2021 Volkswagen Atlas: Reliability Data

670
Total Complaints
12,000mi
Median Mileage
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Top Issue
10
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

3,086 25th Percentile
12,000 Median Mileage
24,423 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
134
SERVICE BRAKES
93
ENGINE
73
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
62
AIR BAGS
60
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
52
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
41
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
33
POWER TRAIN
14
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
13

Severity Assessment

10
Crashes
1
Fires
6
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"REAR PASSENGER SEAT BELTS CAN BECOME CAUGHT IN OVER-SHOULDER SEAT RELEASE LEVER (AFFECTS ALL REAR SEATS, EXCEPT MIDDLE BENCH SEAT). THIS CAN PREVENT SEAT BELTS FROM RETRACTING PROPERLY. THIS HAPPENS FREQUENTLY WHEN MIDDLE ROW SEATS ARE RETURNED TO SEATING POSITION FROM FOLD-DOWN POSITION. THIS SLIGH..."
"REAR PASSENGER SEAT BELTS CAN BECOME CAUGHT IN OVER-SHOULDER SEAT RELEASE LEVER (AFFECTS ALL REAR SEATS, EXCEPT MIDDLE BENCH SEAT). THIS CAN PREVENT SEAT BELTS FROM RETRACTING PROPERLY. THIS HAPPENS FREQUENTLY WHEN MIDDLE ROW SEATS ARE RETURNED TO SEATING POSITION FROM FOLD-DOWN POSITION. THIS SLIGH..."
"ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL MALFUNCTIONS AND IS RENDERED USELESS WHEN VEHICLE IS STARTED UTILIZING REMOTE START. VEHICLE MUST BE STOPPED TURNED OFF AND STARTED WITH PUSH BUTTON IN ORDER TO CLEAR THE MALFUNCTION AND USE CRUISE CONTROL. VOLKSWAGEN USA TECHNICIANS TOLD DEALER TECHNICIAN THAT THERE IS NO FI..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 134 complaints
25th: 10,502 mi Median: 15,000 mi 75th: 20,500 mi
SERVICE BRAKES 93 complaints
25th: 8,300 mi Median: 10,600 mi 75th: 19,923 mi
ENGINE 73 complaints
Median: 15,000 mi
AIR BAGS 60 complaints
25th: 15,612 mi Median: 19,500 mi 75th: 50,403 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

TX: 67 FL: 55 NY: 50 VA: 37 CA: 37 GA: 33 IL: 31 NC: 29 PA: 25 WA: 23

Who Files Complaints?

0.9%
Original Owners
99.1%
Second+ Owners

Volkswagen Atlas — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
20186458
201966511
2020490
20222505
20231496
202421612
2025473

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28