Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, various electrical failure would occur such as her power windows independently rolling down and various warning lights flashing on instrument panel. The contact then stated that while driving at 25 MPH, her parking brake warning light illuminated as her vehicle came to a sudden stop. Due to the failure, the contact took the vehicle to a dealer where they discovered that the electrical harness needed to be replaced. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer as parts remained unavailable. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. The contact stated that while driving and depressing the brake pedal, the parking brake would erroneously activate. The vehicle had to be shifted into Park, turned off, and restarted; however, the failure would recur whenever the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the failure might be due to the failure of a wiring harness inside the door. The dealer confirmed the failure and stated that parts were not yet available to fix the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 16,843.
The contact owns a 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. The contact stated that when the cellphone was connected to the cellphone port in the vehicle, the connection was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the failure was due to an inoperable carnet module and that the carnet module needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that the parts to complete the repair were ordered but on back order. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. The contact stated while driving at low speeds, the emergency brake engaged independently. The contact also stated that the front driver's side door failed to lock. The contact stated that the warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing an unknown chip to be replaced and a wiring failure. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 9,000.
About two months ago, all of sudden, all of the electronic safety features were going out as reported on the dash. ECS, Lane Assist, Forward/Rear Collission sensors, side detection sensors, parking assist, tire pressure sensors, Auto Start/Stop, and more. The fact that all of these electronic assist and safety features were all disabled made the care very dangerous and confusing to drive. Changing lanes for example became a safety hazard, backing up safety hazard, lane assist, safety hazard, side view sensors safety hazard, disabled ecs - safety hazard, etc. I took the vehicle into the dealership at 57K miles and under 4 years old only to find out there were no recalls issued, warranty expired at 50K miles and a $1600 repair/service bill. This issue should be investigated and, in my opinion, turned into a safety recall. …
2020 VW Atlas Cross Sport. While traveling down the highway (medium speed) the vehicle abruptly threw itself into Park, and E-braked. Thankfully escaped a collision but the outcome could have been much worse. My safety and safety of others was put at risk. And the general trauma from this scary incident has lasted weeks. The abrupt braking continued to happen at low speeds / cruising speed until I could pull over. (The car is not simply braking, it is throwing itself into Park and E-Brake goes on). Also, windows roll up and down without cause, all types of warning lights and errors flash on the dashboard. Upon the dealership's service center's scan of my car's computer, they found it occurred four times. The dealership found the wiring harness was corroded, and they think the car is sensing that a door is open, causing the vehicle to switch to Park and abruptly E-Brake. …
In may 2021 I had the drivers side wiring harness replaced due to being faulty which included windows unrolling on their own, cruise control not working, every time I stopped car using brakes emergency brake automatically came on and car would jerk forward, to name a few. After I hand it replaced it worked until November 2021 where once again the same problems occurred. I took it to dealership who stated wiring harness again needed to be replaced. Unfortunately part is in back order and continues to not be available. Both the dealership and VW Car Care would not authorized a loaner and I was told I would have to continue to drive the car. However, car is not safe as electronics go hay wire on it and when I stop car emergency brake goes on and jerks car and everyone in it forward. …
The emergency brake just comes on when you're driving, the windows will roll down on their own. The dash beeps at you like the vehicle will blow up. We were advised back in January that it was not safe to drive our vehicle. It has been sitting at the dealership not being fixed. A recall just recently came out for the vehicle, however we have been unable to drive the vehicle for almost 3 months. We still have to make payments on the vehicle and Volkswagen doesn't want to do anything to help with anything. We were informed they would not provide a loaner car and a rental car we had to pay for on our own. This is completely unacceptable. The company needs to be responsible for this and I know we are not the only ones dealing with this. We will never buy another Volkswagen just because of their poor customer support. …
Received an error Emergency SOS call function failure! I took my vehicle to VW Loyalty and paid $180 to get a diagnosis. I was told that the carnet module needed replacement and would cost me a bit over $1200. They said that it was a known issue amongst 20-21 versions of the vehicle. I researched to find if anyone else experienced the same with this car and to my surprise, there are a slew of individuals with this issue on the vwatlas forum expressing my exact concerns. If this is a well known issue, that's apparently a manufacturers mishap, why hasn't this system been recalled. Why are we being charged to replace something that has been proven faulty by none of our fault at all. I've never used my SOS and I think something should be done about this, instead of allowing VW customers to be bled of funds after purchasing!
Issues started in fall 2020, each had occurred a few times, but dealers reported this was a known issue without a fix or that parka for wire harness were on back order. Now with each start 8+ alarms go off for failures in safety features. Consistently the electronic parking brakes come on at slow speeds (<5mph) and has caused near accede to due to sliding when driving in snowy weather. Airbag warning light on and unsure if this is a safety issue or sensor problem, dealership reports it is not a safety issue. Driver door not recognized as closed, driver side door will no lock but at other times is unable to be unlocked. All 4 windows go down ~6in at random intervals both while driving or parked when starting car. Initially was single events and rare now cat is nearly undrivable due to braking issues
Electrical complaints in other Atlas Cross Sport years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport?
NHTSA has 33 complaints about the electrical system of the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport, 31% of the model year's 107 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport, though it has 11 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 17,000 miles, and 67% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.