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2021 Volkswagen Atlas

The Verdict

31 Check Engine

The 2021 Volkswagen Atlas has 441 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are electrical (154 complaints) and engine (95 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 31/100, it earns a "Check Engine" rating. If you're shopping for a Volkswagen Atlas, consider the 2020 model year which has 94% fewer complaints.

Safe Bet

The 2020 has 94% fewer complaints

View the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas dashboard →

31

Klunk Score: Check Engine

More complaints than most vehicles. Known issues exist — budget for potential repairs.

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.

Recalls 3

Active safety recalls from NHTSA for this vehicle year.

22V245000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM:INJECTORS

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Atlas FL and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The long fuel injectors may have been assembled without filters.

Risk

Long fuel injectors with missing filters may leak fuel, increasing the risk of a fire.

Remedy

Dealers will replace the long fuel injectors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 20, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's...

Reported Apr 11, 2026

21V616000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:RELAYS/SOLENOIDS

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. Damaged relays may have been installed in the engine compartment fuse box, which coul...

Risk

A horn or starter that remains activated for an extended period of time can overheat, increasing the risk of fire.

Remedy

Dealers will inspect and as necessary, replace the relays, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 27, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298...

Reported Jun 8, 2021

21V132000 WHEELS:RIM

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The lug bolt holes on the wheels may have been machined incorrectly, preventing the w...

Risk

An insufficiently attached wheel may separate from the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect all four wheels, and as necessary, replace the wheels, lug bolts ,and wheel bearings, free of charge. The recall began March 4, 2021. Owner...

Reported Mar 3, 2021

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Under the Hood

Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.

YearBodyBrakesElectricalEngineTransmission
201893661571169
2019140721447621
2020541241
20219392154957
2022274248521
2023221039403
20244533382913
2025152757

By Category

Electrical
154
Engine
95
Body
93
Brakes
92
Transmission
7

By Severity

1
216
2
209
3
7
4
9

Worst Problems

Complaints

Electrical 2

Both set of running lights on my Atlas have burned out and were replaced since purchased of car in 2021 and again both left and right running lights are no longer working. The first time the car was under warranty. The cost to fix the LED running lights are 1500.00 + per light! This is clearly a defect on VW‘s design and should be fixed and fall under a recall.

18d ago
Engine 2

I was driving on a busy road and my car turned off. I had to turn on my hazards and hope no one hit me at 60 mph. I got an EPC error on the dashboard and when diagnosed it was a failure with the Fuel Pump Control Module. This is massively unsafe for myself and my family. I cannot drive a car that can randomly turn off. According to online forums this is a very common VW issue and needs to be looked into

19d ago
Electrical 1

The electric board goes black frequently. Also, my backup camera and assistive device for backup doesn’t work. It starts and stops after a second. Posing a big problem with backing up because I have neck injury and can’t adequately see.

20d ago
Electrical 2

passenger side day time running light went out right at 60,000. called dealer not covered under warranty on a 21 atlas even though i purchased a 4 year 80,000 mile warranty.. the extended warranty started the day i bought the car.

25d ago
Electrical 1

Daytime running lights have failed on both headlight assemblies. Both failed at just outside the warranty period. High and low beams work fine and the repair is $2000 for a headlight which is outrageous.

28d ago
Electrical 1

My wife was driving the car to go get food. While she was out she called me and asked me to look at the car when she gets home because she smelled a strange smell in the care. Approximately five minutes after that call she called me again panicking that the side curtain airbags had deployed while she was driving home. She said she was not in an accident and just driving straight down the road. She also did not hit any potholes as there are none on the street where she was driving. She told me that the airbags deployed slowly and that the drivers side deployed seconds before the passengers side. The front seatbelts also locked and the car shut down on its own. She said that there were no lights on in the dash and other than the smell, there was no indication that anything was wrong. The car is currently at the dealer being checked out. The police were not called. I was able to drive the car home from the road when I met my wife on the side of the road. It is a safety risk because once the airbags deployed, she was not able to see out of the side windows and the car shut down which could have caused a car accident.

28d ago
Body 2

Hood latch release cable snapped and I can no longer open hood.

1mo ago
Body 1

Hood release cable either lost tension, broke, or came loose from the clamp in the junction box and cannot open the hood. I was stopped on the side of the road, unable to open the hood. I and my family were put in excessive danger on the side of the road as I could not correct the issue without waiting for a tow truck because I could not open the hood. Dealer, as well as multiple shops in my area have confirmed this is a consistent issue with the VW Atals. There was no warning or I would have replaced it when it was under warranty. My VW atlas only has 44,000 miles on it but not in the 5 year warranty period.

1mo ago
Electrical 2

Vehicle safety components bypassed

1mo ago
Electrical 2

The right driver side daylight light is out, the SOS response system warning light is on, tire pressure loss detected light is but tires are fine and no loss in pressure, cruise control doesn’t always work and deactivates.

1mo ago
Electrical 2

Front passenger-side daytime running light went out. Cannot be replaced individually. Must replace entire front lighting assembly at significant cost.

1mo ago
Electrical 2

The DRLs went out at the same time. It's still not working so it's available for inspection. DRLs are obviously safety-relevant. No warning, no messages. Checking fault codes shows "module overheating".

1mo ago
Electrical 1

Passenger side daytime running light has burned out. Driver side daytime running light is starting to burn out as well. Starting to read that this is a problem for this year make and model of vehicle.

1mo ago
Body 3

Rear seat latch for the second row, which enables the seats to slide forward for passengers to enter the third row, does not latch correctly. Recent incident where child in car seat in the third row was thrown forward into the rear of the drivers seat (seatback) when the 2nd row seat latch mechanism suddenly released when applying light pressure to the brakes. Child was injured, suffered a laceration and bruising to his eye area.

1mo ago
Electrical 1

Driver's side daytime running lights have gone out already after fairly low mileage. Have since discovered this is a very common issue for this model and requires entire headlight assembly replacement, which is over $1,000. This prohibitive cost lessens the likelihood of replacement for many drivers and since it is not legally required it negates the added safety value of these lights.

1mo ago
Engine 2

The vehicle has an oil leak in the crankshaft with 70 K miles, dealership states not covered by VW

1mo ago
Electrical 4

My daughter hit a deer while she was on the interstate, so she had her cruise control set at 72 mph, the deer came up out of the left/median ditch (she was in the left lane at the time). There was no warning as she did not see it at all, so there was an immediate, intense impact, enough where the hood of the car ended up opening up and smashing and coming to rest against the windshield. The Front end of the Atlas was HEAVILY damaged and NO AIRBAGS DEPLOYED at all! The vehicle's seatbelt did lock up and keep her from slamming into the steering column and windshield and the vehicle's Front Assist Braking system did engage after the impact to slow her down and actually tried pulling her to the side of the road, although, that could be a flaw as well as it assumed that she was in the right lane of the road to begin with, so it pulled her to stop in the middle of the right lane of the Interstate. Thankfully it was late enough in the evening and no other traffic so she was able to figure that out in her post accident confusion and was able to get the car further off the road and call for help. The Atlas had to be towed from the scene. Prior to this incident there has been no issues with any warning lights coming on and we have had all past recalls taken care of through the VW Dealership we bought our VW from, so we assume that they were taken care of properly.

1mo ago
Body 2

The hood release latch cable on my 2021 VW Atlas snapped, making it impossible to access the engine compartment. This happened as I was at the store to change the battery in my vehicle. I had to jump start the vehicle twice earlier that day, as the battery was wearing out. Because the hood would not open, I was unable to change the battery. Luckily, the vehicle started, so I could drive it home, but otherwise I would have been stranded with no way to start the vehicle as I would not have been able to open the hood and access the engine or battery. This is a serious safety concern. It should never happen on any vehicle, but certainly not on a vehicle that is only a few years old.

2mo ago
Electrical 1

The daylight running lights failed at the same time. This a closed system so VW wants 1000 per headlight unit.

2mo ago
Engine 1

Car repeatedly shutting off while driving. Coal canister replaced multiple times but car has continued to shut off even after replacement.

2mo ago

441 total

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