2021 VOLKSWAGEN ATLAS Electrical System Problems
135 complaints about Electrical System
This Problem Across All Years
All Electrical System Complaints (135)
The emergency SOS/ Emergency call function has failed. It appeared yesterday, so I began looking into the issue online. This issue is absolutely endemic and is occurring across multiple late model Volkswagen vehicles. Volkswagen is aware of this issue (per their guidance to VW mechanics which can be found using search tools), but they do not appear to be addressing it unless amd until customers bring their cars into their respective dealerships.
Hood release cable has snapped resulting in inability to access critical components on the vehicle or do routine maintenance. After researching, this is a common and know issue for this vehicle.
The daytime running light strip in the headlight fails. Identical failure to the Honda Accord - which had a recall/warranty extension issued.
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start due to battery failure. The contact attempted to open the hood of the vehicle to charge the battery; however, the hood failed to unlock. The contact stated that an unknown dealer had previously replaced the hood release due to the failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who completed the first repair. The dealer determined that the hood release needed to be replaced with a stronger part. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The manufacturer documented the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a vehicle safety complaint. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.
Due to a faulty door wiring harness (a VW recall) the car has multiple electrical issues. The car shuts itself down, loss of blinkers, speedometer, brake lights, parking brake engagement and ALL electrical functions, every alarm goes off in the car, windows roll up and down, doors will lock and unlock while driving. Which is terrifying/life threatening while driving 65 MPH on a highway with kids. We have this on video. Most recently, it shut down and would not start again. The dealership has now attempted to fix this problem 5 times and cannot get the alarm lights to turn off so now the car is not even drivable. We have tried to work with VW for a buyback twice and started this process (16 months into owning the car) when the car was under full warranty. They continued to deem the car safe and fixed and the same issues would sporadically happen. After these two cases for VW to buyback the car and them rejecting it, we are now out of warranty and they will not work with us. We bought the car brand new.
Daytime running headlights went out
When I went to start my vehicle on 6/26/25, I noticed that the instrument cluster was stating an error: "COMPASS IS NOT AVAILABLE". The vehicle continues to go through an entire list of items not available. including the radio and infotainment system, navigation. I should also mention that the dash also was showing that the outside camera was not available to me. I live in a small town and shopping is very limited and I drive 32 miles for decent groceries and clothes for my family, and I rely on that radio for company, sometimes, and for weather and traffic so if I don't have these items I could get stranded in the middle of the desert. No one has looked at the car yet for this problem. I have no clue how this happened.
pulling into a parking, backing out of my driveway on to the road, rolling with my foot off the gas preparing to brake the car shut off in gear. it is very dangerous happening when we back out of the driveway on to the road having to shift to park and manually restart the car. it happens with the auto shut off both on and off. this is a big issue that needs resolved before someone gets seriously hurt.
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.
Vehicle was stopped at a traffic light and running. Once the light turned, the vehicle shut off immediately after the accelerator pedal was depressed. Transmission had to be shifted to park to restart the engine. This happened three (3) times at the same light. This is the fourth incident in the last six (6) months.
I was at a stop sign when I went to pull out from the stop sign the car stalled. I had to put the car in park press the start engine button again in order for the car to restart. This has happened at least 10 times since purchasing the car.
Upon starting the car All of the above warning lights came on the dashboard and did not function. Power steering,l and all adas did not function. Took to dealer and sensor was replaced.
Upon starting car All ADAS functions did not work. Warning lights came on. Did not work for several days. Took to dealership and they found a sensor in tire to be faulty
Vehicle idles and dies, dashboard error shows manual restart necessary. This happens at red lights, in carpool, on the interstate if traffic has slowed, potentially a huge hazard for being rear ended. You have to put the car in park and manually restart the vehicle. VW is inspecting today but has not been able to recreate the issue. VW forum online has many car owners with the same issue and concerns. Check engine light and auto start/stop errors are almost continuous now. Check engine light came on/off about 4 months ago and would clear and then reappear. I assumed maybe bad gas that needed to burn off, the auto start/stop also had intermittent errors.
If you have the driver or passenger window down and try to roll it back up, it will roll all the way down before being able to roll back up. Stereo screen blacks out often while driving and won’t turn back on until you turn off and restart the car. Apple CarPlay won’t let the music selection display on the screen. I could go on and on and on. I hate this car and am almost 100% sure I got a lemon.
SOS light is not working with active subscription, showing error light. Seems to be a problem as multiple Volkswagen owner are having the same issue.
3 weeks ago, the warning light of the front airbag turned on. The airbag system has a malfunction and is available for inspection I did research and found a Safety Recall on my car (VW Atlas SUV FWD 2021) with the Code: 69PZ I have not received any notice from my car dealer or manufacturer I am worried that the faulty airbag system could deploy in the middle of a drive or not deploy in case of an accident.
when I start my car, the infotainment center does not turn on, which means that I lose not just the luxury features that come along with it, but also the safety features, like the back-up camera and road sign recognition. Issues started in January 2025 as intermittent and are now an everyday, even multi-day occurrence. I suspect that it's due to the cold weather, as it didn't start happening until the temps got colder (snowy part of USA).. This is a safety issue, and makes me pretty concerned. I've tried to work with my local dealer, however they haven't been much help since the car's warranty expired in early January 2025. I was told that I have a faulty "5F module Product ID: 3G5-035-842-B". My concern is that we don't have access to the backup camera given the size of this vehicle. This youtuber posted a video of exactly the same issue that i have: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xac32juMW-k
My passenger side LED daytime running light failed. We just crossed over 50k miles. This is a 1300 part. After reading online it seems this is a major issue with these vehicles and around this mileage. This appears to be something that needs to be investigated and the manufacturer should have to cover under recall. It’s likely not a coincidence there are this many people reporting the same issue on the same vehicle models/years.
My daytime running light is inoperative and no longer works. This one small LED strip on the passenger side light requires a $2,300 full headlight replacement, which is unreasonable for any consumer given the scope of the issue. My vehicle is only four years old, and several other customers are experiencing this same issue.
This is regarding the passenger side airbag/sensor that needs recall in my 2021 VW Atlas. Is there still no planned fix for this? If so, why not? We are getting close to 6 months from the first notice and it is inconvenient to not have passengers be able to ride safely.
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, and while accelerating from a stop light, the vehicle occasionally lost motive power and stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle was restarted and operated as normal; however, recently the failure reoccurred, and the battery had to be jumpstarted. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. There was no service performed. The manufacturer has not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 48,000.
Mileage: 48,000
Brought car in for a noise 12k miles ago and dealer said all was well. I then brought the car back and they heard the sound, wanted to explore and take apart the engine and found I have a collapsed lifter on the exhaust cam which if a defect, should be completely covered by the manufacturer not just a portion of the repair. Also, this could cause further issues and damage with the car which is concerning since it had been going on for some time. I am just looking to see what further resolution can be made in regard to this. My car is still in the shop since last week. The dealership has been great in allowing me to have a loaner vehicle but I just want to make sure I don’t have more major issues form this not being taken care of as soon as it should have been.
Vehicle shuts off when driving. No faults pop up on the dash until 2 days ago when i was driving on the highway and it completely turned off. Message on the screen told me to manually turn it back on but i could not. The vehicle could not turn back on.
On [XXX] my 2021 Volkswagen Atlas cut off on [XXX] at the red light and I was almost rear ended multiple times until a kind gentleman moved my car out of the intersection. It has been parked in my driveway since because the battery won't hold a charge. I had the battery tested but the machine read that something is draining the battery even without keys being in the car ignition switch. The windows goes up and down by themselves without the power being engaged. The car is surging and all of these things are included on a recall list for Volkswagen which I will include in this complaint but Volkswagen specifically Kurt O from VW Social Media said that won't do anything to help. I truly believe they are picking and choosing whose VIN number to repair and the rest are left to their own vices. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Emergency SOS error. Dealership stated that the modulator is defective. It is draining my battery and requires to be jumped off to start. I have read in VW forums that this is a known problem effecting many VW, Audi and BMW owners.
My 2021 Atlas with around 28,000 miles turned off on me instead of restarting while the auto start/stop function was engaged. This happened 3 times. 1) June 26, 2024 I was in standstill traffic. My auto start/stop was engaged and when I took my foot off my brake to move, my Atlas engine turned off (power stayed on) and a message appeared stating “please start engine manually”. I had to switch my car from Drive to Park and then turn it on again. 2) June 26, 2024 I was parking and when maneuvering in to a parking spot and took my foot of the break, my Atlas engine turned off (power stayed on) and a message appeared stating “please start engine manually”. I had to switch my car from Drive to Park and then turn it on again. 3) July 8, 2024 same as number 2. Except I know for a fact that my start/stop was turned off. I took it to the dealership and they found that my battery failed and replaced it. About a week later is when the 3rd incident occurred. My car is currently at the dealership where “they aren’t finding any faults”. It is incredibly dangerous to have a car unexpectedly turn off on you while in the middle of a highway, intersection, or really around any other cars. The dealership cannot reproduce the problem; however, it is sporadic. Multiple forums online mention other owners having the same exact issue.
Just purchased vehicle, light: SOS: EMERGENCY CALL FUNCTION, SERVICE VEHICLE is continuously turning on, you turn off car, it goes away. Start car and drive, turns right back on. Have been to dealer and was told module would need to be replaced car is 3 years old. It's a constant beeping/ distraction. The potential consequences of not addressing the issue are unclear. There exist numerous blogs and consumer reviews about this issue, indicating that consumers must constantly expend funds to rectify the issue, when it should ideally be managed by the manufacturer. This is unacceptable. Are we being sold lemons here in California?
When coming to a stop light, car occasionally shuts off engine completely. Needing car to be put in park and to push start button to restart car. It is not the automatic stop/start technology. Sometimes happend back to back and leaving us dead in traffic for a few seconds.
My vehicle has stalled out before for no reason and the dealership is unable to help in diagnosing the issue without a fault code. This issue has been ongoing since i purchased my vehicle in 2021. Three years later as I was making a sharp left turn going very slow my car stalled out, engine light came on and I received a start/stop error along with a message stating to restart the engine manually. Again this has been happing since i purchased brand new from dealership. Every turn I make going uphill, my vehicle stutters and rpms revved up which is very unsafe and has me on constant alert. Now that an engine code appeared, I am out of warranty and dealership still refuses to help with the issue. code fault i received from engine light is P0496.
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.
Frequently when the vehicle drives very slowly in bumper to bumper, or when coming to a stop the engine will completely stop. Electronics stay on but a message telling me to turn the car appears on the dash. I then have to put the vehicle in park and then press the power on button, put the car back into drive. The car continues to state there is an error with the Automatic shut off feature. I have brought this to my VW dealership twice now for a fix. The first time they said it was an update which did nothing. The 2nd time they replaced a valve and that also did nothing. This has done this many times in bumper to bumper traffic and is very concerning/dangerous. It seemed to be less of a problem during cold weather and an increasing problem the warmer it gets.
The forward collision warning activated out of the blue and the automatic emergency braking was applied for no reason. Was driving to go pick up daughter from school on March 11, 2024 at approximately 11:50 AM. Driving on neighborhood road with speed limit of 40 mph. Driving at 40 mph with no other vehicles anywhere near me in front, behind, or in opposing lane. All of a sudden the front collision warning light on dash popped up and the emergency brakes applied for no reason! This caused the vehicle to seize up and come to a screeching halt. Luckily there were no vehicles behind me that could have rear-ended me, and there were no other vehicles coming from opposing direction that I would might have slid into. There was NO reason why this should have happened. There were NO vehicles anywhere in the vicinity. No leaves falling, no debris in the roadway, nothing. No inclement weather, it was sunny and dry but cold approximatley 40 F. Inspected front of vehicle afterwards and there was nothing obstructing the sensors or cameras on front end.
I recently purchased a certified pre-owned 2021 VW Atlas R-line SUV. It came with a warranty of up to 50,000 miles or through 2027. Shortly after I purchased the car (a few weeks in) the side passenger collision sensor would alert me from time to time (not consistently). I brought it in and the VW dealer shared that due to the Minnesota winters and road salt, keeping a clean exterior of the car would help with the sensor issue. I have been washing my car weekly to avoid the noise and frustration of the false alert. It DID NOT resolve the problem. Now (3 months since purchase) the front AND side collision sensors are falsely detecting and alerting that something is present. When brought back to my local certified VW dealer, they "claim" it is due to a rock or "external influence" hitting and damaging the sensors. First, tell me how a side sensor gets hit by a rock. Second, the sensors should not have been made if small debris from regular road travel will cause damage within three years. Third, I only travel on highways. I do not need to take gravel/dirt roads, etc. for my personal and professional travel needs. I am the sole driver of the vehicle. I searched online and found several VW forums indicating the same issue on models since 2018 and for several different models within the VW make (including video evidence which I also have but cannot upload to this form submission). Here is one forum with similar video footage: [XXX] Please review and investigate as a third party. VW and dealers are outrageously charging over $1,000 for a sensor that should not have been approved in the build of the model if failing this quickly. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I recently purchased a certified pre-owned 2021 VW Atlas R-line SUV. It came with a warranty of up to 50,000 miles or through 2027. Shortly after I purchased the car (a few weeks in) the side passenger collision sensor would alert me from time to time (not consistently). I brought it in and the VW dealer shared that due to the Minnesota winters and road salt, keeping a clean exterior of the car would help with the sensor issue. I have been washing my car weekly to avoid the noise and frustration of the false alert. It DID NOT resolve the problem. Now (3 months since purchase) the front AND side collision sensors are falsely detecting and alerting that something is present. When brought back to my local certified VW dealer, they "claim" it is due to a rock or "external influence" hitting and damaging the sensors. First, tell me how a side sensor gets hit by a rock. Second, the sensors should not have been made if small debris from regular road travel will cause damage within three years. Third, I only travel on highways. I do not need to take gravel/dirt roads, etc. for my personal and professional travel needs. I am the sole driver of the vehicle. I searched online and found several VW forums indicating the same issue on models since 2018 and for several different models within the VW make (including video evidence which I also have but cannot upload to this form submission). Here is one forum with similar video footage: [XXX] Please review and investigate as a third party. VW and dealers are outrageously charging over $1,000 for a sensor that should not have been approved in the build of the model if failing this quickly. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I recently purchased a certified pre-owned 2021 VW Atlas R-line SUV. It came with a warranty of up to 50,000 miles or through 2027. Shortly after I purchased the car (a few weeks in) the side passenger collision sensor would alert me from time to time (not consistently). I brought it in and the VW dealer shared that due to the Minnesota winters and road salt, keeping a clean exterior of the car would help with the sensor issue. I have been washing my car weekly to avoid the noise and frustration of the false alert. It DID NOT resolve the problem. Now (3 months since purchase) the front AND side collision sensors are falsely detecting and alerting that something is present. When brought back to my local certified VW dealer, they "claim" it is due to a rock or "external influence" hitting and damaging the sensors. First, tell me how a side sensor gets hit by a rock. Second, the sensors should not have been made if small debris from regular road travel will cause damage within three years. Third, I only travel on highways. I do not need to take gravel/dirt roads, etc. for my personal and professional travel needs. I am the sole driver of the vehicle. I searched online and found several VW forums indicating the same issue on models since 2018 and for several different models within the VW make (including video evidence which I also have but cannot upload to this form submission). Here is one forum with similar video footage: [XXX] Please review and investigate as a third party. VW and dealers are outrageously charging over $1,000 for a sensor that should not have been approved in the build of the model if failing this quickly. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
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
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.
Car shuts off randomly when slowing down. Changed out the charcoal canister and purge valve and it is still doing it
The breaks are very loud- squeaky and grinding. Have had them checked several times and break pads are in good condition. Additionally after the car is idle for several hours, it’ll be a loud gurgle when breaks are applied the first few “stops”. Additionally, when driving in cold weather the rear the stability assist light on the dash will engage. It will flash on and off so to be uncertain if the traction control is engaged on possible slippery roads
I had the door wiring harness repaired in May 2022 as part of the VW Atlas safety recall. The replacement part is now failing and causing the same dangerous conditions (windows going up and down sporadically, parking brake engaging) but because the recall was repaired once on my car, VW will not pay for a second replacement part and wants to charge $1000 for the repair which in my opinion should still be part of the original recall as a defective design.
LED daytime running lights went out a few weeks ago at the same time, then yesterday both headlights went out at the same time as well. There have been no damages or wrecks in my vehicle and I am the only owner. There are no warning lights and according to the MyVW app, everything is fine. I cannot see well while driving at night anymore and this will cost me $2,000 to replace at only 60,000 miles.
Driver window is going down on its own. I was told by Faulkner VW mechanics. When this happens to hold the window botton down for 10 secs and up for 10 secs to reset it. Does not work. Still has neen doing it after my service date which was 10202023
Passenger airbag light coming on and off. VIN is not associated with the widespread VW recall but it is affecting my 2021.5 VW Atlas currently. Decided to look it up and saw the recall however my VIN currently isn’t listed.
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.
As part of the existing recall on my vehicle, I am noticing serious mechanical issues ranging from the parking brake engaging when approaching a stop, the rear window rolling down (it's 0 degrees out), failure of Adaptive Cruise Control and a host of other electrical issues. The dealer is unable to see the car for 3 weeks and despite acknowledging my problems are consistent with the recall and have no loaner available for me in the meantime. VW Care informed me that my only recourse is to "call around" until I find one that can help me sooner. They will not offer to reimburse for a rental vehicle. This is unacceptable, the problem is not the dealer but a mechanical issue and VW needs to recognize that if their dealerships can't help because of workload then they need to support their customers.
While driving in a city, the emergency parking brake would switch on everytime i slowed down or came to a stop. Multiple other warnings happened such as lane assistance unavailable. And one of my windows would roll down part way.
Once starting the vehicle, the light comes on the dashboard; the notification states that the start/stop function malfunctions, the emergency break malfunctions, other multiple errors come in effect. Once coming to a stop light and the brakes are engaged to slow down, the emergency brakes engage and the car locks up. Almost got into an accident 6x. Immediately made an appointment to fix the recall and request for a loaner or rental vehicle, ignored by the dealership with a message of “will call”. The door becomes inoperable; can only open and close. Does not unlock/lock or roll down the window. The back driver side window automatically opens about 4 inches without consent.
We have an open case with Volkswagen, but the remedy part is on back order, in the meantime we have to use this unsafe car. The dealership where car was purchased from is not providing a loaner/rental despite being told by our Volkswagen care team specialist that he is obligated to. The car emergency brake comes on at every stop(I’m shook at every stop, knots in my stomach every single stop I make, stop sign, trying to park, red lights), driver side front and back windows open spontaneously, non stop beeping(anxiety inducing) when car is parked idle, driver side window doesn’t open manually pressing the button, CAR DOES NOT LOCK On driver door, like not at all, alarm will go on sometimes when opening, but it is never locked posing a serious threat, anyone can open my door if I am stoped at a light, or idling in car. Car can be stolen at any point, I feel unsafe and very distressed.
As there are several recalls on this vehicle Service Action #'s 91CZ- 91DE I'm not sure if the vehicle is safe to drive. My dash information panel is always changing settings between start ups. There are numerous reports of braking issues with these models and side air bags malfunction. Have had the upgrades done by the dealership to correct my issue,but the problem still remains. Please advise on any action that I can take to get the issue resolved. Thanks
When I was pulling out of a parking lot my rear drivers side mirror went down by itself and then my parking brake came on - I received an error saying "Error: driver door contact switch". I stopped my car and turned it off and then started it again and the error message went away. Four days later the same thing happened but I also received two more error messages "Fault: Electronic parking brake" and Error: Start/Stop as well as the same error as before :Error: driver door contact switch". I have my car scheduled to take it to the dealership tomorrow 8/4 at 8am and I am hoping this can be fixed as this is a big safety issue.... I have three children that are also in the car with me each day so it is imperative to have this rectified as safety is my top priority.
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.
Mileage: 1,000
My vehicle experience inadvertent windows rolling down, inadvertent parking brake engagement at low speeds and a warning regarding a faulty door sensor on multiple occasions.
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, the message "Apply Brakes" displayed and the vehicle abruptly stopped. During the failure, there were no other vehicles or objects were nearby to cause the Forward Collision Avoidance safety feature to be activated. In addition, the contact indicated that while driving the vehicle, safety messages would be displayed that included the cruise control and parking sensors unavailable. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was contacted and the contact was informed that the failure was related to the NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V152000 (Air Bags); which included a wiring harness repair however, the parts were not yet available. The failure mileage was 31,000.
Mileage: 31,000
VW Atlas 2021 is having issues with the driver side harness which there is an active recall without repair for. Car started to show error messages related to parking brake, air bag functionality, windows roll up and down, parking brake has engaged while driving in early April. Multiple dealers contacted and no loaner vehicle or repairs identified or offered. Car feels completely unsafe to drive due to random braking and error messages.
This vehicle will suddenly just stop driving, including highway speeds. There is no rhyme or reason why this happens. Volkswagen of America refuses to assist, along with Volkswagen of Boise, Idaho refuses to look at the vehicle. After several attempts to have them diagnose the vehicle they refuse as the Service Manager has “banned” us from coming there. The Service Manager and General Manager are racist since we were from California. We now have a vehicle that does not operate due to a recall and cannot service at the local authorized dealership. The next closest dealership is approximately 160 miles away. Many of my neighbors from California has said the same issue, and sold their vehicles just because they could not service the vehicle at Boise Volkswagen.
Car will brake unexpectedly while driving which almost caused me to have several accidents while approaching traffic lights. Windows also open unexpectedly. All dashboard lights turn on while driving. Not very safe to drive at all.
BROUGHT TO DEALER ON 3/04/2022 ENGINE CHECK LIGHT WAS COMING ON AND OFF AT TIME AND HILL START ASSIST ERROR, DRIVERS DOOR MODULE WIRE HARNESS HAS SHORTED OUT AND PARTS ARE ON BACK ORDER. POWER SEAT MOVING BY ITSELF. DRIVER SIDE REAR WINDOW GOING DOWN BY ITSELF. REMOTE START NOT WORKING. EMERGENCY BRAKE NOT WORKING AND APPLYING ITSELF WHILE DRIVING. ISSUE STILL HAS NOT BEEN RESOLVED.
The auto stop start, stops requiring restarting of vehicle. When at a stoplight and removing foot from the brake to proceed, all the warning lights and sound notification along start. This is a huge distraction and dangerous driving condition. The start/ stop totally turning off the vehicle at stop lights and not restarting the engine is a collision hazard.
3 notices come up on dash. “Attention:vehicle is on”, “error: driver door contact switch” & then “fault: electric brake. The car beeps like crazy, driver side windows roll down on their own about 4 inches (rear and front). E brake has come on while driving. Left mirror blinker does not work. This is started happening intermittently only when turning car on - turning it off and back on helped at first, then less often now even less often however it does happen randomly when I am driving or stopped at a stop sign/stop light. Have owned the Vehicle for only around 6 months, with 5k on odometer.
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.
3/2/22 - radio randomly displayed "Loading...." 3/5/22 - message displayed about driver door contact switch 3/12/22 - message displayed saying "Fault: Electronic parking brake". Another message was displayed saying "Attention: The engine is running". About 8 hours later, I was approaching a red light, when I put on the brake to slow down the parking brake self engaged causing me to come to a sudden stop. The car behind me almost rear-ended me. Twenty minutes later I tried to roll down the driver's window. It would not roll down, then the back driver's window started rolling down, then the front driver's window rolled down, then both windows was going up and down.
My vehicle is engaging the parking brake, uncontrolled window movement, and giving engine light on.
Sometime in Dec 2021, i have started experiencing issues with the car where the driver side back window rolls down warning messages popup saying driver side door fault etc with the check engine light coming on. What is concerning is when the vehicle is going at slow speeds (<5mph), the electronic parking brake engages automatically making the vehicle come to a sudden stop with jerks. Weird thing is, the problem is present on some days and some days the vehicle is completely normal without any warnings, sounds etc. Took the vehicle in for an oil change and routine maintenance and was told this is a known issue and there is a recall on it, bit no fix available.
The remedy to my recall is not being performed within a reasonable time. I was in the road with my one year old and I was scared to get on the highway I was afraid someone would rear end us as the vehicle stops and turns on the check engine light and a warning light on my dash. I was driving and when I was coming to a stop the vehicle stops on it on and doesn’t give the person behind me enough time to break. I would honestly see if there is something that can been done as o don’t feel safe in my vehicle but I can’t afford to rent a car in the mean time it is my only transportation my son has a doctors appt @ 130 today and I’m afraid for his life and to drive there. I would really appreciate any help that you can offer.
Hello. I have approx 12000 miles on my vehicle. Vehicle last week gave numerous warning lights and would not start. After leaving it a few hours I was able to start it but the engine light was on and warning that ABS was not active. Took it to the dealership who said there is a recall with no fix for a door wiring harness. Today, while driving the car, it came to a compete stop on the roadway and would not allow me to turn it back on. I drove the car back home and it would continuously stop and I would have to restart. I almost got into two accidents. There needs to be a more serious recall as someone is going to get hurt. Dealership says there is still no fix.
Car would engage normal/parking break when driving at low speeds (15 mph) as well as when coming to a stop (2mph). Car would not allow parking brake to disengage. Rear driver side window would roll down 1/3 of the way. We would need to restart car to remedy issue, however this happened a number of times.
In January 18, 2022, when I cranked my vehicle and went to put it in reverse, the emergency brake engaged and my windows rolled down a quarter of the way. Accompanying this was a loud beep as well as warning lights glowing my dash. I thought it was a fluke, so I took the emergency brake off and killed the car. I cranked it back up and all was well. This happened several more times until I contacted the dealership on January 24, 2022. They informed me that this sounded like a door harness issue because I wasn’t the first one. They went ahead and ordered a part for my vehicle, but informed me that the part was on national back order. From January 24th until February 24, 2022, the dealership had no loaners to give me. Starting February 18th until the day the dealership had it, my vehicle started engaging the emergency brake while driving 40+ miles an hour. I felt extremely u unsafe and did not want my children in the vehicle, yet I had no vehicle to get us to/from work and school. I received a call from the dealership on February 23rd stating they had a loaner. I dropped my vehicle off on February 24th and drove a loaner until April 8, 2022 when they replaced my wiring harness. However, the wiring harness they replaced it with is faulty just like the one they took out, and it doesn’t satisfy the recall at all.
Although this is not the first issue with my VW 2021 Atlas, it will be my last. As I was driving down a two lane highway to my daughter's softball practice, the emergency break turned on and my vehicle completely jolted to a stop. By the grace of God, no one was behind us. Prior to this recent incident, the windows started to roll up and down on their own and the "Fault Parking Break" alert will appear on my dash. This occurs randomly, day or night, sunny or rainy, cold or hot. The vehicle has been to the dealership for this issue, but the alert continues. I purchased this vehicle March of 2021, issues did not occur until December and it has gone down hill quickly. Right now, this vehicle is deemed "undrivable" and will be at the dealership. This vehicle is also under the new recall where the airbags do not deploy. There is no fix for this.
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while placing a child in the driver’s side rear seat of the vehicle the doors locked independently. The contact stated that the key fob and manual key was inoperable while attempting to unlock the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was notified of a wiring harness failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V152000 (Air Bags). The vehicle was not repaired due to parts not being available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 17,000.
Mileage: 17,000
After installing a software update, we noticed an issue with our Atlas where the parking brake is engaging suddenly at very low speeds, maybe around 4 mph but definitely before the vehicle is completely stopped. It feels very odd and has even come close to getting us rear ended from behind. It is intermittent and happens on seemingly random days/times, and at the same time as when the parking brake comes on, a bunch of audible alarms and warning messages pop up, and the drivers side windows roll down on their own about 4-5 inches. One of the dash warnings is saying something about a faulty door sensor.
This issue occurred several different times starting in early January. At first my drivers side windows would go down by themselves and I would see errors display but then the emergency brake on in my vehicle turned on by itself. Once the car was barely moving on the driveway and twice I was going about 25mph. The Volkswagen dealership told me it is the wiring harness that needs to be replaced in my vehicle. They cannot replace the wiring harness because it is on backorder and they cannot give me a loaner because "they just don't have any".
While my wife was driving home from work, all lights on the dashboard illuminated and the airbag warning symbol came on as well as both front windows opened on their own. Upon arrival at home as she pulled into the drive the emergency brake momentarily activated. Luckily the brake activated once she had pulled out of the main traffic or she may have been hit from behind. She called Bud Brown, our local VW dealer and was advised it was a known issue with the wiring on a door harness. She was advised that this part is not available and may not be available for many months and that there was nothing we could do. At present due to the known nature of the issue, it has not been inspected by VW or anybody else. At present when starting my car, only the airbag warning light is lit up. The car is available for inspection at any time and by anybody.
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the door latch light and the air bag warning light illuminated. Later while driving approximately 30 MPH, the door contact sensor illuminated. Additionally, the rear and front driver’s side windows rolled down independently. The failure persisted. The contact stated that the Emergency Automatic Braking system activated inadvertently and slowed the vehicle while driving. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was not diagnosed but not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 9,200.
Mileage: 9,200
Driving my daughter to school and the car threw itself in park with the emergency parking brake. There has been a few instances of this along with windows rolling down, the car throwing codes and alarms going off. I was driving 10mph when it threw itself in park throwing my daughter and I forward and almost Getting rearended. This is NOT safe. Dealer is aware and has ordered the part with NO clue when they will receive it to fix my car.
Warning lights and alarms would go off, the driver’s side windows would roll down and the car would suddenly brake while in traffic.
My 2021 Volkswagen Atlas is having an issue with a faulty wiring harness in the driver-side door that causes the car to brake unexpectedly while driving in traffic, putting me at risk of causing an accident or being rear-ended. This issue also causes the windows the randomly roll down, and I can no longer lock or unlock the driver's side door. When I put the car in drive, the warning light for the door being open comes on the dashboard and it plays the warning sound as if the door is open. I first contacted Darcars Volkswagen in Silver Spring, MD regarding this issue on March 22, 2022, and was referred to Volkswagen Customer Care because there is no ETA for when the part will be available for the fix. Volkswagen cannot provide a rental or loaner car for me at this time, leaving me without a car and making loan payments on a car I cannot drive due to the electrical issue. I have asked Volkswagen to buy back this car at my loan pay-off amount since they cannot provide transportation while they fix this issue, and they do not know when the issue will be fixed. Volkswagen has yet to answer my request to buy back the car.
Parking brake automatically turns on while driving. This has put me at risk for accident when pulling out across traffic where my car stops mid acceleration or coming to a stop sign where my car stops early. Not confirmed by a dealer but has been reproduced multiple times. Has not been inspected. No warnings of this issue prior to the occurence. In addition my windows automatically roll down out of no where and my alarm system automatically goes off as well as an error with the automatic stop/start feature.
Phantom breaking, vehicle alerts, windows rolling down, driver side door not opening, parking break engages, windows stop working.
On 3/14/22 took my car in to the dealership with the following problems, window opening on their own car braking on its own at low speed, driver door functions not working and a bunch of warning lights coming on. Took my car out the same day and was working fine until 3/23/22 when all the problems i mentioned above started happening again. On the first visit the tech replaced the door latch for the driver front door cleared codes and rechecked. The tech also found 3 error codes U105400: information electronics control module 1 no communications U019900: Lost communications with " door control module A" B177501: Door warning light/entry light electrical error.
Issue started 3months ago. Door contact error popped up on dash, then drivers back window rolled down. Happened 3 times in 1 day, then stopped. Now, March 22nd, issue came back plus more. 1st i couldnt open my drivers doors front and back, from the outside. Doors were unlocked. I had to climb over from passenger side to get in and open the door. Then driving the dash would beep, no error, then back drivers window would roll down half way on its own. When I stopped at stop signs or lights, everything went crazy. Dash errors would flash up and beep, “ATTENTION ENGINE IS RUNNING”, “STOP AND START ERROR”, “DOOR CONTACT ERROR”, “FAULTY PARKING BREAK ERROR”, then the back drivers window would roll down again. I immediately called and set up an appointment. I researched problem to see if others had this issue and saw the recall. When the dealership seemed not to care, I drove there And showed them the video I took of my dashboard. The service guy took the report and said he would order a door contact wire thing, but he didnt address the other issues i had or how it relates to the recall. He said he would call the next day and didnt. I called him today, 3/24 and he said the door contact part is on backorders. He offered me to take my car home until the part is in. Im reporting this because of the nonchalant, non critical the service department seems to have with this dangerous issue. My Atlas has only 7,500 miles and i use it to drive my kids. I would not have purchased such an unsafe vehicle, especially when it cant be fixed. Its a danger to my family and others on the road!
Problem started initially with random safety alarms and lights going off. Then alerts that door was open, or Advanced Driver Assistance Systems were not available. Then windows would roll down, for no reason. This happened within the first 2,000 miles of driving. Then on February 19, 2021 after multiple alarms going off, the car initiated the emergency brake while I was driving in a parking lot. My car stopped on it's own, suddenly. Luckily there was no one behind me. There are 7,500 miles on the car when the emergency brake incident occurred. I took it to the dealer the next day and was told since the car stopped at such a slow speed it should be safe to drive.
The vehicle slams the breaks while breaking, it is very violent and hurts my back when it does it. This would be the second time this same part had been replaced when it finally gets replaced. I have several close encounters with people almost rear ending me due to the sudden stops
My 2021.5 Atlas had experienced issues with window rolling down and parking break initiated as I was coming to a stop on Jan 3 2022. Dealership told me the harness needed to be replaced and they think I was ok to drive and would contact me when the part was in. Fast forward a month later I could barely drive as it kept breaking, I was driving and accelerating on to an expressway going almost 50 mph and the break initiated jolting my car (it felt like I had been hit). And I almost was as my collision alert went off when someone almost rear ended me! I drove straight to enterprise and had my atlas towed to the dealership-were it is still sitting. I have heard there is a recall yet when I enter my vin my vehicle is not listed on the recall so not sure how accurate they are able to find out which vehicles have this issue. My car literally had 9000 miles and is not drivable and not safe.
It started on a Saturday with my car alarm going off after I unlocked and opened the doors. Then the check engine light came on. The next day the check engine light was still on. While driving the vehicle and coming to a stop at the red light, my vehicle’s parking brake came on automatically and then the car started to alarm. I turned the car off and then back on and the driver’s side windows rolled down. I rolled them up and began to drive home and again while coming to a stop the parking brake came on automatically. This is a brand new less than 16K miles and I’m having majors issues that are a safety hazard. Scary and unacceptable!
When driving at roughly 50+ mph the windows roll down one their own and the driver door contact switch error comes on. Once slowing down, the parking break engages when you are still moving the vehicle. I have contacted VW to get this serviced and they have told me there is no fix currently and that I will be charged to provide my own rental vehicle.
Our car starting firing many warning every time we would drive it including breaking without us telling it to. We took it in twice for it to be fixed, the first didn't work and the second they replaced a door chasey and I hope it works long term. Very scary to be driving with 2 little kids in the back and a possessed car. Super dangerous.
Airbags Light on , associated with faulty wire harness. Car at dealer waiting for part. Back ordered for 5 months: told unsafe to drive. Dealer said airbag delay after collision
Shortly after purchase, we would get warning signals, without cause. Then at 18000 miles, both passanger windows rolled down and would not roll up. After recycling the engine countless times, window rolled up. Took to dealer. They stated the window harness needs to be replaced, but not apart of a recall. Stated it could take six months to get replacement part, but it was safe to drive. The next day, warning signs all over dash went off, windows rolled down and would not go up. Contacted VW corporate. Was told by corporate, this part is the "heart" of the electric system and it could cause a safety issue, but they had no loaners. I was told the they are unsure went the part would be in. So now I have an undrivable, less than a year old vehicle, with no replacement. I am still making payments and I am expected to keep that update to date, even though VW has produced an undrivable, unsafe vehicle. I was told by VW American, I would be contacted again by 3/25/22. There should be no reason we have thousands of vehicles on the road, we know are unsafe. This is putting not just VW owners and their families at risk, but those who are on the road with them.
The shocks will all of a sudden come up with “parking brake Fault”, “start/stop” fault, “driver door switch fault”, Che j engine light comes on. It will then randomly throw on the parking brake while driving causing the vehicle to come to a complete sudden stop while driving then the back windows will roll down. It does this off and on…
My vehicle has had 2 fuel pump replacements, my emergency brake has gone off while driving and while idling 3x slamming me to a hard stop and end arguing my kids and I. I have also had multiple events of being in a turn lane or busy intersection with my automatic start/stop turned off and my car will not engage and throws a sign up on dash telling me to restart my car. This is dangerous! Consumer stated they knew it was a safety issue but could not help me.
Could automatically brake at slow speeds, windows would go up and down basically the car would go crazy.
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that when starting the vehicle with the auto start first then after getting into the vehicle, there was a 12 volt battery in which was not charging, as well as, advising the contact to stop driving the vehicle warning displayed. The vehicle's start and stop failed to function. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the alternator had failed and the wiring harness needed to be replaced. The contact found that their vehicle's failure related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V616000 (Electrical System) however their VIN was not included. The vehicle had not been repaired as of yet due to the necessary part was on back order. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case regarding the matter. The failure mileage was 6,009.
Mileage: 6,009
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.
Mileage: 15,000
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the parking brakes and alarms illuminated on the instrument panel. The driver’s and rear passenger’s side windows rolled up and down independently. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed; however, the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified; however, informed the contact that parts were not available. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 15,000
Mileage: 15,000
1. My car has randomly slammed on the brakes while driving. I was driving with my daughter and when it happened, she thrusted forward and almost hit her head on the dash. The seatbelt did lock. I reported it to my dealer and the car was checked out and found no issues. They just said that people have been complaining about "squeaky" brakes, which I have taken my car in for before along with a grinding noise coming from my front driver side brakes and was told nothing is wrong. 2. Two times my car has turned completely off while driving. I brought it to the dealer and was told they couldn't find anything wrong. It happened 2 times in 1 week. One time was pulling into a parking spot and another time was when we were at a stop and the light turned green for us to go. I had to put my car in park and restart my engine. What would happen if I was driving 50 MPH on a highway and the power went off and I had no brakes and couldn't slow down? I was very upset that the dealer could not find anything wrong. I have left 3 messages for the service manager and he never returned my call. I do not feel safe in my car but am stuck with this car for another 2 years. Something needs to be done! My neighbor's Atlas is the same year and model and his car has been in the shop for over a month with the same issues. 3. I was in a drive thru last week and the "central warning light" went on with another light ( I can't rememberthe other light) and the service department couldn't find anything wrong.
After starting the car and trying to reverse, the car would not go into reverse. In addition all warning on the dashboard went off and the windows rolled down. The car would not move. After shutting down and restarting the car it proceeded to accelerate only to suddenly brake in the middle of the road as if the emergency brake was activated. The windows would roll down again and all the warning signs on the dash would appear. I took my car to the dealer and I was told that it was the door latch and there was no Estimated amount of time for completition. This has been 4 weeks now. I have had my car for only 6 months.
Hello, I'm writing to share a safety concern regarding the 2021 VW Atlas. In January 2022, I was driving with my small children in the vehicle. The alarm went off for no reason when I first entered the car. Next, my passenger side windows went down on their own and would not go back up. All sorts of alarms/light went off in my car. Next, it started to throw my vehicle into emergency brake while driving. VERY DANGEROUS! This should be a safety recall. The vehicle has been in the shop for 2 months, waiting on a part.
Between mid-November and early December 2021, my 2021 Volkswagen Atlas started randomly braking while the vehicle was in motion. There were loud beeping sounds, multiple error notifications on the dash, and the rear driver's side window kept randomly going down. I recently read an article from an online publication called autoblog, which indicated to me that this problem is occurring in these vehicles at an alarming rate. The dealership has provided a loaner, which is significantly less than the vehicle I purchased. Meanwhile I am paying $564 per month for a vehicle I cannot use, and the dealership is unable to provide me with a date that the vehicle will be repaired. We are not into month four of this issue with no resolution in sight.
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH on the highway, the brakes applied without the brake pedal being depressed. The contact was able to pull over and made it home safely. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and it was diagnosed as the wiring harness needing to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 12,000.
Mileage: 12,000
Car randomly shuts engine off completely when start/stop is activated and at a stop. I’ve had to put the car from gear into park and restart the car due to this issue. I consistently get fault warnings for the electronic parking brake and driver side control panel in which the drivers side and passenger window randomly roll down.
Parking break engages while driving. Windows roll down door contact light flashes
While traveling at approximately 45 mph, my vehicle suddenly stopped with no reason. My window on the driver side and left rear passenger window rolled down approximately 2-4 inches, my windows locked, driver side door kept locking and unlocking. My emergency brake suddenly engaged and multiple warning lights came on. I had to turn my car off for it to start responding normal again. It happened first 1/3/22 and again 1/26/22.
The entire electrical system went haywire. Driver aids malfunctioned, windows up/down, the parking brake engaged while driving. Dealer and VW claim it is an issue with the wiring harness. They have no parts to repair the car and there are a dozen more with the same issue at the dealer.
I purchased a brand new 2021 VW Atlas Cross Sport . In January I started experiencing major electrical sensor failures including automatically opening the windows, engaging the electronic parking brake when in motion, power steering sensor warning, engine warning and epc warning. VW has told me this is a wiring harness failure and they have over 6000 cars with this problem and can not give me a date as to when the parts will be available. I can not drive the car any distance for fear it will break down as I have had to have it towed once already. VW of America has provided no resolution for time to fix this brand new car.
My car check engine light came on, the car stated beeping loudly, the automatic breaking system slammed the breaks on for no reason repeatedly and the windows were going up and down by themselves. The only way to get the car to stop all of this was to turn it off put it in park and restart it at which point it would move forward a little bit before the brakes would slam on again and the beeping and windows would repeat. I had two children in the car and it was very unsafe as the car kept stopping itself suddenly in city traffic. There was nothing wrong with the car before this all started. I took the car strait to the dealer where I was told they do not have the part to fix it (door harness) and they have no loaners to offer.
My wife, 4-year-old and 3-year-old were driving down a 3 lane NYS Highway at approximately 20mph when my abovementioned vehicle came to an immediate stop due to the fact that the parking brake automatically engaged. Error messages popped up on my informational display stating driver door contact fault as well a parking brake error. My vehicle was brought to the dealership, and it was determined that the cause is a faulty wiring harness from engine compartment to the driver’s door. This could have been worse if my wife was traveling at a higher rate of speed or if there were cars behind here when this happened. Fortunately, enough that was not the case in this situtation.
When I was driving anytime I started to slow down the emergency brake would activate and apply the emergency brake to stop the car. The back window also went down. The check engine light and warning message came on saying there was an error with the auto start stop feature. The dealership advised that the driver door wiring harness was needing replaced and they have been seeing this in the 2021 atlas.
Upon starting vehicle, dash screen indicated that there was an issue with the Driver Door Contact Switch, and back driver's window lowered automatically. This automatically triggers the emergency brake to engage. If you disengage the emergency brake, the vehicle beeps, acting like a door is open, even with all doors closed. There were other incidents where this did not happen until driving on the road, in which the vehicle would engage the emergency brake as it was stopping. The brake would have to be manually disengaged in order to keep driving down the street. This may have been a safety hazard to others around if the vehicle all of a sudden turned on the emergency brake. This problem is not new to the local Volkswagen dealer, where my vehicle has been for the last month. Eight other vehicles are there with the same issue. They said that a door harness replacement is needed, but this part is backordered for the foreseeable future.
According to my local dealership, the microchip in the driver door is malfunctioning. My car incorrectly detects that the driver door is open and puts the parking brake on while the car is running or in drive. Alerts like, “error: driver door contact switch” pop up. “Cruise control not available” has also popped up.These alerts did not begin to pop up until the parking brake started being triggered on February 9th when the car was 4.5 months old with 5,000 miles. The driver side window as well as the window behind it will also roll down at times when this happens. To get my car to release the parking brake, I have to turn the car off and open and close the driver door. On average, I have to repeat this process 5 times before the car will detect that the door is closed and disengage the parking brake. My car has incorrectly alerted me that the driver door was open while I was driving down the highway. According to the dealership, the part that needs to be fixed is on backorder nationwide and I won’t be able to get my car fixed until July. They are also out of loaners because so many people are having this issue. My safety as well as the safety of others in cars around me is at risk as the car will put the parking brake on thinking that the driver side door is open.
The car started giving multiple warnings and the check engine light went on. When these warnings started, it would force the windows to go down and put the emergency brake on. It is a huge safety concern because when this issue worsens, it will throw the emergency brake on any time the car begins to slow down - so if a driver is actively driving the car and slowing for traffic - it will suddenly have an emergency brake trying to bring the car to a stop. The issue (Driver Door Contact Switch Error) has been confirmed by dealership. Car has been in the shop for 2 months waiting for a replacement part but in the meantime the dealer has multiple Atlas's waiting to be fixed for the same issue and the problem is all over the internet. It is unsafe to have these cars on the road.
Due to a malfunctioning driver door wire harness, multiple errors occur, including a electric parking brake issue. This causes the vehicles parking brake to engage while in coming to a stop but still in motion. This does cause the vehicles abruptly come to a stop. Additionally the wire harness malfunction has caused an issue with the driver side door locking function and driver side windows. Often times the driver side door does not lock when in drive and in motion, as well as trying to lock using the key fob and in park. The driver side windows randomly lower 3-4 inches, when driving as well. I am especially concerned with the parking brake, there have been a few occasions where I have almost been hit from the rear due to the abrupt stop. I have taken the car in to the dealership and have been told the part is not available and they have multiple vehicles waiting over two months for the part. Here is a link with others that have the same issue. https://www.vwatlasforum.com/threads/error-driver-door-contact-switch.6359/
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.
The component that failed is the Driver Contact Door Switch and the electronic parking brake. My safety and my children’s safety and the people behind me are put at risk of an accident if my parking break comes on while driving. I took it to the dealer on December 27,2021 and they said that it is the driver door wiring harness it controls everything in the car. They said they would order a new harness but it is on back order. I called dealer on Monday Feb 21,2022 and they still don’t have the part, I explained to them that as I was driving the windows automatically rolled down and I got the message contact door switch and parking break faults. They told me to deactivate the start stop system. I explained to them that it was deactivated and I got an oh well. I am worried about driving the vehicle and also teaching my son how to drive on a learners permit which we have put on hold until the problem is solved.
The driver door contact switch and door harness is faulty, which triggers several errors while driving. The lane keep assist and departure warning does not work when this is happening. Additionally, when braking, the car has several alarms that chime repeatedly, including low coolant, driver door contact switch, electronic parking brake failure, hill start assist, and dynamic cornering lights. The car beeps nonstop while the brakes are applied and the car is at a complete stop. The parking brake also engages when the brakes are applied, making it very unsafe to drive. When I called the dealership to schedule an inspection, they reported that they don’t need to inspect the car because they know exactly which part is causing the problem, and ordered me the part. However the part is on back order, so I’ve had to drive the car in this condition, as they will not put me in a rental. The dealership has Informed me there is nothing else they can do, and Volkswagen customer care will not respond to my requests to discuss.
Door harness replacement needed, car is only a few months old, less than 10k Miles. Various sensors go off indicating a contact door switch issue, and the parking brake will go off and windows will open. This happened to me with children in the car and snowy weather, which could have caused an accident when the parking brake went off while driving.
At random times during driving the fault electronic parking brake with turn on and abruptly stop the vehicle making it jerk forward. It will trigger the windows to roll down, and errors will pop up stating lane assist is unavailable with beeping noise. This puts my family at risk because I was completely scared when the parking brake automatically came on while exiting the highway and an 18-wheeler truck was behind me with my daughter in the car. I had to completely turn my vehicle off and back on to keep going. When I took my car in on February 1,2022 the Service Manager said that there were multiple vehicles in their possession with the issue. He said it would take a month to get it fixed. After speaker to a regional supervisor for Volkswagen they did not have a ETA for getting the parts needed to perform the repair, yet I am still paying a mthly payment and insurance on a vehicle I own that's not in my possession. I have screenshots from my CarNet app with the warning issues that I shared with the manufacturer. There seems to be no sense of urgency to get this repaired or provide a vehicle that is comparable to fit my family size while waiting on the parts for repair.
The emergency brake will randomly go off when driving or taping my brakes. Then doors will lock and windows roll half down. I have to stop car, turn off and turn on again to get the car moving again. This happens randomly and frequently. It is 2/13 and my car has been in the shop since 1/3/2022.
Emergency Brake engages while driving. It has happened multiple times at speeds of 25-70mph. When this happened the warning lights and beeping would start, saying "Fault Electronic Brake", Error: Driver Door Contact Switch”, "Warning, engine is running" windows in the back would also automatically start rolling down and up. It has nearly caused us to get into two high speed accidents with our children in the car with us. Vehicle is currently at dealership along with others with the same problem, has been there for over 3 weeks as they attempt to get a harness in for it. They are telling people because they are out of loaners that they have to continue to drive the vehicle. THEY are not safe to be on the road at this point.
I have a faulty Door harness that causes the vehicle to think they the door is open, when it is not. Because the car thinks the door is open, the E brake engages while driving and a loud beeping ensues. Several sensors also start flashing like check engine, start/stop system failure, check oil, etc. the part is back ordered with no ETA and VW don’t do a recall because they don’t want to be on the hook for all of these cars. A quick Google search will show you that this is a widespread safety issue that is being ignored
While driving 35mph then coming to a stop, the car automatically engages the parking brake. When this occurs it also notes that I am on a hill… which is incorrect. This causes me to fully shut of the car in traffic and restart the engine. While this occurs the driver door lock engages and flash red.
Driver door wiring harness is faulty and needs replaced. At random times during driving all alerts will go off in car triggering the windows to roll down, the parking brake to engage while the vehicle is moving, turning off adaptive cruise, lane keep assist and many other safety features while using them. I fear for the safety of the passengers in my car and those around me as I am unable to know when the brake will engage. The dealer has confirmed the need for replacement but does not have the parts to replace. They will not provide a loaner and have no estimate of when parts will be available for repair. The issue is ongoing and random.
While i am driving my car start acting crazy first the windows go down following for some mesenges in the screen, Error: driver door contact switch Error: start/stop Fault:electronic parking brake The electric brake is activated wile i am driving that was the mos scare thing happened to my family and me.
The below are known issues dating back to at least 2020 Atlas models, but this first appeared in our vehicle mid-November 2021; we purchased the car new June 2021. The driver door contact switch has failed. There are annoyances - the widows randomly roll down, lots of dinging, warning lights, etc. - but the safety issue is that the emergency brake will come on sometimes when you brake. We have a child and cannot risk suddenly being stopped on a highway. Because of this, the car is undriveable. VW estimates the part will be available in 2023, so there are people driving around with this safety issue because they have no second car and people who are paying a loan on a car they cannot drive. These issues have been replicated by the dealer. The case has been escalated to VW and there is no sense of urgency. See here for reports of others with the same experiences: https://www.vwatlasforum.com/threads/error-driver-door-contact-switch.6359/
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.
Upon starting car warning is light comes on regarding faulty door sensor then several other random warnings. Rear passenger windows open a few inches automatically. The warning signal beeps continuously until car begins to move but when you come to a compete stop the parking brake engages automatically and beeping begins again. It is very random and unpredictable, not rhyme or reason as to what triggers it or not. I have been waiting ever since Dec 17 to take it in to dealership. I was informed by dealership that they would need the car for at least 1 week to diagnose the problem. I have been waiting since then for them to have an available loaner car since dealer told me it was safe to continue driving the car. PLEASE ISSUE RECALL ORDER FOR THIS VEHICLE!
Purchased the car in April 2021. After 230 miles of driving remote start stopped working. VW service center diagnosed faulty soldering on fuel pump and replaced it. In December 2021 both passenger side windows started opening on their own while in park and driving. Shortly started getting error message from proximity sensors, adaptive cruise control and finally brakes with service engine message. Brought to VW service center and got diagnosed with faulty door harness. Service technician informed me that they had 20+ cars with similar issue and shortage of parts. Ultimately I was told vehicle is not safe to drive, due to car identifying door as open and shutting off engine mid-driving. Harness replaced, not the trunk is opening in park and windows are still opening by themselves. Sent the vehicle to service center by tow truck, applied for lemon law replacement and VW corporate. This should be heading to recall to prevent driving accidents. VW corporate is very hard to contact and follow-up is very poor. Other vehicle issues: Low coolant level, faulty door lock on passenger door.
Check engine light came on, windows were going down 1/8 of the way on their own, parking brake goes on automatically while engine is on while driving and pressing on brake, cannot utilize any controls on driver door. Dealer checked and it is the door harness that is on backorder. I was told 41 customers ahead of me waiting for same part in Northeast USA. Car is not safe to drive due to parking brake automatically engaging. VW of America notified and my case was escalated and I have initiated the PA Lemon Law Arbitration process. Issues first appeared 11/8/21. I have been given a smaller loaner vehicle from dealer on 11/9/21 and am still using that.
The vehicle indicated the door sensor was not working. This cause all warning lights on my dashboard to come on. Additionally, the car would beep notifying me that the engine was running as if the door had been opened. The car would then apply the emergency brake anytime I would begin to slow down causing me to almost get into an accident.
Within seconds of starting the vehicle, error codes started appearing on the dashboard and beeping noise stating to park the car and not drive. The back window will roll down on its on and the parking break will engage if it wasn’t engaged already. I would turn off the car and it would go away But after a few minutes the car would start beeping and all kinds of lights and error code started appearing again. After getting this error message and the constant beeping, the emergency brake turns on and the window from behind driver's door lowers like 5 inches from top. At this point, I cannot lower window and I cannot turn off emergency brake. The code started appearing about a week prior to December 8 which was the final straw. It got to a point that while driving, if I took the foot of the gas pedal, the emergency break will engage automatically as I was going 10-15 miles per hr. Everytime I slowed down and was coming to a stop the car will engage the emergency break. I had to turn off the car and back on in order to keep going. This almost caused me to be hit multiple times until I was able to get to a safe location and away from the main road. I’ve read many others complaint similar and I think this should be a recall. It is a safety hazard when the emergency break engages once you slow down and foot is off the break. This particular car was fixed on Nov.5 for a recall related to coupling rods. I was told that the issue now is called a “driver front door harness” fault which the wires think I’m opening the door while driving so it engages the emergency break. Vehicle is currently at dealership and has been since Dec. 8 with no estimated time of repair due to waiting on parts.vehicle has been in my possession since Jan. 9, 2021.
Door Sensor causing car to throw various codes. Windows rolling down by themselves, parking brake engaging by itself. VW knows about the problem and should be a recall. Parts is on back order with time frame.
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.
My 2021 Atlas turned itself off while I was going down the road at 70 MPH. I had over 1/2 tank of gas. I was able to get to the side of the road, put the car in park, and restart.
ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29TH, I STARTED MY CAR AFTER IT HAD BEEN PARKED OUTSIDE FOR SEVERAL DAYS IN THE RAIN. AFTER BACKING MY CAR OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY AND THEN PROPELLING FORWARD, WATER (EASILY 1.5-2 CUPS) CAME OUT OF THE REAR VIEW MIRROR ONTO THE PANELING BELOW. THE WATER CAME OUT OF THE BUTTONS AS THEY WERE PUSHED ON THE PANEL. IN ADDITION, THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND, YOU COULD SEE THE CONDENSATION IN THE BUTTONS. AS A RESULT, THE AC/HEAT PANELING DID NOT WORK CORRECTLY FOR SEVERAL DAYS. WHEN I WOULD TURN ON THE CAR, THE PANEL WOULD LIGHT UP AND AT TIMES, I COULD NOT TURN OFF SOME OF THE FUNCTIONS. THIS HAPPENED FOR AT LEAST 4 DAYS. I CALLED MY VW DEALERSHIP ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29TH WHEN I DISCOVERED THIS. HOWEVER, VW COULD NOT FIT ME IN TO LOOK AT THE CAR UNTIL MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND. ALSO TO NOTE, THE ENGINE LIGHT HAD COME ON AND GONE OFF SEVERAL TIMES THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND. I WILL ALSO ADD THE ENTIRE DRIVER'S SIDE CEILING FROM THE WINDSHIELD TO THE SUNROOF WAS SATURATED WITH WATER. ONE PUSH OF THE FINGER AND WATER WOULD COME SEEPING OUT OF THE CEILING. AFTER TAKING IT TO VW THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH ANY SEALING OR ANY LEAK. I FEEL CONFIDENT THE SUNROOF WAS SHUT WHILE MY CAR WAS OUTSIDE AS IT HAD BEEN RAINING/SLEETING FOR A WEEK AND I HAD NO OPPORTUNITY TO USE THE SUNROOF.
Mileage: 5,000