2021 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport driver assistance & safety tech problems

Related recalls

• Recall 22V514000Jul 20, 202243,091 vehicles
  BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA · EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:INFOTAINMENT:SOFTWARE

  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.

  Remedy: 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.

• Recall 20V716000Nov 18, 202032,048 vehicles
  BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

  Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas Cross Sport, Tiguan LWB, Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas FL and Arteon vehicles. The rear view camera could malfunction during an ignition cycle, leading to a black screen or infotainment system freeze. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."

  Risk: A black or frozen rear view image reduces the driver's visibility when reversing, increasing the risk of a crash.

  Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will update the infotainment system software, free of charge. The recall began December 11, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91BB/91BC.

What owners say

1. Filed Jul 30, 2026TXDriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical System

   My 2021 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport has experienced intermittent electrical failures while driving, including at highway speeds. The infotainment system first began shutting off intermittently around April 2026. At times, I had to pull over, place the vehicle in Park, turn it off, and restart it multiple times before the system would function again. On approximately XXX while traveling from [XXX] toward [XXX], the problem became much more serious. While driving on the…

   NHTSA complaint #11753839 · source
2. Filed Jun 12, 2026CADriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical System

   The vehicle has ghost braking issues and on top of all the screens go black periodically for no reason at all(they aren’t being touched).

   NHTSA complaint #11743802 · source
3. Filed Oct 26, 2023GACrashDriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical System

   The back up camera does not signal or brake when something is too close. Back into another car because I had no warning. VW denies this is a problem with Atlas Cross sport. I looked it up and it is a major problem

   NHTSA complaint #11552075 · source
4. Filed Aug 14, 202345,819 miILDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake warning light illuminated, and the vehicle unintendedly came to a stop. The contact stated that the failure had occurred twice. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 45,819.

   NHTSA complaint #11538401 · source
5. Filed Jun 12, 2023LADriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical System

   While driving 70mph down the highway, warning lights on the dash flashed but I’m not sure which ones, windows automatically rolled down and the emergency brake tried to engage. This could have absolutely caused an accident if traffic weren’t light. This same morning when getting ready to leave the exact same thing happened, prior to the highway incident. After googling this issue I see it has been reported prior yet nothing has been done to ensure safety of VW Atlas drivers.…

   NHTSA complaint #11526678 · source
6. Filed Apr 12, 2023TXDriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical SystemOther / Unknown

   Electric problem / water likings inside the passenger floor. This has affected the rear cámara and touch screen of my vehicle. It suddenly stoped working when backing out. I almost ran over someone. Screen when black. I notice water in passenger side floor and Momentum Volkswagen on Richmond here in houston wants to change me too much money just to inspect the car when they clearly know these cars have that problem. They refused to fix the problem. Now the water on the floor…

   NHTSA complaint #11516779 · source
7. Filed Aug 18, 2022MACrash1 injuredTowedAirbagsBrakesDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   This is a well known issue but their has now been several incidents where my forward braking should have activated and did not and now stela’s on 4 different occasions 2 of which were on the highway where the emergency brake was triggered and i have lost control of the vehicle , yet in completely empty parking lots now two separate times i have been able to catch on video that it told me i was within 12 inches of something and there is nothing. I’ve had this issue starting…

   NHTSA complaint #11480042 · source
8. Filed Aug 18, 20227,000 miMACrash1 injuredTowedAirbagsDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65-70 MPH, the vehicle in front of him swerved into another lane and he noticed there was a vehicle stopped in the middle of the highway 40 feet away from his vehicle. However, the automatic emergency braking system failed to engage. The contact depressed the brake pedal but the vehicle crashed into the rear end of the other vehicle due to the short distance. The air…

   NHTSA complaint #11479958 · source
9. Filed Jun 15, 2022GADriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   My Atlas Crossport without warning or any vehicle in front of me engaged emergency braking and the forward collision warning lights and alarms came on. I was traveling roughly 40mph and the vehicle suddenly slowed to just below 10mph before I was able to continue driving. Had a vehicle been behind me, most certainly it would have caused a collision. The problem has been reported to my local VW dealership who acknowledged complaints but communicated there is no fix yet. This…

   NHTSA complaint #11469307 · source
10. Filed May 26, 2022MSFireDriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical System

    While driving at approx. 65 mph in heavy rain the rear passenger window suddenly went down and smoke came from the door and at same time all electrical systems went out. the vehicle quickly decelerated to the point the vehicle was not able to be pulled out of the highway standing the vehicle in harms way. Vehicle is completely unresponsive and will not start. This has been 12 day ago and the vehicle is still at the dealership and has not yet been looked at. service manager…

    NHTSA complaint #11466202 · source
11. Filed May 11, 2022ILDriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical System

    It started with just the check engine light on but was driving fine. I alerted VW and an appointment was made for over a month out. Said it was safe to drive unless it was blinking or not acting right. After a few days, the light went off. About a week later, the check engine light came back on. Anytime I got below 2 mph it would turn on all my alerts about engine running, no lane assist, no cruise and after a complete stop it would act like the emergency parking brake was…

    NHTSA complaint #11464171 · source
12. Filed May 4, 2022TXAirbagsDriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical System

    I own a 2021 Atlus Cross-Sport and the last month I have had several electrical issues with it. It first started with my driver's windows would automatically roll down, then my radio would tune in/out, my check engine light comes on and then the passenger side air bag would turn off. I then would have my parking break come on when I rolled into a stop which included consistent beeping and alarms going off. Being a concern, I brought it into Volkswagen and was told that there…

    NHTSA complaint #11463332 · source

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology