2020 Volkswagen Atlas
The Verdict
The 2020 Volkswagen Atlas has 26 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are electrical (12 complaints) and body (5 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 94/100, it earns a "Smooth Ride" rating.
This is the cleanest year on record. Nice pick.
Klunk Score: Smooth Ride
This vehicle year has significantly fewer complaints than average. A reliable choice.
How is this calculated?
The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.
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Under the Hood
Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.
By Category
By Severity
Worst Problems
Complaints
I received alerts while I’m driving to tell me that the fuel pressure was low and to turn off the engine immediately… and then it would go away. there were several different times about 5 total separate incidents on separate days that my car would not move forward and lurch forward from a parked position and then died with a quick alert on the dash. Thankfully, I was in parking lots and neighborhood streets when this happened.
The airbag occupancy detectors on the passenger side are faulty. I noticed that other similar models of the VW Atlas are having this issue and it has an active recall, but my particular model has not.
Two main issues... The automatic breaking will break in the most random spots. There is no car around but it reacts to certain ways the lines are painted on the road is my guess. It will do it to some cross walks as well as some round abouts. I've had to just turn it off so it doesn't kill me. Also, another issue is the battery. I just had the battery checked and it is good but when the the fuel gets below quarter taken the car will not crank. This has happened 3 times now.
Hello. I have a 2020 Vw Atlas V6 SE R-Line. The truck shots off when idleling, on speeds of 5 mph to 10 mph and even on the highway. This is a serious problem and extremely dangerous to my family and myself as well as other owners that have the same issue wile driving on highways. It can easily cause a serious accident. This has happened multiple times and I even took it to the dealership to get it diagnosed and repair. They replaced the vapor charcoal canister and the issue was gone for about a year and it came right back. This does not bring any codes on the vehicle so it's very had do diagnosed. But it does gives you an error malfunction warning after it shots off when doing highway speeds. I did some research and found the multiple people have the same exact issue with this vehicles.
The contact owns a 2020 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted with the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) and Electronic Power Control (EPC) warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was restarted; however, the failure recurred. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 116,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel was difficult to turn, and the hazard indicator warning light illuminated. In addition, the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with rack and pinion failure. The contact was informed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000.
I enrolled in the Volkswagen Car-Net Safe & Secure Trial for my 2020 VW Atlas, and shortly after, received a SOS error code disabling the Emergency Assistance available for the vehicle. I had no prior issues with the SOS error code/Emergency Assistance until I was enrolled in the trial. The dealership has confirmed that there is an internal failure with the Car-Net module in the vehicle.
The vehicle was giving a false alert about my driver's door being opened. The door was infact closed properly. During this time when i was driving when i came to a slowed or complete stop the car put the emgergency/parking brake on. This happened twice in seven days. I took the car to the dealership to look at it and it appears to be a known defect that the door latch can freeze and cause this malfunction. The car has not been in an accident and is less than 5 years old. The repair is $1000. This abrupt braking was hazardous as it cause the car to stop short, my family could have been rear-ended.
I was driving today and an Airbag Error Message popped up with the Airbag Warning Lamp and will not turn off. I called the dealership I purchased it from and was told it is a faulty Airbag Sensor but my car is not part of the open recall Volkswagen has open. They set up an appointment for 8/20 to replace the sensor. I was told by the dealership that this issue could cause my airbag not to deploy if I were to get in a wreck. This information makes me very nervous to drive my vehicle but since this is my only vehicle I have no other choice.
The contact owns a 2020 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag sensor warning light illuminated and the seat warming function failed. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the wiring in the seat was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.
When turning my vehicle to the left or right at slow speeds, the steering wheel rattles and wants to auto correct to a straight position. This has caused my wife and I to almost collide with other parked vehicles. The GPS in my vehicle has recently started to go haywire and fail to give any correct guidance. I plugged in my iPhone to use my CarPlay Map and the issue transfers over to the gps on my phone as well. The moment I unplug the phone, the issue resolves on my phone but resumes on my vehicles gps. My heater won’t take affect until I reached approx 80 degrees. I begin to raise the temp and the rear vents begin to blow hot air at the high 70’s while the front of the vehicle remains at AC. Once i hit 80 degrees the heater turns on at the front of the vehicle. The issues all started when I had a module replaced in my vehicle. Approximately time issues began was first week of March 2024. I have videos showing the rattling steering, the haywire gps and the HVAC issues.
Navigation system (GPS) does not show correct location and 'reroutes' off the correct path. This could lead to dangerous conditions if using in an unfamiliar location (which is the point of having a navigation system). Navigation system has suggested turning wrong direction onto one-way street, turning into rivers and lakes, making U-turn on expressway, and driving through private property.
Since I purchased this vehicle for my wife, she has repeatedly called me in tears regarding the vehicle turning itself off in school parking lots, stop lights, stopping at stop signs, and in drive through lanes. The car will show error messages such as "START ENGINE MANUALLY" or "AUTO START/STOP FAILURE." This has nearly caused a number of accidents when the car is turned off in the middle of the street. The only option to get the car restarted is to put it into park, then turn the car off and back on again - which at a busy intersection can put you into a panic. I have taken the car to the dealer a few times and told each time that they find nothing wrong since there are no error codes at the time. I spoke with the dealer on 10/10/23 since it was in the shop in early October - I was told that they are experiencing this issue with numerous VW Atlas, it is a known issue, however there is no fix. I was told to reach out to VW North America. I spoke with Nick from VW NA today who told me that my best option is to try a different VW dealer. This has been an ongoing issue with the vehicle since we purchased, but it is happening more frequently - upwards of numerous times per week. There are no signs that the car is going to turn itself off with issue - it has done it even when the AUTO START/STOP system is disabled (this needs to be manually disabled each time the car starts). My wife is at the point that she does not want to drive the vehicle anymore as she is afraid of the safety of the kids.
Passenger side airbag displays Airbag warning, and passenger side seat heater stops working. Both use the same wiring harness. Seems to be the exact same fault as April 2023 recall for 2018-2021 Volkswagen Atlases but my VIN is not included
We own a 2020 VW Atlas SE W/Technology. This vehicle has grossly failed to meet reliability expectations. Of most concern is the repeated failure of the vehicle's electric power steering rack. This component has been replaced 3 times on my vehicle. Each failure has been accompanied by a creak in the front suspension and a clunk in the steering movement. I have asked VW of America to extend the warranty on my vehicle as this failure and it's the history of failures lead me to believe I will encounter this issue again very soon. VWOA has denied my request so far stating that my warranty had already expired. I reminded them that they had already extended my warranty for a separate mechanical issue that I experienced with both this vehicle and my previous vehicle, a 2018 VW Atlas involving the cylinder head. Between the steering rack failure and their handling of a dangerous issue with faulty door harness wiring that caused the vehicle's autonomous emergency braking to engage in traffic, I sincerely believe that NHTSA needs to get involved to mandate additional recall campaigns or warranty extensions on these vehicles to protect consumers.
Steering gear feeling loose & making noise going down the road. Steering wheel shake & vibration. No warning lights initially. Few hours later when steering vibration was at it worse, the front end collision warning light with cruise control light came on. Dealer said system needed recalibrated & steering gear needed to be replaced. Stated it is a common, complaint/diagnosis but no recall from VW. $3000 to repair! Car definitely doesn’t feet safe at highway speeds
We had issues in March 2022 (electronic parking brake engaging while car is moving and driver's window rolling down when attempting to roll it up) that led to the defective door wiring harness diagnosis that was the subject of the national recall. We were without the vehicle for 2 months until late May 2022 when the redesigned replacement wiring harness was installed. We are now having the same problems again (electronic parking brake engaging while car is in motion; driver's window rolling down when trying to roll it up) in addition to the blindside warning lights staying on and flashing with no cars in the vicinity to trigger that. We suspect there are issues with the newly engineered replacement wire harness. The dealership has been slow to respond as well making the issue more frustrating.
I want to record my experience with my 2020 VW Atlas. I have experienced the Front Collision alerts and the braking when nothing was in my path. This might have caused an accident as the braking would be similar to a driver stopping short. The vehicle was never brought to a complete stop but felt like the car was not in the driver's control as it slowed. The forward collision light did illuminate during occurrences. Secondly, the airbag light is on and the dealership has advised the part is on backorder. Both of these cause concern for me as this is the main vehicle for my family and I transport three young children in. This vehicle has already had a recall to address the slippage when steering and I feel like that fix did not fully resolve my issue.
The contact owns a 2020 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving at 35 MPH on local streets, the accelerator pedal was slightly released however, the vehicle immediately stopped. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to drive to the destination safely. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer to be diagnosed and was informed that an unstated wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 17,049.
My vehicle is experiencing the door wiring harness issue that is leading to an airbag warning light coming on. As of now, my VIN is not included in the recently announced VW recall, however I am experiencing the exact issue that is being recalled. This was diagnosed by my local dealer a few months ago and I am still waiting on the part. After reading the recall, I no longer feel safe driving this vehicle.
26 total