NHTSA lists 7 safety recalls and 183 owner complaints for the 2022 Volkswagen Atlas.
7Safety recalls
183Owner complaints
3Complaints citing a crash
2Complaints citing a fire
Data: NHTSA recall and complaint filesUpdated Sep 28, 2026
Recalled components: air bags, suspension, engine and cooling, trailer hitch, and 2 more. Most-described problem: stalling or shutting off while driving (31 complaints, 17%). Most-reported area: engine (50 complaints, 27%). Excludes the Atlas Cross Sport.
7 safety recalls for the 2022 Volkswagen Atlas
Newest first. Summaries are NHTSA's own wording. Open a recall for the fix and the full notice.
Air bags
Jun 20, 2024
sensor · occupant classification · front passenger
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Atlas and 2020-2024 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 September 30, 2024. Owner notification letters will be mailed in phases, on October 18, 2024, December 10, 2024, December 20, 2024, and January 17, 2025. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69PZ.
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Volkswagen Atlas FL and 2022-2023 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The driver-side rear trailing arm bolts may not have been tightened properly, allowing them to loosen and fall out.
Risk: Unsecured bolts may cause the trailing arm to fracture, resulting in a sudden loss of vehicle control and increasing the risk of a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Dealers will replace the driver side rear trailing arm bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 25, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42M2.
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Audi Q5 Sportback, Q5, 2022-2023 Volkswagen Atlas FL, and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The engine connecting rod bearings may become damaged, which can result in engine failure.
Risk: A damaged engine can result in engine failure and a stall, increasing the risk of a crash. If the engine failure causes an oil leak, it can increase the risk of a fire.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace an affected engine, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 6, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 13i4 (VW) and 13i5 (Audi).
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The trailer hitch bolts may have been insufficiently tightened.
Risk: Loose bolts may fall out, causing the remaining bolts to break, which could lead to separation of the trailer hitch and trailer, increasing the risk of a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Dealers will tighten the trailer hitch bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 28, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 66N8.
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Golf GTI, Jetta GLI, Jetta NF, Arteon FL, Tiguan LWB, 2022 Taos, Jetta PA, Tiguan PA, 2021-2022 Atlas Cross Sport, and Atlas FL vehicles. The manufacturing process of the eMMC memory module in the infotainment system may cause the rearview camera image not to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Risk: A rearview camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Dealers will update the infotainment software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 16, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91DV.
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Atlas FL and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The long fuel injectors may have been assembled without filters.
Risk: Long fuel injectors with missing filters may leak fuel, increasing the risk of a fire.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Dealers will replace the long fuel injectors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 20, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 24iD.
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.
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 183 complaints with NHTSA about the 2022 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
Stalling or shutting off while driving31 · 17%
Auto start-stop problems18 · 10%
Headlight or exterior light problems12 · 7%
Shaking, shuddering or vibration11 · 6%
Overheating or coolant loss8 · 4%
Backup camera problems8 · 4%
Airbag warning light or airbag fault7 · 4%
Check engine light6 · 3%
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
Engine50 · 27%
Brakes47 · 26%
Electrical system44 · 24%
Air bags30 · 16%
Forward collision avoidance20 · 11%
Most named: automatic emergency braking (12); warnings (7)
Exterior lighting14 · 8%
Fuel and propulsion system13 · 7%
Unknown or other25 · 14%
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 2022 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 2022 drew 101.
Owner complaints
2022: 183 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
2022: 7 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 15.9%
Volkswagen Atlas SUV FWD
Rollover risk 13.6%
Questions
What are the most common 2022 Atlas problems?
In the 183 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2022 Volkswagen Atlas, the problems described most are stalling or shutting off while driving (31), auto start-stop problems (18), and headlight or exterior light problems (12). NHTSA does not verify complaints, and one complaint can describe several problems.
Is the 2022 Volkswagen Atlas safe?
In NHTSA crash tests every tested version of the 2022 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.