This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Error: Transmission displayed on monitor and vehicle will not go into drive. Stranded with 3 little kids and need to call tow truck to take vehicle into dealership. It says you can continue driving but can-??t get vehicle out of park. After researching this online it sounds like it is a common problem and could be related to the gear selector switch. I hear no electrical motors or any noise when trying to put it into gear like there is no power going to gear selector motor. Dead in the water and absolutely irritated especially with a car full of toddlers.
Brakes grind and vibrate and have for the past 7,000 miles, dealer continues to say this is normal for Volkswagen, this problem has been reported numerous times to VW and doing an internet search I am not the only one with this problem. Numerous other individuals with these vehicles also have this issue. The other issue is the transfer case continues to leak, this has been replaced once already, and now less than 4,000 miles later it is leaking again. VW continues to say everything is normal and it is normal to feel the vibration and grinding in the brake pedal and VW continues to say it is safe and normal for these sounds. However, this grinding feeling, not squeaking, but grinding and vibration in the brake pedal cannot be safe. This is a serious safety concern for myself and my family. They say brake pads are normal and not worn, so this isn-??t a brake pad issue, but a deeper issue. The third issue is the infotainment system at times in start up will just be black, and will not come on, so you are unable to adjust climate control, radio, use backup camera, etc. the only way this will fix itself is if you turn the car off and back on, the dealer has updated they system, and it still continues to do this.
The vehicle was driven into the garage, driver pressed park then engine stop. Driver and passenger exited vehicle, opened both rear doors and retrieved items from the rear seats. Closed rear doors. No warning sounds or lights came on when exiting the vehicle. When returning to the vehicle in about an hour it had rolled out of the garage and crashed into another garage. When the driver's door was opened the shift lever indicated PARK. The incident was reported to the dealer and taken in as soon as possible. The dealer has been unable to recreate the problem and is still researching. Very concerned about the possibility of the vehicle moving in PARK and hitting someone or something.
The Atlas has been in the dealer on several occasions due to shifting and acceleration. On a couple occasions when starting the Atlas the RPM's will redline with nothing touching the pedal and wont stop until we shut off the car. On several occasions the throttle has little to no response when pushing the pedal (Not safe when trying to merge or change lanes.) Almost once or twice a week the Atlas won't shift or will shift too soon. The infotainment screen has been replaced twice and needs another screen due to it not coming on or lines going through it. It has been to the dealer five times and nothing has been done to this Atlas about the throttle issue. The dealer is focused on the "infotainment screen" because it controls every part of the Atlas.
Driving on 55MPH multi lane road in a heavy load of traffic. While driving at a steady rate of speed the engine, with the gas pedal depressed, suddenly increases in RPM's and is no longer keeping speed. Pressing the gas further only increases the RPM's but does not propel the vehicle. Very unsafe trying to navigate the vehicle to a safe stop withing traffic flow. Error Drive System message on dash. Previous to this even the same symptoms occur when accelerating out of a u-turn but did not show Drive System Error. Vehicle is unpredictable in normal driving conditions in regard to acceleration and engine response. It is a hazard on the road to both the occupants of the vehicle as well as the other vehicles on the road. Vehicle has been dropped off with the dealership for determination.
- Haines City, FL, USA
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On occasion, maybe 20% of the time when slowing down at an intersection or leaving a stop sign the car will stay in 3rd gear, I have verfied it is in 3rd gear by putting the transmission into sport mode so it will display the gear indicator, when this happens the car is very slow to respond unexpecting this to happen we have to put the car to the floor but by the time the vehicle reacts 5 to 10 seconds have gone by and the car continues to stay in 3rd regardless of the amount of throttle applied most of the time.we have had 2 very close incidents where this has happened and if the other driver had not slowed down we would have been hit. We have taken the car to Volkswagen of Desmoines and attempted to have them fix it at 10,000 miles but they said they could not replicate the issue. We took a 5 hour trip a few days ago and had this happen to us about 8 times.
On [XXX], I was driving that vehicle on [XXX] in the vicinity of Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda, Florida, with three persons inside when the vehicle experienced substantial vibration, a loud knocking noise and major loss of power while in the high speed lane. This occurred somewhere around 8:45 AM. Traffic was heavy thereby increasing the risk of an accident resulting from the loss of power and vibration. I was able to keep the vehicle running and slowly make my way to a suitable place to safely park the car. When this occurred there were several warning lights that appeared. The vehicle has been serviced by a VW dealer in Port Charlotte, FL. VW subsequently replaced the "Longblock and Turbocharger", reassembled the Engine and Transmission assembly and reinstalled that into the vehicle. They apparently had certain issues with the thermostat housing gasket after the engine was replaced. I am aware that there is an existing recall issued by VW (Safety Recall Code 13i6). I further understand that recall covers 2,018 vehicles built before 5/12/23. My vehicle was built somewhere around [XXX] suggesting that the scope of this recall may have been grossly underestimated. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Kuna, ID, USA