When I am driving the vehicle the brakes are always squeaking. When I took it to the dealership they stated that there was nothing wrong with the brakes. When I Google this this seems to be a common issue with the Volkswagen Atlas. But one thing also just the other day when I stopped on the brakes it felt like someone was slamming behind me.
Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport grinding brakes problems
39 of the 498 owner complaints about the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport describe grinding or squealing brakes, most of them for the 2022 model year.
- owner complaints
- 39
- worst model year
- 2022
Is there a fix? There are 3 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
What owners say
The contact owns a 2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal, the brakes made abnormally loud squeaking and grinding sounds. The failure persisted, and the vehicle hesitated while responding with the brake pedal depressed while driving, causing the braking distance to be extended. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who informed the contact that the issue was normal vehicle operation. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 29,918.
Over course of ownership, I have taken 2021 Atlas Cross Sport in for routine service, to include grinding brakes during normal driving conditions. The brakes will squeak when first beginning the drive for the day. The brake issue becomes more pronounced when braking from various speeds such as 65MPH to a gradual stop. There is a loud and progressively grinding noise during this time. The dealership was made aware of this within a week’s time and they specifically looked into this matter and advised once again, “normal.”
A loud squeaky noise come from the brakes. When I took it to Volkswagen. They said there’s an issue with the brakes that was installed by the manufacturer however, they will not fix it because there is no recall. They said that the brakes that’s the factory installed has something has copper in it and that’s causing the issue. I have another friend with the same make and model of the car and suffering from the same issue. My concern is it just a loud noise or is it a safety issue because of the brakes?
The brakes are loud, grinding, and sounds like water sloshing around. Upon research, VW knows this issues since their 22 model and has yet to address it but rather keeps using bad material brakes. The braking results in shaking when breaking especially in the colder months. This is not safe and on a brand new car, should not be happening. The dealerships acknowledged that this is a known issue with VW
The contact owns a 2022 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal, there was an abnormal metal on metal grinding sound coming from the brakes. The contact stated that the failure was a recurring failure while slowing for traffic or while coming to a stop. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent at first but over time became more frequent. Additionally, the "Emergency Stop" warning light illuminated, and the vehicle came to a complete stop. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact had then taken the vehicle to an authorized dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 18,285.
1. Brake system grinding noise - every time the brakes are applied the front brakes makes a terrible grinding noise, I notice that the vehicle does not break properly. This problem clears can cause a dangerous situation to my family or others. Vehicle been inspected by VW Flagship Bayamon and they respond that is a normal situation cause by humidity. 2. Fault electrical problem the AutoStart won't work properly Manual works only 25% of the time, this cause a lot of waste and spending on gas, was inspected by the dealer and response was that there's only false codes in the PCM memory. 3. Keyless AutoStart won't work as advertised, if you start the vehicle remotely shut down immediately, doors closed, battery in good state, keyless battery was changed 3 times with the same results, dealer also state that there's only falses codes related to this issue caused by vehicle been park for long time. This is a security aspect to start your car to be ready when you park in dangerous areas. 4. During the sale of the vehicle salesperson cannot open the hood because hood get stuck with the windshield cowl plastic, he explained that there's no problem that i can get to the service department to repaired without cost, since i buy the vehicle i cannot open the hood to verify the engine. They give me all kind of excuses that part been order but never receive a call back this is dangerous cause in case of fire because of previous problems i cannot open the hood .
The brakes sound like their grinding and the motor drives funny
There is a metallic rattle in the driver's side b-pillar (similar to the issue in the 2018 Tiguan LWB). Every component in the pillar has been replaced and the rattle persists. The first time I complained about it to the dealership the car only had 1,500 miles on it. 3 years and several months of the car sitting in the shop they have not been able to fix it nor have they bothered working with VW of America to find a solution. I'm guessing it is structural. The brakes are also very concerning and I have mentioned it many times over the last few years. It is not the normal VW squeal -- it is a grinding that causes the car to shake. I was told by my local VW that "Apparently you've never driven high performance vehicles before--that's normal". Uh, no it is not normal. Often times when shifting into drive from park (even on flat ground) the shifter is hard to move and then makes an awful clunking noise. Coolant disappears. And, indicator light does not come on. I was refilling the wiper fluid reservoir and noticed the coolant reservoir was almost empty, however, no light has come on. I've had to top off the coolant at least every couple months.
Multiple occasions the start/stop malfunction has turned on. The brakes grind and screech horribly and I’ll get breaking malfunction warning. It has been checked by vw and they state that the brakes are fine and they’ve had several come in with same issue but there’s no recall that has been issued. They stated it is the material that was used to manufacture brake parts that cause this problem. It worries me one day they will give out. Also the error drive system has come on and it feels I lose power. I stop car and sometimes that helps as I restart. They tell me the antifreeze needs to be topped off. I’ve already had to refill in less than 3 months which I find crazy with antifreeze. No other car I’ve owned have I had to refill this so much. So several issues have occurred with this vehicle.
Related recalls
Service brakes
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport and 2023-2024 ID.4 vehicles. Certain bolts on the chassis, brake system and/or suspension (such as bolts for certain cross member, engine mount, control arm, subframe, rear brake carrier, etc.) of affected vehicles may not have been correctly tightened during the manufacturing process.
- Risk
- A loss of vehicle control increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the bolts as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 25, 2025. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1‑800‑253‑2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42HX.
Recall number 25V434000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: master cylinder
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2024 Atlas and 2024 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The brake master cylinder may have been assembled with an incorrect secondary piston spring retainer, which can block the brake fluid port.
- Risk
- An obstructed brake fluid port can cause a loss of brake function, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the brake master cylinder, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 21, 2024. Additionally, vehicles that were added to the population on November 21, 2024, their letters were mailed on December 2, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen Customer Relations at 1‑800‑893‑5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 471F.
Recall number 24V723000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2023 model year Atlas FL and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. Certain brake lines may leak at the threaded connections.
- Risk
- A brake fluid leak may increase the distance required to stop, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the affected brake lines, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on November 23, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1‑800‑893‑5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 47T2.
Recall number 22V718000 · Recall details
Questions about the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport grinding brakes
Which Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport years have grinding or squealing brakes problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2022 (17 complaints), 2021 (13 complaints) and 2024 (6 complaints).
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