All cars · Volkswagen Atlas · 2020
2020 Volkswagen Atlas. Advanced data.
The raw numbers: engines, recall campaign numbers, failure mileage and manufacturer communications.
Engines and drivetrains 4
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | City / hwy / combined | Fuel | Fuel cost/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | Auto (S8) | FWD | 21 / 24 / 22 | Regular | $2,850 |
| 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | Auto (S8) | AWD | 18 / 23 / 20 | Regular | $3,100 |
| 3.6L 6-cyl | Auto (S8) | FWD | 17 / 23 / 19 | Regular | $3,300 |
| 3.6L 6-cyl | Auto (S8) | AWD | 16 / 22 / 19 | Regular | $3,300 |
EPA test versions for this model year. Fuel cost is the EPA's current estimate, not the price in that year.
Failure mileage by system
Half of owners who gave a mileage reported the problem between 2,400 and 41,800 miles. Median 14,200, from 26 complaints with a mileage.
| System | Median | Middle half | Complaints |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical | 16,900 | 8,000–35,500 | 8 |
| Airbags | 58,100 | 14,000–103,000 | 8 |
Mileage owners typed into their NHTSA complaint, all complaints for this model year. People report some problems late, so read it as a range.
Complaints by system
| System | Share of complaints |
|---|---|
| Electrical | 42% |
| Automatic emergency braking | 30% |
| Brakes | 26% |
| Airbags | 18% |
| Steering | 12% |
One complaint can name more than one system, so shares can add to more than 100%.
Severity, all complaints
| Total | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | Deaths | Tows |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 134 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
As reported by owners to NHTSA. Not verified.
Recall campaigns 11
24V464000 Jun 2024 Air Bags / Sensor / Occupant Classification / Front Passenger
Defect. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Atlas and 2020-2024 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.
Risk. A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Remedy. Dealers will replace the PODS sensor mat and wiring harness, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 30, 2024. Owner notification letters will be mailed in phases, on October 18, 2024, December 10, 2024, December 20, 2024, and January 17, 2025. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69PZ.
23V215000 Mar 2023 Air Bags / Sensor / Occupant Classification / Front Passenger
Defect. 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.
Risk. A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
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. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69FB.
22V815000 Oct 2022 Tires / Pressure Monitoring And Regulating Systems
Defect. 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. The tire pressure monitoring system may not detect an air pressure loss in adequate time when deflating occurs among all four tires simultaneously. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."
Risk. An undetected sudden loss of pressure in all four tires increases the risk of a crash.
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 Audis customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are (Audi) 45J7, and (VW) 45J6 and 45J8.
22V152000 Mar 2022 Air Bags / Side/Window
Defect. 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 impact crash.
Risk. A delayed air bag deployment can increase the risk of injury.
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. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 97GF.
22V086000 Feb 2022 Equipment / Other / Labels
Defect. 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. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Risk. Without the reduced GVWR label, the vehicle could be overloaded, leading to a loss of control and increasing the risk of a crash.
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. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 09D9.
21V892000 Nov 2021 Visibility / Defroster/Defogger/Hvac System
Defect. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas and 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The air conditioning system drain tube could be blocked, causing water to leak inside the vehicle near the air bag control module.
Risk. A water leak may damage the air bag control module, causing an inadvertent air bag deployment and increasing the risk of injury or a crash.
Remedy. Dealers will repair the drain tube and replace the air bag control module, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 87H4.
21V026000 Jan 2021 Steering
Defect. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas and 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The front steering knuckle may fracture in the area of the strut mounting.
Risk. A fractured steering knuckle can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy. Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, replace one or both steering knuckles, free of charge. The recall began February 16, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 40Q7.
20V712000 Nov 2020 Steering
Defect. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas and 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. One or both steering knuckles may have been damaged during production.
Risk. A damaged steering knuckle can fail, causing a loss of steering, thereby increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy. Volkswagen has notified owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, replace the steering knuckle, free of charge. The recall began November 19, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 40Q6. Note: Owners are advised to DO NOT DRIVE the vehicle until the vehicle has been inspected and repaired if necessary.
20V702000 Nov 2020 Tires / Sidewall
Defect. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport and 2021 Atlas vehicles equipped with Continental Cross Contact LX Sport tires, size 255/50 R 20 105 T. The tires may have been over cured.
Risk. Over cured tires can result in a sidewall break causing a sudden loss of air pressure or the tread separating from the tire. Both conditions increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy. Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect DOT date code and mold number on the vehicle's tires to see if they are affected, replacing them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 30, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 44Q5.
20V504000 Aug 2020 Exterior Lighting / Headlights
Defect. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2020 Atlas Cross Sports and 2021 Atlas vehicles. The driver's side headlight may have been aimed too low during production. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Risk. A headlight aimed incorrectly aimed reduces the driver's visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy. Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will adjust the driver's side headlight, free of charge. The recall began September 9, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 94N7.
20V505000 Aug 2020 Seats
Defect. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen ) is recalling certain 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport, Jetta, Jetta GLI and Tiguan and Audi Q5 and SQ5 and 2021 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. Parts of the front seat frame and backrest adjuster may not have been welded properly.
Risk. In the event of a rear-end crash, the backrest adjustment could break, possibly reducing the amount of occupant restraint, thus increasing risk of injury.
Remedy. Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front seats, and, as necessary, replace the seatback frames, free of charge. The recall began September 11, 2020. Volkswagen owners may contact their customer service at 1-888-241-2289. Audi owners may contact their customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 72L1, 72K8, and 72K9.
NHTSA investigations
| Status | Subject | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Closed | Inadvertent automatic emergency braking | 2023 | 2024 |
| Closed | Fuel injector leak | 2021 | 2022 |
Manufacturer communications 642
Volkswagen filed 642 service communications for this car with NHTSA.
- Customer states MIL-on with P0087 P053F in the ECM Customer states MIL-on with any combination…
- Brake Rotor, Vibration / Pulsation Instruction (U.S
- Customer states rattle noise from the underbody heat shields Customer states coolant leak Oil…
Crash ratings by version
| Version | Overall | Front | Side | Rollover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen Atlas SUV AWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ |
| Volkswagen Atlas SUV FWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ |
| Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport SUV AWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ |
| Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport SUV FWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ |
Safety equipment
| Electronic stability | Forward collision warning | Lane departure warning |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Standard | Optional |
Nearby model years
Sources: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer communications; EPA fuel economy data; YouTube video titles. Complaints are owner reports, not proof of a defect.
Updated
Free to use with credit: Source: The Lemon Index (lemonindex.com)
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