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Volkswagen Atlas phantom braking problems

16 of the 2,039 owner complaints about the Volkswagen Atlas describe brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking), most of them for the 2019 model year.

owner complaints
16
worst model year
2019
typical mileage
7,000
Is there a fix? There are 5 recalls for this area of the car. See below

By model year

What owners say

Filed Jan 27, 2025 · Driver assistance · NV

My wife was driving to the store on surface streets at about 9am on a clear morning. At a stop light, waiting for the green. After light turned green she accelerated at a normal rate. Midway through the intersection (at about 10 mph) the vehicles emergency braking system engaged for no reason slamming her to an immediate stop. There were no obstructions in front or to either side of the vehicle. There was another car behind her that almost rear-ended her. My wife's safety was at risk because she could have been involved in a collision which may have resulted in injuries to my wife and or others and she was sitting, shaken in the middle of an intersection thinking that someone had hit her from behind. The vehicle has not been taken to the dealership yet. My wife states that the vehicle displayed many indicator warning lights on the instrument panel after it stopped including the Advance Warning lights, but instead of just showing a collision warning with the car, 3-double bars and lanes in red, it showed (in red) a car with 4-double bars all around the vehicle, no lanes and the vehicle shut off. The car started again when she took her foot off of the brake.

Filed Jan 20, 2025 · Driver assistance · FL

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.

Filed Aug 1, 2024 · Brakes, Engine · GA

Today 3 times while driving my car braked on its own, emitted a loud noise and “Brake Booster Faulty” displays along with the ABS and Brake late. It also told me to power off the car. Prior to this there were no problems however I am now worried for safety reasons.

Filed Sep 21, 2023 · Brakes · PA

At random times, at random speeds, my instrument lights will illuminate with a beep and display the brake light. Sometimes just the brake icon, sometimes the brake and ABS, and sometimes both along with the engine light. At the same time my vehicle will violently brake on its own. When I depress the brake pedal to gain control the pedal is "jerky", rigid, and difficult to push in. Sometimes this lasts for a moment, sometimes longer. This is very dangerous and seems to occur more frequently. A 'Brake Booster Faulty' message appears on the dash.then dissappears

Filed Mar 17, 2023 · Driver assistance · MI

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.

Filed Apr 5, 2022 · Driver assistance · 20,000 miles · VA

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated that while driving at 20 MPH, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a wiring harness failure. The dealer informed the contact that the wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

Filed Mar 25, 2022 · Driver assistance · KY

There have been two incidents where my wife was driving our Atlas and the automatic braking engaged for no reason as if it were trying to avoid a collision. I am upset that my VIN number was not included the the latest recall as this has happened twice to us, luckily with no cars behind to rear end us!

Filed Mar 24, 2022 · Brakes, Electrical · VA

On 3/14/22 took my car in to the dealership with the following problems, window opening on their own car braking on its own at low speed, driver door functions not working and a bunch of warning lights coming on. Took my car out the same day and was working fine until 3/23/22 when all the problems i mentioned above started happening again. On the first visit the tech replaced the door latch for the driver front door cleared codes and rechecked. The tech also found 3 error codes U105400: information electronics control module 1 no communications U019900: Lost communications with " door control module A" B177501: Door warning light/entry light electrical error.

Filed Mar 16, 2022 · Brakes, Engine · ID

While driving at highway speeds at random the vehicle would brake on its own engage the parking brake and roll windows down. We tried to have the vehicle looked at Boise Volkswagen and they refused to schedule and inspect the vehicle. We even advised the dealer of an open safety campaign/recall and they also still refused to service the vehicle. Unfortunately next closest dealership is 157 miles away from our home.

Filed Mar 15, 2022 · Driver assistance · FL

Vehicle's autonomous emergency braking system activates without any reasonable cause (nothing in front of the vehicle). Often the system doesn't apply the brakes, it will just alert (red logo in instrument cluster screen). However, sometimes the brakes will immediately apply. This occurs sporadically without warning on multiple streets, up to 20 miles per hour.

Related recalls

Service brakesReported June 30, 2025 · 546 vehicles affected
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 cylinderReported September 27, 2024 · 1,591 vehicles affected
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 fittingsReported September 26, 2022 · 555 vehicles affected
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

Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: disc: caliperReported August 15, 2018 · 8,416 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas and 2017-2018 Volkswagen Passat vehicles. The brake caliper bracket mounting bolts on these vehicles may not have been tightened sufficiently.
Risk
The loose brake bracket bolts can allow the caliper to move, reducing braking ability or causing a loss of vehicle control and increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake caliper bracket bolt tightness, replacing and re-torque the bolts as necessary, free of charge. Additionally brake caliper fasteners, bleeder valve, and brake hose bolts will be checked and torqued to the correct specification, if necessary, free of charge. For Passat vehicles, dealers will also inspect the parking brake cable for proper connection, free of charge. The recall began September 14, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1‑800‑893‑5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 46H6.

Recall number 18V536000 · Recall details

Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: disc: caliperReported June 1, 2018 · 10,225 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas, Passat, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Golf, Golf SportWagen and GTI and Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The brake caliper pistons on these vehicles may have insufficient coating, potentially reducing the brake performance.
Risk
A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Volkswagen and Audi will notify their owners. Audi dealers will bleed the rear brakes. Volkswagen dealers will bleed the front and rear brake calipers. Note: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the brake system has been checked. The recall began June 29, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1‑800‑893‑5298 and Audi customer service at 1‑800‑253‑2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 47N8, 47N9, and 47N6.

Recall number 18V369000 · Recall details

Questions about the Volkswagen Atlas phantom braking

Which Volkswagen Atlas years have brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking) problems?

The model years with the most reports are 2019 (10 complaints), 2018 (3 complaints) and 2021 (3 complaints).

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