NHTSA lists 12 safety recalls and 480 owner complaints for the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas.
Recalled components: steering, air bags, tires, equipment, and 4 more. Most-described problem: the airbag warning light or an airbag fault (49 complaints, 10%). Most-reported area: air bags (141 complaints, 29%; median mileage when it happened: 30,200). Excludes the Atlas Cross Sport.
Newest first. Summaries are NHTSA's own wording. Open a recall for the fix and the full notice.
Steering
Sep 11, 2026
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Tiguan, 2018-2019 Atlas, and 2019-2021 Audi Q3 vehicles. One of the bolts that attaches the steering rack to the subframe may corrode and break. If this happens, the steering rack housing can break.
Risk: A broken steering rack housing can result in a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Dealers will replace the right-side steering rack mounting bolt, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed November 10, 2026. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 48LG and 48VT. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on September 16, 2026.
NHTSA listing: ATLAS. Volkswagen campaign 48LG, 48VT.
Air bags
Oct 4, 2023
side/window · curtain
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Atlas vehicles. The driver's side impact air bag may be missing a weld at the side air bag housing.
Risk: The driver's side impact air bag could deploy improperly or detach in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Dealers will replace the driver's side impact air bag, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 19, 2023. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69FK.
NHTSA listing: ATLAS. Volkswagen campaign 69FK.
Air bags
Mar 29, 2023
sensor · occupant classification · front passenger
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.
Risk: A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: 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.
NHTSA listing: ATLAS. Volkswagen campaign 69FB.
Tires
Oct 31, 2022
pressure monitoring and regulating systems
- Fails federal standard 138 (tire pressure monitoring)
- NHTSA 22V-815
- 296,044 vehicles
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."
Risk: An undetected sudden loss of pressure in all four tires increases the risk of a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: 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 Audis customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are (Audi) 45J7, and (VW) 45J6 and 45J8.
NHTSA listing: ATLAS. Volkswagen campaign AU:45J7,VW:45J6,45J8.
Air bags
Mar 28, 2022
side/window
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.
Risk: A delayed air bag deployment can increase the risk of injury.
The fix and full notice
Fix: 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.
NHTSA listing: ATLAS. Volkswagen campaign 97GF.
Equipment
Feb 16, 2022
labels
- Fails federal standard 110 (tire and rim labeling)
- NHTSA 22V-086
- 3,648 vehicles
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."
Risk: Without the reduced GVWR label, the vehicle could be overloaded, leading to a loss of control and increasing the risk of a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: 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.
NHTSA listing: ATLAS. Volkswagen campaign 09D9.
Tires
Mar 5, 2021
sidewall
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Atlas vehicles equipped with Continental tires. On the affected vehicles, it is possible that one or more tires were cured for too long during tire production.
Risk: Over cured tires may develop a break in the sidewall, resulting in sudden air loss or belt edge separation which could lead to tread/belt loss. Either condition can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the tires, and replace them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on March 24, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 44R1.
NHTSA listing: ATLAS. Volkswagen campaign 44R1.
Fuel system
Aug 21, 2019
storage · tank assembly
- Fails federal standard 301 (fuel system integrity)
- NHTSA 19V-614
- 6 vehicles
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Atlas vehicles. The suction jet in the fuel tank may have been welded in the incorrect position allowing fuel to leak. Additionally, the vehicle may stall due to uneven fuel distribution.
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire. An engine stall can increase the risk of a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tank, free of charge. The recall began August 30, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 20BU.
NHTSA listing: ATLAS. Volkswagen campaign 20BU.
Exterior lighting
May 22, 2019
headlights
- Fails federal standard 108 (lighting)
- NHTSA 19V-389
- 662,185 vehicles
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2020 Volkswagen Passat and 2018-2019 Atlas vehicles. The blocking cap disabling the adjustment of the headlight's horizontal aim may not have been installed. As such, these vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Risk: Without the blocking cap, the headlight aim can be adjusted out of specification, reducing visibility and increasing the risk of a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, block the headlight horizontal adjustment, free of charge. The recall began July 16, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 94L9.
NHTSA listing: ATLAS. Volkswagen campaign 94L9.
Air bags
Mar 20, 2019
side/window
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Atlas and 2020 Passat vehicles. An incorrect driver and/or front passenger side impact air bag may have been installed.
Risk: In an event of a side impact crash, an incorrect side airbag may not deploy as intended, increasing the risk of injury.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Volkswagen has inspected and replaced the side air bags, free of charge. The recall was completed in April 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69Y8.
NHTSA listing: ATLAS. Volkswagen campaign 69Y8.
Suspension
Dec 19, 2018
rear · springs · coil springs
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas, 2015 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen, and 2019 Volkswagen Jetta vehicles. The rear coil springs may prematurely fracture.
Risk: If a coil spring fractures while driving, it may damage a rear tire causing a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Volkswagen has notified owners, and dealers will replace the rear axle coil springs, free of charge. The recall began January 31, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42J2/42J3.
NHTSA listing: ATLAS. Volkswagen campaign 42J2/42J3.
Electrical system
Nov 26, 2018
instrument cluster/panel
- Fails federal standard 114 (theft and rollaway protection)
- NHTSA 18V-824
- 73,549 vehicles
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas and Tiguan and 2019 Volkswagen Jetta vehicles that do not have keyless entry. The instrument cluster may not provide an audible warning to let the driver know that the key is still in the ignition when the door is open. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection."
Risk: If the driver is not notified by an audible noise that the key is left in the ignition, it can increase the risk of vehicle theft or crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the instrument cluster, free of charge. The recall began December 13, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 90L3 and 90L4.
NHTSA listing: ATLAS. Volkswagen campaign 90L3 / 90L4.
Owners have filed 480 complaints with NHTSA about the 2019 Atlas. Below, they are sorted by the problems owners describe and by the areas NHTSA files them under. NHTSA does not verify complaints.
Counted from the complaint text: a complaint counts once for each problem it describes (how we match them). Some complaints describe none of these.
A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%. Mileage is shown where at least 15 owners reported it.
The highlighted bars are the 2019 model year. Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower. Counting complaints filed in each model year's first three years, the 2021 Atlas drew the most (211) and the 2019 drew 115.
NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for each version it tested. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimate of the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.