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)
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.
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)
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.
Questions about any of these recalls: call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
What owners report
Owners have filed 27 complaints with NHTSA about the 2020 Atlas. Below, they are sorted by the problems owners describe and by the areas NHTSA files them under. NHTSA does not verify complaints.
Problems owners describe
Wiring, fuse or short-circuit problems5 · 19%
Auto start-stop problems4 · 15%
Airbag warning light or airbag fault4 · 15%
Steering rack problems: sticking, play or pulling3 · 11%
Counted from the complaint text: a complaint counts once for each problem it describes (how we match them). Some complaints describe none of these.
Areas named in complaints
Electrical system11 · 41%
Air bags8 · 30%
Forward collision avoidance7 · 26%
Most named: automatic emergency braking (4)
Steering5 · 19%
Brakes4 · 15%
Engine3 · 11%
Fuel and propulsion system2 · 7%
Unknown or other5 · 19%
A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%.
Volkswagen Atlas recalls and complaints by model year
The highlighted bars are the 2020 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 2020 drew 11.
Owner complaints
2020: 27 complaintsTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Owner complaints by model year, Volkswagen Atlas
Model year
Complaints
2018
462
2019
480
2020
27
2021
472
2022
183
2023
133
2024
170
2025
47
2026
9
Safety recalls
2020: 4 recallsTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Safety recalls by model year, Volkswagen Atlas
Model year
Recalls
2018
17
2019
12
2020
4
2021
17
2022
7
2023
5
2024
8
2025
5
2026
2
Crash test ratings
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.
Tested version
Overall
Frontal
Side
Rollover
Volkswagen Atlas SUV AWD
Rollover risk 13.6%
Volkswagen Atlas SUV FWD
Rollover risk 15.9%
Questions
What are the most common 2020 Atlas problems?
In the 27 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas, the problems described most are wiring, fuse or short-circuit problems (5). NHTSA does not verify complaints, and one complaint can describe several problems.
Is the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas safe?
In NHTSA crash tests every tested version of the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas earns 5 stars overall. The table above lists each tested version.
How do I check if my Atlas has an open recall?
Enter the 17-character VIN from your dashboard, door jamb or registration at nhtsa.gov/recalls. The lookup lists unrepaired recalls for that exact vehicle. Safety recall repairs are free at Volkswagen dealers.
Sources and method
NHTSA recalls file (NHTSA datasets), dated Sep 29, 2026; every campaign checked against NHTSA's recalls API.
NHTSA owner complaints file, dated Sep 28, 2026. Counted by complaint number, so a complaint naming three components counts once in the total.
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (NCAP).
NHTSA model names covered: ATLAS.
Complaint counts are unverified owner reports. They rise with sales volume and time on the road, so compare model years with care. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.