2018 Volkswagen Atlas Reliability Report

This category mixes unrelated faults. Repeated battery deaths come up often, with every warning icon flashing and an EPC light that holds the car to about 13 mph. Several cars lose power or run rough from fuel system faults. These include a failed high pressure fuel pump and a strong gas smell traced to damaged injector seals. Automatic emergency braking either triggers on driveway dips or does nothing at all. Other reports cite a sunroof that shattered and injured two people, a broken axle, and backup camera and Park Pilot failures.

A "Brake Booster Faulty" warning appears with no lead-up. The pedal goes soft or pulses, and the car slows sharply or stops on its own. Dealers often cannot reproduce the fault, and owners say it keeps coming back over several years. Automatic emergency braking also slams on the brakes with nothing ahead. Reported triggers include intersections, parking-lot dips, and passing trucks on cruise control. One crash report describes the pedal going to the floor at under 5 mph. Warped front rotors show up at around 20,000 to 27,000 miles.

Power steering cuts out without warning, sometimes at highway speed, after an orange and then a red warning light. In other cases a faulty steering lock message disables the car. One owner paid $1,300 for a new steering module and the fault came back. Lane assist jerks the wheel or steers toward medians, and dealers call that normal. Engine stalls under start-stop also leave drivers with no power steering. One crash involved losing steering during a highway lane change. A fractured front steering knuckle is also reported.

A "Transmission in emergency mode" message appears, often on a cold start or when shifting out of park. It usually clears after a restart, but dealer fixes do not always last. Several reports describe stalling at low speed or in reverse, and sputtering with an EPC light and lost power. Others describe start-stop shutting the engine off while moving, which also cuts power steering. Additional complaints include a car rolling downhill while in park, a hard jump into gear from neutral, and an engine that overheated and needed replacement.

Automatic emergency braking brings the SUV to a hard stop when nothing is ahead, at anything from parking-lot speed to highway speed. Owners name railroad and light rail tracks, small inclines, and left turns across traffic as triggers. Cars behind nearly rear-end the vehicle, and one sudden stop strained two occupants' necks. Dealers and the manufacturer often find nothing wrong and suggest turning the feature off. A few reports say adaptive cruise control and lane assist refuse to turn on and show an error message instead.

The second-row captain's chair unlatches and slams forward under normal braking. Children in car seats get thrown into the front seatback. All three injury reports involve this, with bruised noses and a forehead abrasion. Owners say the seat can click as if it is locked when it is not. They also say third-row children can easily reach and pull the release strap while the car is moving. Other complaints involve the passenger occupant sensor recall, where owners are told not to use the front passenger seat until a delayed fix arrives.

LED low beam headlights fail, often on both sides within weeks of each other, so night driving means running on high beams. There is no bulb to swap. The dealer fix is a full headlight assembly, quoted at over $1,000 per side and often on back order. Failures range from under 50,000 miles to about 100,000 miles. In one report, the front parking lights started shutting off after the dealer installed replacement units. Another owner describes a headlight lens shattering while driving.