Most common 2019 Volkswagen Atlas problems
Share of the 482 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Volkswagen Atlas complaints by model year
Best Atlas years: 2020, 2025, 2023. Years to avoid: 2024, 2021. Compare all years →
2019 Volkswagen Atlas recalls (12)
Steering
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Tiguan, 2018-2019 Atlas, and 2019-2021 Audi Q3 vehicles. One of the bolts that attaches the steering rack to the subframe may corrode and break. If this happens, the steering rack housing can break.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the right-side steering rack mounting bolt, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed November 10, 2026. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.
Air bags › Side/window › Curtain
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Atlas vehicles. The driver's side impact air bag may be missing a weld at the side air bag housing.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the driver's side impact air bag, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 19, 2023. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298.
Air bags › Sensor › Occupant classification › Front passenger
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Atlas and 2020 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The passenger occupant detection system (PODS) may experience a fault in the wiring and deactivate the front passenger air bag when the seat is occupied.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the PODS sensor mat and wiring harness, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 22, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298.
Tires › Pressure monitoring and regulating systems
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan LWB, Golf Sportswagen A7, Golf Alltrack, Golf R GP, Audi Q3, Audi A3 Cabriolet, 2019-2020 Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas, Golf A7, Audi A3, 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport, and 2021 Atlas FL vehicles.
Remedy: Dealers will update the TPMS software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 18, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi's customer service at…
Air bags › Side/window
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Atlas, 2020-2023 Atlas Cross Sport, and 2021-2023 Atlas FL vehicles. The door wiring harness electrical contacts may corrode, disrupting the electrical connection and delaying the deployment of the driver or passenger front side air bag during a side…
Remedy: Dealers will secure and, as necessary, replace any the front door wiring harnesses showing a fault code, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 20, 2022.
Equipment › Other › Labels
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Atlas and 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles equipped with accessory side steps. The reduced Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) label, reflecting the additional weight of the side steps, was not installed.
Remedy: Dealers will install the reduced GVWR label, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 31, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.
Show 6 more recalls
Tires › Sidewall
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Atlas vehicles equipped with Continental tires. On the affected vehicles, it is possible that one or more tires were cured for too long during tire production.
Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the tires, and replace them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on March 24, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.
Fuel system, gasoline › Storage › Tank assembly
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Atlas vehicles. The suction jet in the fuel tank may have been welded in the incorrect position allowing fuel to leak. Additionally, the vehicle may stall due to uneven fuel distribution.
Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tank, free of charge. The recall began August 30, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.
Exterior lighting › Headlights
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2020 Volkswagen Passat and 2018-2019 Atlas vehicles. The blocking cap disabling the adjustment of the headlight's horizontal aim may not have been installed.
Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, block the headlight horizontal adjustment, free of charge. The recall began July 16, 2019.
Air bags › Side/window
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Atlas and 2020 Passat vehicles. An incorrect driver and/or front passenger side impact air bag may have been installed.
Remedy: Volkswagen has inspected and replaced the side air bags, free of charge. The recall was completed in April 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.
Suspension › Rear › Springs › Coil springs
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas, 2015 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen, and 2019 Volkswagen Jetta vehicles. The rear coil springs may prematurely fracture.
Remedy: Volkswagen has notified owners, and dealers will replace the rear axle coil springs, free of charge. The recall began January 31, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.
Electrical system › Instrument cluster/panel
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas and Tiguan and 2019 Volkswagen Jetta vehicles that do not have keyless entry. The instrument cluster may not provide an audible warning to let the driver know that the key is still in the ignition when the door is open.
Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the instrument cluster, free of charge. The recall began December 13, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 3 possible defects involving the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas:
Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking
On September 28, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE23017) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the Front Assist automatic emergency braking (AEB) system in model year (MY) 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles.The reports alleged that activation of the AEB system occurred while driving with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's forward path, resulting in…
Fuel Injector Leak
On March 29, 2021, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened PE21-008 to investigate instances of fuel injectors leaking in the engine compartment in model year (MY) 2018 through 2020 Volkswagen Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport SUVs. These vehicles are equipped with either a 3.6 or 2.0 liter engine. The subject investigation concerns vehicles equipped with 3.6L engines.
Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking
On September 28, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE23017) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the Front Assist automatic emergency braking (AEB) system in model year (MY) 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles.
What 2019 Volkswagen Atlas owners say
Air bags all 141 →
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the windows would engage independently and roll down. The contact was unable to roll the windows up. The contact stated that the failure occurred increasingly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the failure was associated with NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V152000 (Air Bags) and the VIN was included. The dealer replaced the doors control module and the front door wiring harness; however, the failure reoccurred. Additionally, the contact stated while driving with or without cruise control activated, the automatic emergency braking (AEB) system would engage inadvertently. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH with the Adaptive Cruise Control activated, the vehicle stopped independently. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal and resumed normal driving. …
The contact owned a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that when driving at various speeds, when veering towards the left or right with the vehicle, the vehicle would turn in the opposite direction the steering wheel was being directed. The contact would have to turn the steering wheel in the desired direction to straighten the vehicle and turn it towards the intended direction. The lane assist would cause the vehicle to misread the direction of the road and turn the vehicle in the opposite direction. The failure had become progressively worse and more persistent. The contact stated that while driving past a driveway, the Lane Assist determined there was a curb near the vehicle, aggressively turning the vehicle towards the curb, causing the vehicle to crash into the mailbox near the driveway. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed and totaled. The mailbox was damaged. …
Brakes all 79 →
On 5 Dec 20212, at approximately 1:30 while driving to the Fairfield Inn & Suites, 1707 69th Street, North Bergen, New Jersey 07047, we turned onto 69th street but missed the right turn to the hotel, so I went up the hill and made a U-turn back and the accelerator got stuck somehow and the brake pedal did not work. We were going down the hill extremely fast pumping the brakes with no luck. Rather than hit the car waiting for the Red Light I turned my car toward a power pole, and crashed extremely hard. My wife and I were both transported by ambulance to the Hackensack University Medical Center. My wife has to have spinal neck repair surgery, is still in the hospital with no sensation in her arms & fingers and is being sent to Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation for 5 weeks of Rehabilitation, with a prognosis of up to two years to fully recover. …
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the driver's and front passenger's side window failed to operate as needed. The contact also stated that the parking brake failed to operate as designed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed; however, the dealer was not able to assist. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000.
Driver assistance all 79 →
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the windows would engage independently and roll down. The contact was unable to roll the windows up. The contact stated that the failure occurred increasingly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the failure was associated with NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V152000 (Air Bags) and the VIN was included. The dealer replaced the doors control module and the front door wiring harness; however, the failure reoccurred. Additionally, the contact stated while driving with or without cruise control activated, the automatic emergency braking (AEB) system would engage inadvertently. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH with the Adaptive Cruise Control activated, the vehicle stopped independently. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal and resumed normal driving. …
The contact owned a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that when driving at various speeds, when veering towards the left or right with the vehicle, the vehicle would turn in the opposite direction the steering wheel was being directed. The contact would have to turn the steering wheel in the desired direction to straighten the vehicle and turn it towards the intended direction. The lane assist would cause the vehicle to misread the direction of the road and turn the vehicle in the opposite direction. The failure had become progressively worse and more persistent. The contact stated that while driving past a driveway, the Lane Assist determined there was a curb near the vehicle, aggressively turning the vehicle towards the curb, causing the vehicle to crash into the mailbox near the driveway. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed and totaled. The mailbox was damaged. …
2019 Volkswagen Atlas engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 8-speed automatic | FWD | 20 / 26 / 22 |
| 3.6L 6-cyl | 8-speed automatic | FWD | 17 / 24 / 19 |
| 3.6L 6-cyl | 8-speed automatic | AWD | 17 / 23 / 19 |
EPA ratings. Class: Small SUV.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas a good car?
There isn't enough complaint history for the Atlas to compare model years reliably. So far owners have filed 482 complaints with NHTSA.
What is the most common problem with the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas?
The air bags — 141 complaints, 29% of all complaints for this model year, most often about sensor › occupant classification. Next are the brakes (79) and driver assistance (79).
How many recalls does the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas have?
There are 12 recalls for the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas, the most recent from September 11, 2026 (steering). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Volkswagen Atlas?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2020, 2025 and 2023. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2024 and 2021. See the full Volkswagen Atlas years comparison.
At what mileage do 2019 Volkswagen Atlas problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 11,000 miles; 84% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 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.