NHTSA lists 5 safety recalls and 133 owner complaints for the 2023 Volkswagen Atlas.
5Safety recalls
133Owner complaints
4Complaints citing a crash
0Complaints citing a fire
Data: NHTSA recall and complaint filesUpdated Sep 28, 2026
Recalled components: brakes, air bags, and engine and cooling. Most-described problem: stalling or shutting off while driving (35 complaints, 26%). Most-reported area: engine (35 complaints, 26%). Excludes the Atlas Cross Sport.
5 safety recalls for the 2023 Volkswagen Atlas
Newest first. Summaries are NHTSA's own wording. Open a recall for the fix and the full notice.
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.
The fix and full notice
Fix: 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.
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 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 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.
The fix and full notice
Fix: 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.
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 133 complaints with NHTSA about the 2023 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 driving35 · 26%
Headlight or exterior light problems10 · 8%
Loss of power or limp mode9 · 7%
Auto start-stop problems8 · 6%
Several warning lights at once5 · 4%
Oil leaks5 · 4%
Infotainment or touchscreen failures5 · 4%
Airbag warning light or airbag fault5 · 4%
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
Engine35 · 26%
Electrical system33 · 25%
Air bags22 · 17%
Fuel and propulsion system17 · 13%
Brakes15 · 11%
Exterior lighting14 · 11%
Forward collision avoidance8 · 6%
Most named: automatic emergency braking (5); warnings (5)
Unknown or other23 · 17%
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 2023 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 2023 drew 93.
Owner complaints
2023: 133 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
2023: 5 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 2023 Atlas problems?
In the 133 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2023 Volkswagen Atlas, the problems described most are stalling or shutting off while driving (35), headlight or exterior light problems (10), and loss of power or limp mode (9). NHTSA does not verify complaints, and one complaint can describe several problems.
Is the 2023 Volkswagen Atlas safe?
In NHTSA crash tests every tested version of the 2023 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.