My adaptive cruise control constantly gives an error, and as a result the cruise control does not work. VW is not fixing it, even under warranty as they state its a calibration issue. Upon further research, this appears to be a known issue. A quick search of "VW Atlas ACC" pull up all the forums. Here are two such links: [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
2019 Volkswagen Atlas driver assistance complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 84, newest first, as owners wrote them.
On January 20th 2025, we were driving on an open street with moving traffic. The automatic braking system kicked in for no apparent reason and the car slammed on the brakes on its own resulting in us almost being rear ended. Our safety and the safety of others was put at risk due to the car braking with no warning and for no reason, causing the person behind us to almost hit us. In the past, the car has randomly loudly beeped at me and given me the forward collision warning for no reason, but it has never auto braked like that for no reason. It was scary and makes me concerned about the safety of the vehicle for my family.
While performing a low speed left hand turn the vehicle’s adaptive cruise control system falsely detected an imminent crash triggering the auto braking system and subsequently malfunctioned to release the vehicle’s side curtain airbags on both the passenger and driver side. The police were called and responded but no police report was prepared as there was determined to be no motor vehicle accident or property damage done (other than to the vehicle itself). The vehicle was taken to a dealer and a diagnostic test was performed, results attached. The manufacturer has verbally responded that they determine the airbag release to be of outside influences and they deny malfunction. They will not provide their response in writing. At the time of the accident there were no warning lights indicating a problem; however, the vehicle diagnostic results indicate that there were brake system issues earlier in the day. The vehicle diagnostic results include multiple system malfunctions that contributed to this malfunction.
The rear driver side seat belt does not stay in place when the seat is lowered, therefore, leaving this seat without a seatbelt. The adaptive cruise control sometimes works and sometimes does not work. There is no specific reason for this. It works during the snow and does not work during the sunshine. When making a hard right or left turn, there is a grinding noise underneath, I am guessing it has something to do withthe wheels or what the wheels are attached to... I have brought each of these items up to the dealership service department and they look at me like I am crazy stating this is the way volkswagon works. I do not believe this is so.
Vehicle has auto stop/start. Vehicle shuts down when at a stop sign and does not start .Deactivating the stop/ start function does not help.
While approaching an intersection at about 20 mph, vehicle suddenly applied the front collision braking and almost caused an accident from the vehicle behind me. There were no vehicles in front of me or any other obstacles. Other 2019 models have been recalled with he same issue for a harness wiring or software update. This is dangerous and risks my family's life.
I informed the VW service center approximately a year or more ago that it felt like the vehicle's brakes were stopping on their own. The service center claimed that they could not reproduce/detect the issue. Now there is a class action lawsuit regarding the matter yet no recall or safety issue regarding this matter attached to my VIN. There are people who likely do not know about this apparent issue and it is very dangerous to have a vehicle that will suddenly stop on its own. So far, my local service center refused to fix this issue along with two other safety issues. I am concerned that VW knows it is producing unsafe cars yet still puts them out in the market for consumers.
Overcast day. No rain, dry roads. 60 degree weather. Dash displayed forward collision warning (in red) and emergency brakes applied. Nothing in the road, no vehicles around. Thankfully I was driving slowly in the city and no vehicles behind me.
The ABS or AES malfunctioned while driving. The brakes were automatically applied, without warning, with a medium amount of traffic and vehicles behind me. This poses a significant safety issue to myself and others when the brakes get applied without warning. A vehicle behind me had to swerve to avoid rear-ending me and others had to go around me on an onramp to the highway. I am taking my vehicle to Volkswagen of Waco today to have this issue looked at. I am also looking into a dashcam to see if I can get the issue on camera in case the dealership isn't able to duplicate the issue. This issue has occurred other times, this has not been an isolated incident. I do get a faulty brake booster light while the vehicle is braking so there is no warning before it happens, just me flying into my steering wheel.
The blind spot monitor and rear traffic alert have now turned themselves off 3 times. Each time it will not turn back on by selecting in menu. All 3 incidents have required a trip to the dealer to fix. This is dangerous because when you start the car, there is no warning that they are not on.
My '19' Atlas had given me several issues after 2 years. The engine light has illuminated several times. Im not sure if is just being reset or if the problem is actually being fixed. At any rate, I have continuously complained about smelling coolant since Feb 21. Only to bring vehicle in, have the coolant topped off, and hear it's nothing's wrong. It has been checked and inspected and yet there has been no headway of the originating of the issue. The dealer has changed the canister & head gasket a few times (even speculated water pump issues). It was said the problem had been fixed. That statement couldn't be more INACCURATE a few weeks ago I was told I needed a new head/spark plugs and the block was warp and I would not be able to drive it until it was repaired (a $5k job). My vehicle is 4 years old it is well kept and is always in for scheduled/routine maintenance. I was told this is a known issue. Had I been told this before buying, I would of reconsidered my purchase. Why isn't this a manufacturers recall? Or the buyer isn't informed. The manufacturer should be mandated to use reliable materials for this vehicle. For a vehicle to fail at 70k is insane. I am utterly disgusted. In addition, the collision display randomly comes on while driving and vehicle often halts unexpectedly. Unsafe if driving on the road with other vehicles. I have brought it to the dealers attention several times unsure if it has been annotated but I am always told bring it back if it does it again. And no solution has been given. This has been a problem well over a year and a half. AGAIN this should be a recall issue. I love this vehicle and want to keep it but these experiences will definitely detour me from future purchases of the VW brand.
I was driving on the freeway on 10/13/2023, it was raining and I was startled by an alarm and a flashing warning on my dash stating brake booster failure, the abs light went on and I was concerned because I recently had by brakes done at the Volkswagen dealership in Brooklyn Center Minnesota on 10/4/2023. I was afraid of not being able to brake and I pulled over and put my car in park and I received a park assist failure warning on my dash as well as the park assist light turned on by the shifter. I shut my car off and called Volkswagen in Brooklyn Center. I was assured that my brakes wouldn’t stop working and the service tech was unaware why the red light near my shifter for the park assist would turn on by itself. The dealership was about to close and I was told that I could maybe be squeezed in on that following Monday and eventually was scheduled. I restarted my car and received another error for the electronic stabilization control. I called back the dealership and was able to catch the tech before he left and I was concerned about driving it. I was told, you are basically driving a 1985 Volkswagen, be aware you don’t have the safety features. My car was reviewed on 10/24/2023, I was provided with a rental car and was told the problem was the abs electronic braking module that this is known to go out at my mileage. I do see that others have had this issue and there was a recall, but I was told my VIN number was not included. Prior to this I did report driving in a mall parking lot and I had an alarm go off for a collision warning and my car suddenly braked on it’s own and no vehicle was around me. I have also been in slow traffic and periodically had the collision warning go off and the vehicle was a good distance in front of me. I was told that that can happen with the sensors. I’ve also been driving in the winter and I’ve gotten the warning look that it’s safe to move alarm alot when I’m stopped in traffic, I’m guessing that it’s due to ice near the sensor.
I was driving between 35 and 40 mph on a 252/Providence Road at Wallingford Ave in Nether Providence Twp, PA 19086 last night at approximately 8:30p. It was dark, about 65 degrees and not raining. Road conditions were dry. The pavement is under repair with a temporarily patched utility trench for new water or gas lines in the drive lane. Just before the stated intersection, there are 2 large temporary steel plates on the road, which are somewhat raised (not flush). I was lightly applying the brakes to reduce speed. As my front tires made contact with plates, the collision warning flashed on the dash screen, no audible warning, and the brakes automatically and suddenly applied. The vehicle wheels locked and there was tire screeching heard. The vehicle came to a complete stop. There were no other vehicles in-front, behind, or on-coming. The vehicle stayed straight and there was no collision or damage. I am guessing the vehicle collision system sensed a shadow, 'saw' the light reflecting off the plates, or indicated a slippery surface due to the steel plate. The Anti-Lock brake system apparently didn't work as the wheels locked. The vehicle just STOPPED! I was the only occupant and for the record, in no way impaired. I'm pretty attuned to how my vehicle drives and reacts. Occasionally I'll get a false audible and visual alarm indicating a forward vehicle detection when there is nothing there. I've noticed this on dark, winding roads where I figure the glare from my headlights caused a false indication. This is the first time I experienced automatic, emergency braking.
When exiting a driveway that is sloped down towards the street, after stopping to look for traffic, and then proceeding, the collision avoidance system will automatically apply the brakes just as acceleration is needed to get ahead of oncoming traffic. This requires application of the brake then to make the vehicle move. According to the dealer that I've spoken with, the collision sensors are placed too low on the front bumper causing them to sense the road, but there is no fix other than to turn off the collision avoidance system every time the car is started, which requires navigating several menus and is not something easy accomplished.
Was driving on interstate 24 between Nashville and Chattanooga, sunday Sept 17th around 1 PM, temp was about 80 F, out of no where, there was a loud boom , like a gunshot, between my wife and I ( Im driving ) I look over at her to see if she was OK, then looked up, I saw the first section of my sun roof glass had shattered into a spider web appearance, then suddenly a chunk of the glass, about 4 x 6 in, departed the roof panel over head while i was trying to slow down and pull over. I was going about 78- 80 mph. Once on the side shoulder, I retracted the sun shade cloth shield, it was fill with numerous shards, one which fell and hit my knee, causing a cut. Numerous shared were within the vehicle and our open top drinks. Since I was not comfortable drive at highway speeds, with potential shards coming into the cabin and impacting those behind, I drove several miles along the shoulder of the road to a gas station. There I bought gloves and removed what was left of the remaining panel and used duct tape to contain any remain glass. Im currently in contact with my VW dealer as to the status of its repair
The forward collision warning randomly went off while crossing a bridge. Nothing was around. The car abruptly stopped itself and was unresponsive to the gas pedal and steering until it was fully stopped. No problems were detected at the dealer. We are afraid to drive our children in this car due to the risk of being rear-ended on a highway with a child in a rear-facing car seat. If this ever happens in a tunnel, it would undoubtedly cause a mass casualty incident.
The car sensors pick up objects that are not there which then causes the emergency brake system to engage on its own. Anytime in the vehicle there is no stop beeping from the sensors detecting objects that are not a threat. When entering an intersection is when the car seems to engage the emergency break the most. When this occurs I am stuck not moving when oncoming traffic heading towards me. I have almost been tboned in collisions several times by this error in the system. I have taken it to the Volkswagen service department several time over 2 months and they said the car does not read an error code so they can not help. They acknowledged there was a problem and they believe it is the sensors but said they can not do anything with it due to Volkswagen policies. We have presented video evidence of the issue to the dealership and they even saw it happen in their parking lot.The car is under warranty from the manufacture for 7 years and 84,000 miles. I reached out to Volkswagen directly and they said if the car doesn’t read an error code they won’t do anything. The car is unsafe to drive in at this time.
I have owned my Atlas for seven months. During this time my 2019 VW Atlas SEL will slam on the brakes without any need to. This has happened five times. There is not an object or person around, but the brakes engage and all the sensors start beeping. I will need to put my car in park and restart my engine to drive again. I consider myself lucky that the incidents have happened in parking lots or while entering the roadway with no other cars have around. One month ago my car was taken in to an auto body shop for a repair due to a back bumper collision. The repair seems to have made the problem worse since these braking incidents have happened since the collision/repair. The auto body shop says the manufacturer "codes" are reading as "O" so the car is clear and ready to drive, but the braking/sensor system is still not working properly. I hope VW will reevaluate the safety of this sensor/braking system.
MULTIPLE incidents. Automatic Emergency Breaking - Vehicle suddenly stops in the middle of the road while driving, when pulling out onto roads and when reversing, when there are no oncoming vehicles, objects or humans. Two recent incidences where I was almost in a collision, the automatic emergency breaking did not activate at all. Parking sensors - the sensors come on frequently when there are no objects in front of the vehicle. They intermittently stay on. The vehicle has been inspected multiple times for these issues by the Volkswagon Dealer. Problems began very soon after purchase. The dealer has not been able to reproduce the problem so they have continuously sent me home with the malfunctioning vehicle. They did replace on sensor and have done multiple updates over the years, but the issue continues. Safety is put at risk because the car suddenly stops in the middle of the road or in intersections. This could cause a t-bone or being rear ended. This most recently happened to my new driver (daughter) and it scared her and put her in the face of oncoming traffic because the stop occurred and before she could get going again, cars were coming. If it happened on the freeway it could be deadly. Same daughter, a few minutes after the previously described incident, almost hit a fence. We stopped within about 2 to 3 inches of it and the automatic/emergency breaking system did not activate at all. These two are just the most recent incidents. These have been occurring since I purchased the vehicle.
When starting the vehicle, the warning system will flash and display several errors, mainly "parking brake failure" and the light on the parking brake control will flash.Parking brake will disengage after several attempts and warning will go away. Problem started about 1 month ago and is becoming more persistant.
The rear camera becomes unavailable intermittently when backing up. This has only happened occasionally and recently (in the past few months) and may be related to the infotainment system being given priority on the display and may be affected by weather (rainy).
This vehicle has a major design issue nearly resulting in several accidents. The front safety impact system is very flawed design and needs to be removed and reinstalled. Multiple times I exited steep, not obnornallt steep, parking lot and the emergency brakes engage and enable my ability to accelerate when on coming traffic and Causing repeated dangerous situations for the driver and passengers. The “safety” system is a very bad design and needs to be quickly address before accidents and injuries occur.
Vehicle emergency break activates, unable to release, or when teleased after multiple attempts the light continues flashing on the break button and warning alert on the dasboard. The first time it happened i arrived to destination and parked, when parked as i am waiting it activated when the door was opened. It has not been inspeacted yet, it fist started about 1 week ago. Its unpredictable when it will happen.
I was driving on the highway around 60 mph. Without warning, my car's brakes fully engaged. There was no car or object ahead of me. A warning light that had the words "Brake Booster" was displayed but I couldn't make out what else it said as I was trying to regain control of the vehicle. Thankfully, there was no one behind me otherwise this could very well have resulted in a high-speed accident. The car went from 60 mph to around 20 mph. I pulled off the side of the road as quickly as possible.
We have been having the same issue with the vehicle with the steering wheel shaking when making a close turn (ex. in a parking lot). The dealer made a repair on the clockspring and said that this would solve the issue and it did not. We have taken the vehicle several times to fix this issue and they have not been able to, it is getting worse. We now have been experiencing an issue where the car, usually after braking, will also brake on its own. This is especially concerning in icy conditions which could cause lose of control of the car. We took the vehicle in for this issue and they made a repair to the driver's door sensor and said that this would fix it, but it did not. Please let us know what further information you need.
Started with entertainment center reboot itself and dash navigation. Dealer did an software update . then front collision warning would go off… NO ONE AROUND . No cars on road. dealer did another software update to resolve issue. Then Remote start stopped working acc light ecc on dash. Code cleared software update agin. Few months later. At a light car running Car then turned off on incline .. was in light snow. Didn’t know as auto start stop was on. Car began to slide backwards. Had to quickly put car in park and start manually. Went to dealer they found nothing wrong. Car seemed to be always turning off in park or right after remote start was used and car or when placed in park at incline. Dealer could never replicate car turning off. few months later entertainment center began to reboot and so did dash navigation . Took it into dealer again and they did another software update again and also did and update for recall on emissions. This is when rear emergency braking began. It would would activate all the time. No ONE around says check your surroundings then the Emergency braking will kick on locking up all 4wheels. Now front collision warning going off now again with No ONE around. Went back to dealer they once again could not reproduce emergency braking turning or check your rear surroundings warning. they said known issue with emergency braking activating but don’t have a fix yet.
On two occasions, I started to back up and the emergency brake system engaged, slamming the car to a stop, as if someone were behind me but there clearly was not. I had a car full of 10 year old girls and they all screamed. Two days ago, I was traveling a city street at 35-40 mph and the emergency braking system engaged and slammed the car almost to a full stop, while in busy traffic. The cruise control isn't currently working either, it throws an error when you try to set your speed. I travel approximately 40 miles round trip to work 5+ days a week at highway speeds. If the emergency brake were to engage while I'm doing 65-70 mph in rush hour traffic and lock the brakes, it will cause an accident. What if it is raining? There is no way someone traveling a few car lengths behind me will be able to stop suddenly. I will injure myself or others and I'm honestly scared to drive my Atlas right now so it is at the local VW dealer for further inspection. I told them my worries and this needs to be recalled quickly. It is a known issue, they asked me if my windows were rolling down when this happens, which is reported in the VM forums.
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving 17 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently made a sudden stop. The contact stated that the Forward Collision Avoidance brake assist, the cruise control symbol, and stability control system waring lights illuminated. The contact pulled over and turned off and restarted the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to properly accelerate while driving. The dealer was contacted and stated that the contact would receive a callback. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 59,600.
Atlas displays the same problems that others have also complained about. The vehicle will abruptly stop and engage the parking brake and set off all kinds of warning sensors. The driver's side door harness is the alleged problem and yet they have no fix. My VIN number is not associated with the recall but my Atlas displays the same problems as the recalled ones.
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving approximately 60-70 MPH, the vehicle abruptly slowed and jolted the driver forward. The Forward Collision Avoidance assist sensor light illuminated and there was an abnormal beeping sound detected. The contact was able to pull over safely. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who stated the vehicle was not safe to be driven. The dealer experienced the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure and referred her to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.
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