2024 Volkswagen Atlas: What to check before buying
Owners have filed 209 complaints with NHTSA about this car, most about the electrical, brakes, and transmission. The 9 checks below target those problems, in the order you would do them at the car.
2024- Owner complaints
- 209
- Recalls
- 7
- Crashes reported
- 8
- 10 injuries
Your inspection sheet
Tick items off on your phone at the car, or print it. Ticks stay on this device.
0/9 checked
2024 Volkswagen Atlas: inspection sheet
Paperwork and questions
Before you go, or before you touch the car0/2
Walk-around and cabin
Engine off, key in hand0/2
Cold start, engine bay, and underside
Ask the seller not to warm the car up first0/1
Test drive
At least 20 minutes, with some highway0/4
These checks are specific to this model year. For tires, body panels, fluids, and the other basics every used car needs, use the general inspection guide.
Which Atlas is it?
EPA figures for each version of the 2024 Volkswagen Atlas. Use them to confirm you are looking at the version that was advertised, and as a yardstick on the test drive.
| Version | Drive | EPA rating |
|---|---|---|
| 2.0L 4-cyl | AWD, FWD | 22–23 mpg |
- Reset the trip computer at the start of the drive. A Atlas that averages well under the EPA 22 mpg combined on a mixed route may have an engine or tire problem.
Check the odometer against these mileages
Owners report these failures starting around the mileages below. A car inside one of these ranges deserves a closer look at that part, or records showing it was already fixed.
Stalling and power loss
1,500–3,000 miles
Brake grinding and squeal
3,200–7,000 miles
Windshield chips and cracks
3,600–7,000 miles
Serious internal engine faults
8,200–11,205 miles
Why these checks: what owners reported
NHTSA complaints for the 2024 Volkswagen Atlas, grouped by the part owners named. Open a row to read what goes wrong.
Electrical541 crash
The center touchscreen freezes, reboots, or goes black, often while driving. When it does, the backup camera, climate controls, radio, and navigation go with it. Some cars go back to the dealer again and again without a lasting fix. A second pattern is sudden power loss or stalling with drive-system warnings, sometimes within the first 1500 miles. Fire reports include smoke from the doors, a melted fuse box, and one car destroyed by fire. One crash followed lane assist steering the car into a guardrail. False sensor warnings and unexpected automatic braking also appear.
Brakes27No crashes
Front brakes squeal, grind, or make a gurgling sound like rushing water. It happens mostly when the brakes are cold or temperatures are under 50 degrees. The noise starts early, in some cases at 12 miles. Dealers often call it normal or a known issue with the factory pads and decline warranty coverage. A smaller group reports steering-wheel shake and pedal pulsation when braking from highway speed. One independent shop found glazed, heat-spotted rotors with stress fractures at about 22K miles. A few owners say the brakes slip as the noise worsens.
Transmission192 crashes
The transmission hangs in third gear when slowing or pulling away from a stop, leaving several seconds before the car accelerates. Other reports describe gears shifting on their own, the car refusing to leave Park, or dropping into Neutral with a Drive System or transmission error. Even a replaced transmission did not fix it for some. Two crashes are tied to this area: one car rolled away while showing Park, and another would not shift into Drive at a car wash. Separate reports cover transfer case leaks and an oil leak from cam bridge bolts at about 8,200 miles.
Engine14No crashes
Rough idle, hesitation, and stalling top the list. RPM can drop nearly to a stall while passing, or the car loses acceleration and only runs again after sitting. Dealers often find no codes. A few cars need major work: coolant system parts replaced more than once, and one engine replaced after metal parts came loose at 11,205 miles. Several reports concern engine cover recall 25V100000. Parts for it are unavailable, and some dealers remove the cover without putting a new one on. One report describes a shift fault that left the car stuck in Neutral.
Wipers and visibility11No crashes
Windshields crack from minor rock strikes or with no impact at all, and the cracks often spread over hours or days. Some owners are on their second windshield within months. One reports no replacement glass available anywhere in the country. Another describes pitting that makes the glass sparkle under headlights and street lights, which distracts the driver at night. Smaller reports cover rain-sensing wipers that do not work and a backup camera that flickers to a black screen.
Automatic emergency braking8No crashes
The car brakes hard on its own with nothing ahead, including at highway speed and in rain. Adaptive cruise control slows the car abruptly, in one case from 70 to 30 mph, or shuts off without warning. Several reports tie these events to GPS and SOS faults that place the car in the wrong location and disable driver aids. Dealers struggle to reproduce the intermittent faults. One owner started a lemon law claim after repeated service visits.
Airbags73 crashes
Most reports involve airbag recall 24V464000 and long waits for parts that are not available. One dealer advises against seating anyone in the front passenger seat until the repair is done. Another owner says the dealer could not fix the recall at all. Three crash reports describe front airbags that did not deploy in serious frontal impacts, including two totaled vehicles. One car displayed an Air Bag Malfunction message after the collision. Others had no warning lights before the crash.
Backup camera51 crash
The rearview camera image distorts, flickers, or goes black, and the infotainment screen can reboot over and over. Recall 25V334000 covers the distorted display, but some owners say the problem returned after the repair, one at 18,000 miles. One low-speed crash happened when the camera went black while the driver was reversing out of a parking space. A separate report describes a Rear Traffic Alert warning at startup that clears after a restart.
In owners' own words
Excerpts from complaints Atlas owners filed with NHTSA, as written. Listen for the same symptoms on your test drive.
I was driving on the freeway in the right lane and the lane assist forced my steering wheel to turn right causing me to collide into a concrete guard rail. Previous to that my car had been having electrical malfunctioning issues with the screen and radio.
Filed with NHTSA, October 2025
Car exploded. I was driving fine with ac running when all of a sudden gray smoke came out the hood of the car. I stoped in a side street. I turned off the car and the gray smoke became black. I took my phone and ran out. As I ran the car exploded like a bomb on the street and started throwing flames. Car is completely loss. Car has been to it’s maintainer and everything and nothing found.
Filed with NHTSA, October 2024
The brakes sound horrible when they are cold. They grind and vibrate until they are warmed up and the car only has 8K miles on it. We are being forced to pay to have the brake pads replaced with ceramic brake pads from the semi-metallic factory ones. We have only had the car 2 weeks. They said VW would cover 70% of the cost, but with the number of complaints, this should be covered completely.
Filed with NHTSA, March 2025
Bought a new 2024 VW Atlas Se with 4 miles on it. Around 6700 miles my brakes grinds and squeaks whenever I brake when the pads are cold. Took it to the VW dealership in Capitol Heights, MD. They claimed they cleaned the brakes but the same problem is occurring. From researching the problem it seems many people are having this same problem. VW should be aware of the issues.
Filed with NHTSA, January 2025
At about 8,200 miles I got the low oil warning light. I had to add a quart of oil and get it to the dealership. The dealership confirmed there was an issue with 6 cam bridge bolts and clean the engine of all the leaked oil.
Filed with NHTSA, August 2025
The car does not downshift into second gear from third, the downshift occurs when triggered by the first gear. This can result in starting acceleration initiating below 1000 rpm around 5 MPH in gear 3 to get back up to speed. This can be best observed during stop and go traffic where the car does not reach mark to trigger downshift to first gear. This creates unpredictability and potentially hazardous situations.
Filed with NHTSA, August 2025
The vehicle started shaking while making metal grinding noises, which forced us to pull over and have the vehicle towed to the nearest dealership. We were told that the engine had metal parts that came loose in the engine compartment and that the engine now has to be replaced. The car had 11,205 miles prior to being immobilized.
Filed with NHTSA, November 2024
I was sitting in park and the car started shaking and then completely shut down. When I was able to turn the engine back on there was a message that popped up that said Error Drive System: please service vehicle. There was a lit up part of the engine in the message. It took 3 weeks to get into the dealership. They said they could find something wrong or an error code. Something is not right with this car.
Filed with NHTSA, January 2025
How the 2024 compares with other Atlas years
Complaints for this year next to the average for the other model years, area by area.
The 2024 ranks fifth for owner complaints among 8 Atlas years, close to the average of the others. Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, so compare like with like.
- Electrical5465
- Brakes2727
- Transmission1910
- Engine1424
- Wipers and visibility110
- Automatic emergency braking812
Where the 2024 fits in the Atlas's history
Redesigns and mid-cycle updates change what can go wrong.
The 2024 is the seventh model year of the Atlas's first generation (2018–2024).
It is also the first year of a mid-cycle update.
What changed for 2024
- Redesigned front and rear clip
- Heavily revised interior design
- Electronic shift-by-wire gear selector
- 10.3-inch digital gauge cluster
- 12.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Dropped VR6 engine option
Recalls to confirm (7)
Recall repairs are free at any Volkswagen dealer, but the seller may never have had them done. Check each campaign number against the VIN.
25V434000BrakesJun 2025
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.
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.
25V334000Backup cameraMay 2025
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2024-2025 Atlas Cross Sport and Atlas vehicles. A software error may cause the rearview camera image to become distorted when the vehicle is in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility.".
Risk: A distorted rearview camera image can reduce the driver's view of what is behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will update the camera control unit software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 5, 2025. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91SB.
25V100000EngineFeb 2025
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2024-2025 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The engine cover may have been improperly installed after vehicle service, allowing it to come loose and contact hot engine surfaces.
Risk: A loose engine cover that contacts hot surfaces in the engine compartment can melt, increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will remove the engine cover, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 7, 2025. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 10X5.
24V723000BrakesSep 2024
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2024 Atlas and 2024 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The brake master cylinder may have been assembled with an incorrect secondary piston spring retainer, which can block the brake fluid port.
Risk: An obstructed brake fluid port can cause a loss of brake function, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the brake master cylinder, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 21, 2024. Additionally, vehicles that were added to the population on November 21, 2024, their letters were mailed on December 2, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen Customer Relations at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 471F.
24V480000Backup cameraJun 2024
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (VW) is recalling certain 2022-2024 Golf R, Golf GTI, 2024 Atlas, and 2024 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The rearview camera image may be delayed or deactivated after shifting into reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility.".
Risk: A rearview camera with a delayed or deactivated image reduces the driver's view of what is behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of injury or crash.
Fix: Dealers will update the infotainment system software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 15, 2024, and July 16, 2024. Owners may contact VW customer service at 1-800-893-5298. VW's number for this recall is 91US.
24V464000AirbagsJun 2024
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.
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.
23V593000EngineAug 2023
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2024 Atlas PA2 and Atlas Cross Sport PA 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. In addition, engine failure may cause an oil leak which can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the engine, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 28, 2023. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 13i6.
Also looking at these instead of a Atlas?
Cars shoppers compare with the Volkswagen Atlas, with their own 2024 checklists.
2024 owner complaints, side by side
- Ford Explorer14
- Honda Pilot82
- Chevrolet Traverse107
- Kia Telluride180
- Toyota Highlander198
- 2024 Volkswagen Atlas209
- Hyundai Palisade304
