Total Complaints
16 filings
VOLKSWAGEN ATLAS CROSS SPORT · model year
16 NHTSA complaints, and 4 active recalls for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
5 / 5 ★
New Car Assessment Program
The 2025VOLKSWAGENATLAS CROSS SPORT carries 16 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall 5/5 rating, with 4/5 front crash, 5/5 side crash, and 4/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2025 ATLAS CROSS SPORT is unknown or other with 5 filings, followed by electrical system (3) and fuel/propulsion system (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 4 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.
NHTSA currently has 1 investigation file overlapping the 2025 ATLAS CROSS SPORT. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
16 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 5 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 3 |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 |
| FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS | 1 |
| BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING | 1 |
| BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN:TRANSMISSION CASE/HOUSING | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN | 1 |
| ENGINE | 1 |
SERVICE BRAKES
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
BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
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 V
ENGINE
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.
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2025 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The transmission may have been manufactured incorrectly, which can result in a loss of drive power.
Turned off car after arrival at destination got back into car 5 minutes after turned car on and dash light up with multiple error codes. Main one being engine/transmission issue. Message stated car could be driven but limited. Tried to put car in drive but couldnât. Could only power on and off and put into neutral. Had to be towed to Volkswagen dealership on 1/30/26. No diagnosis yet and advisor stated they had to wait until Monday to open a case with Volkswagen. Car purchased July 2025 and only at 5242 miles. Since car was purchased the Bluetooth connection gets interrupted randomly and will disconnect. Bluetooth will not start working again until car has been shut off for an extended period of time. Mentioned to service advisor 1/30/26 and he stated itâs a known issue with no solution. Since winter 2025 brakes have started to make a rumbling noise.
Turned off car after arrival at destination got back into car 5 minutes after turned car on and dash light up with multiple error codes. Main one being engine/transmission issue. Message stated car could be driven but limited. Tried to put car in drive but couldnât. Could only power on and off and put into neutral. Had to be towed to Volkswagen dealership on 1/30/26. No diagnosis yet and advisor stated they had to wait until Monday to open a case with Volkswagen. Car purchased July 2025 and only at 5242 miles. Since car was purchased the Bluetooth connection gets interrupted randomly and will disconnect. Bluetooth will not start working again until car has been shut off for an extended period of time. Mentioned to service advisor 1/30/26 and he stated itâs a known issue with no solution. Since winter 2025 brakes have started to make a rumbling noise.
Turned off car after arrival at destination got back into car 5 minutes after turned car on and dash light up with multiple error codes. Main one being engine/transmission issue. Message stated car could be driven but limited. Tried to put car in drive but couldnât. Could only power on and off and put into neutral. Had to be towed to Volkswagen dealership on 1/30/26. No diagnosis yet and advisor stated they had to wait until Monday to open a case with Volkswagen. Car purchased July 2025 and only at 5242 miles. Since car was purchased the Bluetooth connection gets interrupted randomly and will disconnect. Bluetooth will not start working again until car has been shut off for an extended period of time. Mentioned to service advisor 1/30/26 and he stated itâs a known issue with no solution. Since winter 2025 brakes have started to make a rumbling noise.
The contact owns a 2025 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. While driving at approximately 50 MPH on a main road, the contact received a message indicating that the transmission was in emergency mode. Shortly thereafter, the vehicle entered LIMP Mode and began to vibrate. The contact pulled over because the vehicle failed to exceed 25 MPH. The check engine, air bag, and oil warning lights were illuminated, along with several other unknown alerts on the instrument panel. After restarting the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the dealer but was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 13,000.
Mileage: 13,000
Thereâs a chemical smell entering the cabin of my vehicle from the engine ever since my car was serviced at the dealership. Iâve had headaches burning, watering eyes, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, eye twitching, and generally unwell. My daughter has had a cough and they refused to acknowledge any issue. They changed the filter and clean the vents and theyâre saying nothingâs wrong. Thereâs been multiple â alert since I bought the vehicle in April with them being the lane assist, throwing code all the time while Iâm driving in any conditions the front assist as well and the brakes needing some plug that was missing from it and now a light sensor is not working as well and the dealership isnât being any help. I escalated it to a corporate and theyâre saying thereâs nothing they can do. Iâve been without my car for a week as itâs been in the shop and I have had a rental and since then I havenât experienced any symptoms and now theyâre wanting to give me the car
Thereâs a chemical smell entering the cabin of my vehicle from the engine ever since my car was serviced at the dealership. Iâve had headaches burning, watering eyes, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, eye twitching, and generally unwell. My daughter has had a cough and they refused to acknowledge any issue. They changed the filter and clean the vents and theyâre saying nothingâs wrong. Thereâs been multiple â alert since I bought the vehicle in April with them being the lane assist, throwing code all the time while Iâm driving in any conditions the front assist as well and the brakes needing some plug that was missing from it and now a light sensor is not working as well and the dealership isnât being any help. I escalated it to a corporate and theyâre saying thereâs nothing they can do. Iâve been without my car for a week as itâs been in the shop and I have had a rental and since then I havenât experienced any symptoms and now theyâre wanting to give me the car
Thereâs a chemical smell entering the cabin of my vehicle from the engine ever since my car was serviced at the dealership. Iâve had headaches burning, watering eyes, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, eye twitching, and generally unwell. My daughter has had a cough and they refused to acknowledge any issue. They changed the filter and clean the vents and theyâre saying nothingâs wrong. Thereâs been multiple â alert since I bought the vehicle in April with them being the lane assist, throwing code all the time while Iâm driving in any conditions the front assist as well and the brakes needing some plug that was missing from it and now a light sensor is not working as well and the dealership isnât being any help. I escalated it to a corporate and theyâre saying thereâs nothing they can do. Iâve been without my car for a week as itâs been in the shop and I have had a rental and since then I havenât experienced any symptoms and now theyâre wanting to give me the car
Twice now I have had the vehicle not want to shift appropriately in low gears. When this happens, the vehicle locks up and will not move. Both times, VW has had. Tow get the vehicle and take it in for repair. 1st time was software update. Now itâs there for the second time with no answer as whatâs wrong. They have replaced parts but cannot figure out why itâs not shifting correctly. At VW in Texarkana now. 3 weeks and no answersâ¦both times this happened I was on the highway. Dangerous to have the car just not go anymore and leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere at night!
Carâs maneuver assistance light flashes as malfunctioning, then the carâs infotainment system turns off and on repeatedly until the screen is just black. After the first two things happen then the SOS feature and Exit Warning and Rear traffic alert systems malfunction as well.
Carâs maneuver assistance light flashes as malfunctioning, then the carâs infotainment system turns off and on repeatedly until the screen is just black. After the first two things happen then the SOS feature and Exit Warning and Rear traffic alert systems malfunction as well.
Carâs maneuver assistance light flashes as malfunctioning, then the carâs infotainment system turns off and on repeatedly until the screen is just black. After the first two things happen then the SOS feature and Exit Warning and Rear traffic alert systems malfunction as well.
My fuel gauge was stating I had approx 300 miles to empty. I was traveling on the interstate when the vehicle lost power and different warning lights came on dash. I was able to safely get on to shoulder of highway. Vehicle stopped on its own. I was unable to get it to go into gear or even start. I had it towed to Volkswagen dealership. I was told my floating fuel sensor got lodged near fuel line which gave false fuel gauge readings. So basically it ran of gas but I never had any signs I was getting low on fuel since gauge still showed 300 miles. The battery also died from the attempts to start vehicle. They were able to reposition the sensor in fuel tank and battery was jumped off. The sensors on dash went away and car is operating normally.
There have been numerous occasions when the vehicle fails to respond when pressing the accelerator. This happens most if not every day, generally during the first mile or two of my trip, but has also happened several miles into a trip. The delay lasts approximately two to five seconds, during which time when accelerator pedal is pushed, the RPMs do not increase, no power is delivered to the wheels, and the vehicle does not move as expected. No warning lights or error codes appear during these episodes. This happens when merging into traffic, crossing intersection, where I cannot rely on the vehicle to respond when needed, placing myself, my passengers, and others on the road at risk of injury. This has been ongoing since purchase but getting progressively more frequent.
The middle console is a high gloss material. During mid afternoon the sun hits on the gloss panels and reflects into the eye of the driver blinding them. Because of the angle, it is even blinding wearing sun glasses because it reflects under the glasses. During this time of day it is extremely difficult to see because of the gloss panel and could cause an accident. The only way to prevent the glare is by covering the entire console with a towel or other material. They make this panel in a matte finish, however, for some reason some models have the high gloss. The high gloss is VERY unsafe.
Battery was dead 6 days after purchase and had to be towed to dealership. Dealership put a new battery in the vehicle on a Friday, 2 days later the battery was dead again. The dealership kept the vehicle for almost another 3 weeks and replaced 2 modules and the infotainment screen; this seems to have repaired the vehicle. If the car was left unlocked for 30 minutes and the radio would turn on and then turn on all of the electronics and drain the battery to dead. Once the vehicle was jumped with a jump box every warning light was on, and the vehicle was inoperable.
Battery was dead 6 days after purchase and had to be towed to dealership. Dealership put a new battery in the vehicle on a Friday, 2 days later the battery was dead again. The dealership kept the vehicle for almost another 3 weeks and replaced 2 modules and the infotainment screen; this seems to have repaired the vehicle. If the car was left unlocked for 30 minutes and the radio would turn on and then turn on all of the electronics and drain the battery to dead. Once the vehicle was jumped with a jump box every warning light was on, and the vehicle was inoperable.
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.