked behind the car to come round and help me get out on the rough shoulder. Before he made it to the front passenger door, the car started rolling backwards downhill into the street. I instictively went for the shift. The shift was already in the park position but the car was moving! because it was not a very steep hill, the elevation change at the transition from the dirt shoulder to the asphalt road stopped the car when the rear passenger wheel met the asphalt edge. This road is narrow and winding. We were fortunate noone was coming round the bend. The car came to a stop 30-40% into the car lane with no driver behind the wheel. In its simplest state it appears that the transmission park gear did not engage, yet it was definitely in the park position. This car does not have a manuel parking brake. To be honest, the hill would not have seemed to warrant the need for a parking brake if the parking gear were engaging properly. We have just contacted the dealer who claimed ignorance of any such problems ever existing. He suggested we make a service appointment & have the auto checked out. I suspect so they can formally tell us it is our imagination. After reading the complaints on file, I am sorry we did not look here before we purchased the vehicle. It doesn't seem that VW or any other car manufacturer seems anxious to correct design flaws until there are sufficient deaths.

- Oyster Bay, NY, USA

When vehicle travel down an incline like a driveway, the emergency breaking feature will unexpectedly engaged, causing the vehicle to come to a complete and sudden stop. When this occurs, I have no control over the continued movement of the vehicle. I am required to change gears and/or restart the vehicle in order to move the vehicle again. This poses a extreme safety issue as the vehicle will shut down when you are attempting to pull out of a private drive and on to a active roadway, increasing the risk of a side on vehicle collision. Issue was reported to VW service department. Service manager was able to duplicate the issue. Service manager also tested another VW Atlas on the sale lot with the same feature. Service manager reported that the same issue occurred with the other Atlas as well. Service department was unable to correct the issue, reporting the vehicle is "operating as designed." This issue poses a major safety issue no only to the driver and occupants of the vehicle, but to other motorists on the road. Volkswagen has been given notice of the issue and refuses to acknowledge of take action.

- South Pasadena, FL, USA

I have had this car two months and it has now been in service twice. As of today they have had it for two weeks. The autonomous break system is way too sensitive and the car stops going down steep inclines or going over pot holes while in motion. The car has stopped in the middle of driving at least 7 times. I take it to service, they say there is no record in the cars computer of the incident. The front sensors are always beeping. I pull up to a stop sign, the sensors go off. I do a U-turn and the sensors go off. Some days way too excessively, some days not at all. It scares me to death and I slam on my brakes because I am afraid I am going to hit something. I take it to service, they say there is no record of it in the cars computer. Front end collision alert, I was driving down the road and was the only one on the road and the front end collision alert went off. I of course slam on the brakes in the middle of the road with no traffic, thank god no one was behind me. I take it to service, they say there is no record in the cars computer of it. Service has been able to recreate the issue with the front sensors, but says there is no fix. The customer care rep for VW stated today on the phone that they recognize there is an issue with the sensitivity of the autonomous breaking but has no fix for it so I will have to deal with it. I live in houston, I will die if I hit a pot hole and stop. It's unacceptable and a huge safety hazard. I am reading all over the internet about this issue with the autonomous braking problems. It should not be allowed to continue. Someone is going to die. I was able to video the issue with the sensors and VW has the video and recognizes a problem but states that's just the way the car is going to work. States they see the issue there too, but there is no fix.

- Magnolia, TX, USA

When descending an incline at slow speed to turn onto a roadway the sensor perceives the road as an obstacle which causes the car to auto-stop partially in the road. I then have to disengage the emergency brake and begin again. This is totally unsafe. It has happened 10 times when leaving my own driveway.

- Bar Harbor, ME, USA

The autonomous breaking system and pediatrian warning sensors are malfunctioning making my car unsafe to drive. Since it's purchase in January 2018, the brakes have locked up at least 10 times under normal driving conditions. I can re-create the problem when I am moving slowly on an uneven road surface. In addition, as I slow down to approach a stop sign or a red light, the alarms go off suggesting that there is something in the roadway at least half of the time. I have been told by my local VW service station that there are no errors being recorded by the car's system that can be corrected and at this time all Atlas cars that they have tested on the lot are having doing the same thing. They were able to recreate the auto-braking on a hill on their lot, but have no way to stop it from happening. On Saturday, 8/18/2019 while I was slowly pulling out of a local shopping center, making a left hand turn down an incline the car brakes locked up after I entered the active roadway- as a result I was nearly T-boned by a car that had just make a right hand turn onto the same roadway. By the grace of god, that driver was moving slow enought to stop. I immediately called VW car net, I was connected to my dealer, and they took the car in for inspection. As I mentioned above, after 5 days they were not able to resolve the problem. I have initiated a complaint with VW of America and am writing to tell you that I do not feel safe driving a car that will stop me in the middle of a road way. I do not want my family to be the victims of a preventable accident and want this problem fixed before there is a catastrophe for me or another Atlas owner. Please me know have other information I can give you so that you can properly investigate this problem.

- Massapequa, NY, USA

I bought a VW Atlas 2018 expecting the front assist feature, whereby if the SUV detects an obstacle in its path, it will engage the brakes to stop the vehicle and avoid a collision. Unfortunately I am experiencing a situation where the feature could cause a collision. From conversations with vm service, the sensor that detects obstacles points from the grill, directly out, and parallel to the road. When driving on a down slope that levels out, the sensor will detect the road, and, assuming it is an obstacle, engage the brakes to stop the vehicle to avoid collision. At speeds >10mph, there is no detection. But, I discovered (multiple times) that entering traffic from a car park creates the down angle, and (because its is essential to drive slowly exiting a car park to fully observe the oncoming traffic) the speed whereby the feature engages and stops the SUV. In multiple occasions this has stops us in incoming traffic, with the real possibility of a drivers side collision. I had started to disable the front assist feature but discovered this must be done on every trip, and of course (a) sometimes this is forgotten and (B) others driving the SUV may not remember or even know. I feel that this feature (acknowledgedly a great safety feature when driving on a level road), is actually a potential collision hazard when driving in the conditions described above.

- Fort Collins, CO, USA

The vehicle failed to stop on a city street after full application of brakes causing collision and damage to front bumper. I have not received any notification from walks wagon that ceramic coating on the brakes needs to be fixed and was not aware of any brake issues prior to the collision.the vehicle has approximately 4100 miles and currently at the collision centre.

- Plano, TX, USA

I"M contacting you with an issue that needs immediate attention. There is a serious defect with the VW Atlas we leased 2 months ago. The automatic braking system deploys at unexpected and inappropriate times producing a life threatening situation. The automatic braking system has activated, dangerously and inappropriately, several times, usually when pulling out of a driveway and attempting to enter a lane. Although there is no obstruction or risk of collision, the car senses the insignificant change in slope from driveway to road and slams on the brakes causing the driver to lose all control. The car is then stalled in the middle of oncoming traffic. Recently, my wife and two children pulled out of the driveway of our local supermarket and made a left turn. The automatic breaking system was activated and she was left stalled in the middle of oncoming traffic. Another driver barely avoided colliding into our rear side door where our 3 year old son?S car seat is located. We have taken this issue to our local dealership, and they checked the system, and told us ?it is performing as the manufacture intended it to?. this is a serious design issue and its only a matter of time before it results in a major accident and I can only pray that my young children arena"T maimed or killed. The VW service people have shown us a complicated way to turn off the automatic braking system in the car, however this needs to be done every time you start the car. I feel its inevitable that a busy mother doing chores with two toddlers will forget to turn off the system at some point. This matter needs to be resolved before disability or loss of life occurs. There needs to be a way to fix the system or permanently disable it. We asked VW to permanently disable the system but they declined. We look forward to your prompt reply thank you. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).'

- Merion Station, PA, USA

The auto braking and warning sensors go off when you are driving from an inclined driveway to a roadway. This has happened to us multiple times, the most recent was on 7-2-2018, and it brings the vehicle to a complete stop. This is supposed to be a safety feature that was an extra cost, but this is going to cause a crash if not rectified. I have taken the vehicle in for this issue, and multiple other issues and all I get back is ' system is performing as designed.' If the system is performing as designed, the system needs to be changed. This is without a doubt a safety issue in itself. There are multiple other owners on message boards that are having the same issues and having the same answers from the dealerships. On one of the message boards, there is actually a video of the vehicle coming to a complete stop driving from a bank parking lot to a main road.

- Martinsburg, WV, USA