2020 Volkswagen Atlas: problems, recalls and reliability
4 recalls and 27 owner complaints on record; most reports concern air bags.
Data updated weekly · 2 new complaints in the last 90 days · latest recall Mar 2023
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 27 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“The car will shut down/stall while sitting at a red light. The START/Stop function is turned off, I turn it off while driving. So I am stalled at a red light and then have to place the car back into park and restart it. There are no messages or warning lights that appear on the dashboard. This is a risk because we are sitting in traffic with a stalled car that quickly needs to be restarted. This has happened several times.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Jul 2026
“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.”Owner report · Fuel/Propulsion System · Jul 2026
“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.”Owner report · Air Bags · Oct 2025
Show 7 more owner reports
“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.”Owner report · Service Brakes · Aug 2025
“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.”Owner report · Electrical System · Feb 2025
“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.”Owner report · Service Brakes · Dec 2024
“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.”Owner report · Steering · Aug 2024
“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.”Owner report · Air Bags · Aug 2024
“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.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · May 2024
“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.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Feb 2024
Recalls - 4 campaigns
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."
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 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are (Audi) 45J7, and (VW) 45J6 and 45J8.
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. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69FB.
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.
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.
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."
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.
Specifications
Factory options offered for the 2020 model year, decoded from the NHTSA vPIC database. Individual vehicles have one of each.
How other years compare
Check your exact Atlas by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas reliable?
NHTSA has 27 owner complaints and 4 recall campaigns on record for the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas. The most complained-about area is air bags.
Does the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas have open recalls?
4 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning tires:pressure monitoring and regulating systems. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.