There are 7 owner-reported speed control & cruise complaints for the 2018 Volkswagen Atlasin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
THE CAR STOPS ON ITS OWN WHILE DRIVING, ALL LIGHTS ON DASH ILLUMINATE, AND CAR STARTS AGAIN AS IF NOTHING HAPPENED. TWICE GOING UP THE DRIVEWAY AND THREE TIMES WHILE ON BACK ROADS. NO ONE WAS IN FRONT OF OR BEHIND US FOR TWO OF THE TIMES. ONE OF THE TIMES, IT WAS DURING TRAFFIC SO THE SPEED WAS SLOW ENOUGH NOT TO HAVE AN IMPACT. ONE OTHER TIME IT STOPPED ABOUT HALF A CAR LENGTH AWAY FROM THE CURB WHEN PARKING THE CAR. WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY, GOING 70, WITH THE BLINKER ON TO GET OVER TO THE CENTER LANE, THE CAR JERKED ME BACK TO THE RIGHT..I WAS IN THE RIGHT LANE, A CAR IN FRONT OF ME, A CAR BEHIND ME, NO CARS IN THE MIDDLE LANE, AND TWO IN THE FAR LEFT LANE COMING UP. ABSOLUTELY NO REASON FOR THE CAR TO THINK THERE WAS A CAR TO THE LEFT OF ME. THE TWO CARS IN MY ORIGINAL LANE AND THE TWO CARS IN THE FAR LEFT LANE REMAINED IN THOSE LANES. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO TWO DIFFERENT DEALERSHIPS, A TOTAL OF THREE TIMES AND THEY COULD NOT RECREATE THE PROBLEM, SO THEY ARE UNABLE TO FIX THE ISSUES. MY CASE WAS ESCALATED TO THE SE REGIONAL CASE MANAGER, WHO PUT THE CASE IN FOR REVIEW TO BUY BACK THE VEHICLE AND WAS NOTIFIED TODAY, 10/18/2019, THAT THEY ARE NOT GOING TO BUY IT BACK BUT THEY WILL CONTINUE TO SERVICE THE VEHICLE UNDER THE WARRANTY. HOW CAN THEY SERVICE THE VEHICLE IF THEY CAN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY EXPECT TO DRIVE THIS UNSAFE VEHICLE UNTIL SOMEONE DIES! I PAID EXTRA TO BUY THIS VEHICLE FOR THE SAFETY FEATURES, WHICH IS WHAT IS CAUSING THIS TO BE UNSAFE. IT WOULD BE UNETHICAL TO SALE THE CAR, BUT TOO UNSAFE FOR ME TO DRIVE AND PUT MY FAMILY AT RISK OF GETTING IN A VEHICLE ACCIDENT AND DYING. PLEASE HAVE A RECALL ISSUED TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES BEFORE SOMEONE DIES AND TELLING CONSUMERS TO DISABLE THESE FUNCTIONS IS NOT THE RIGHT ANSWER EITHER. I HAVE HAD ISSUES FROM THE BEGINNING, BUT THOUGHT IT WAS HICCUPS. DATE IS APPROXIMATE.
ON MONDAY 6/10/2019 AT 18:10, I WAS DRIVING WEST ON CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY 91 IN RIVERSIDE CALIFORNIA. I WAS ON THE PHONE WITH MY WIFE, THE CAR WAS ON CRUISE CONTROL, GOING 65 MPH. THERE WERE NO CARS IN FRONT OF ME, I WAS DRIVING IN THE SECOND LANE FROM THE RIGHT. MY CAR APPROACHED AN 18 WHEELER TRUCK AND IT WAS PASSING THE TRUCK. THE TRUCK WAS ON THE RIGHT LANE, MY CAR APPROACHED ON THE NEXT LANE TO THE LEFT. THE CAR WAS STILL ON CRUISE CONTROL AND I WAS STILL ON THE PHONE WITH MY WIFE. AS THE CAR WAS PASSING THE TRUCK, THE VW ATLAS EXECUTES AN EMERGENCY BRAKE AS IF SOMETHING WAS IN MY WAY. THE CAR GAVE NO WARNINGS BEFORE APPLYING THE BRAKES HARD.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 VOLKSWAGEN ATLAS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED SEVERAL FAILURES EVER SINCE IT WAS PURCHASED BRAND NEW. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AUTOMATIC CRUISE CONTROL MALFUNCTIONED AND CAUSED THE DRIVER TO SLAM ON THE BRAKE PEDAL TO AVOID A REAR COLLISION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO GUNTHER VOLKSWAGEN OF COCONUT CREEK (4300 FL-7, COCONUT CREEK, FL 33073, (954) 590-3750), BUT THEY REFUSED TO DIAGNOSE THE VEHICLE EVEN THOUGH THE CONTACT HAD AN APPOINTMENT. SEVERAL DAYS LATER, WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO PULL THE VEHICLE OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO RESTART THE VEHICLE, BUT IT SHUT OFF AGAIN. AFTER A FEW HOURS OF WAITING, THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO FULLY RESTART AND WAS DRIVEN BACK TO THE DEALER. ONCE AT THE DEALER, THE CONTACT DISCOVERED THAT HIS CUSTOMER PROFILE HAD BEEN DELETED FROM THEIR SYSTEM. THE CONTACT HAD HIS INFORMATION RE-ENTERED INTO THE SYSTEM. THE DEALER KEPT THE VEHICLE FOR TWO DAYS AND THEY PERFORMED A SOFTWARE UPDATE. AFTERWARDS, THE FAILURES RECURRED EVEN MORE FREQUENTLY, INCLUDING MULTIPLE TIMES EACH DAY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER FOR A THIRD TIME WHERE IT WAS KEPT FOR THREE DAYS, BUT THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURES. THE DEALER INSISTED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS FUNCTIONING NORMALLY EVEN THOUGH THE CONTACT CAPTURED MANY OF THE FAILURES ON VIDEO. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED, BUT THEY REFUSED TO BUY BACK THE VEHICLE BASED ON THE DEALER'S INFORMATION. THE MANUFACTURER ALSO REFUSED TO LOOK AT ANY OF THE VIDEOS AND ADVISED THE CONTACT TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT WITH ANOTHER DEALER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 10.
THE FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE AND OBJECT DETECTION WERE NOT WORKING WHEN I PICKED UP THE NEW LEASE VEHICLE FROM THE DEALER ON JUNE 19, 2018. UPON STARTING THE VEHICLE A MESSAGE APPEARS ON THE CONSOLE THAT THE FRONT ASSIST IS "NOT AVAILABLE". AUTOMATIC BRAKING, COLLISION AVOIDANCE IS AFFECTED. ACC (ASSISTED CRUISE CONTROL) IS ALSO NOT OPERATIONAL WITHOUT THE FRONT ASSIST FUNCTIONING. THE DEALER HAS MADE SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THERE HAVE BEEN FIVE SEPARATE ATTEMPTS BY VW SERVICE TO FIX THIS PROBLEM. EACH TIME THEY CORRECTED THE PROBLEM IT STOPS WORKING WITHIN 1-5 DAYS. I HAVE TAKEN THE SUV IN FOR REPAIR FOR THIS PROBLEM ON 7/12/18, 7/24/18, 10/8/18, 2/12/19, 2/26/19.
AUTOMATIC BRAKING SYSTEM IS FAULTY. WHEN I PULL OUT OF DRIVEWAYS OR PARKING LOTS THE SENSORS ARE ACTIVATING AND THE MANEUVER BRAKING IS APPLIED AND THE CAR COMES TO AN ABRUBT STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. EVERYTIME THIS HAS OCCURED THERE HAS NOT BEEN AN OBJECT OR CAR PRESENT. THIS SYSTEM IS FAULTY AND DANGEROUS. I HAVE 3 CHILDREN IN THE BACK SEAT AND THIS MAKES ME VERY CONCERNED FOR THEIR SAFETY WHEN I DRIVE THIS VEHICLE. VW SERVICE IS LOOKING INTO THE ISSUE AND HAS GIVEN ME A LOANER ATLAS THAT IS DOING THE EXACT SAME THING. I HAVE A VIDEO OF THE ISSUE OCCURING.
THE AUTO BRAKING AND WARNING SENSORS GO OFF WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING FROM AN INCLINED DRIVEWAY TO A ROADWAY. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO US MULTIPLE TIMES, THE MOST RECENT WAS ON 7-2-2018, AND IT BRINGS THE VEHICLE TO A COMPLETE STOP. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A SAFETY FEATURE THAT WAS AN EXTRA COST, BUT THIS IS GOING TO CAUSE A CRASH IF NOT RECTIFIED. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE IN FOR THIS ISSUE, AND MULTIPLE OTHER ISSUES AND ALL I GET BACK IS ' SYSTEM IS PERFORMING AS DESIGNED.' IF THE SYSTEM IS PERFORMING AS DESIGNED, THE SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE CHANGED. THIS IS WITHOUT A DOUBT A SAFETY ISSUE IN ITSELF. THERE ARE MULTIPLE OTHER OWNERS ON MESSAGE BOARDS THAT ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUES AND HAVING THE SAME ANSWERS FROM THE DEALERSHIPS. ON ONE OF THE MESSAGE BOARDS, THERE IS ACTUALLY A VIDEO OF THE VEHICLE COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP DRIVING FROM A BANK PARKING LOT TO A MAIN ROAD.
WHEN DESCENDING AN INCLINE AT SLOW SPEED TO TURN ONTO A ROADWAY THE SENSOR PERCEIVES THE ROAD AS AN OBSTACLE WHICH CAUSES THE CAR TO AUTO-STOP PARTIALLY IN THE ROAD. I THEN HAVE TO DISENGAGE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE AND BEGIN AGAIN. THIS IS TOTALLY UNSAFE. IT HAS HAPPENED 10 TIMES WHEN LEAVING MY OWN DRIVEWAY.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026