2018 Volkswagen Atlas Problems, Recalls & Reliability
669 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2018 Volkswagen Atlas, alongside 16 recall campaigns and 2 defect investigations. It scores 96/100 on the trouble index — one of the years to avoid for this model. Electrical leads the reports, typically around 19,000 miles.
Avoid this year if you can. The 2018 Volkswagen Atlas sits at the top of this model's complaint rankings. Quieter picks in the same family: 2020.
Avoid
Where 2018 sits among all Atlas years
What owners report
“After stopping at a red light at the traffic the car would not restart, the battery of engine died.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 Atlas
“Dealer maintained with oil changes per the schedule. Cylinder head issue requiring engine replacement at 104,xxx miles. 3.6L VR6. This is unacceptable.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 Atlas
“The contact owns a 2018 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V215000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 Atlas
“Twice i have been stranded because the auto start stop is not providing enough power to the battery and therefor the vehicle will not start sometimes without being jumped. I have been stranded twice because the auto shut off has turned the vehicle off at a light and then the vehicle would not…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 Atlas
“Brake Booster faulty sensor, brakes spongy driving under 30mph happened twice now.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 Atlas
“Emergency brakes occurred without anyone or anything in front of the car. Braking malfunction warning also came on.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 Atlas
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 288 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 19,000 miles. Half of those reports fall between 8,800 and 33,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (16)
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Atlas and 2020 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…
Fix: Dealers will replace the PODS sensor mat and wiring harness, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 22, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Atlas and 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles equipped with accessory side steps. The reduced Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) label, reflecting the additional weight of the…
Fix: Dealers will install the reduced GVWR label, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 31, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017 Touareg GP, Tiguan, Golf A6, E-Golf GP, CCF, 2016-2017 Passat GP, 2018-2019 Golf R GP, and 2018 Atlas vehicles. These internal-use vehicles were sold without confirmation that they were…
Fix: Volkswagen will repurchase the vehicles. Owner notification letters were mailed May 20, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Atlas vehicles equipped with Continental tires. On the affected vehicles, it is possible that one or more tires were cured for too long during tire production.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the tires, and replace them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on March 24, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Golf R and Atlas, 2017 Golf Alltrack and E-Golf and 2016-2018 Passat vehicles. These internal use vehicles were sold without confirmation that they were built to all…
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners and will repurchase the vehicles. The recall began October 6, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Atlas vehicles. The vehicles may be equipped with an incorrectly manufactured air bag sensor, which can delay or disable air bag deployment when necessary.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the air bag crash sensor, free of charge. The recall began February 21, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2020 Volkswagen Passat and 2018-2019 Atlas vehicles. The blocking cap disabling the adjustment of the headlight's horizontal aim may not have been installed. As such, these vehicles…
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, block the headlight horizontal adjustment, free of charge. The recall began July 16, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas, 2015 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen, and 2019 Volkswagen Jetta vehicles. The rear coil springs may prematurely fracture.
Fix: Volkswagen has notified owners, and dealers will replace the rear axle coil springs, free of charge. The recall began January 31, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas and Tiguan and 2019 Volkswagen Jetta vehicles that do not have keyless entry. The instrument cluster may not provide an audible warning to let the driver know that…
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the instrument cluster, free of charge. The recall began December 13, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. During production, the air conditioning system drain tube may have been twisted, causing water to drain into the air bag control module.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the air conditioning drain tube, and if it is twisted, the drain tube and air bag control module will be replaced, free of charge. Some of the…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas and 2017-2018 Volkswagen Passat vehicles. The brake caliper bracket mounting bolts on these vehicles may not have been tightened sufficiently.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake caliper bracket bolt tightness, replacing and re-torque the bolts as necessary, free of charge. Additionally brake caliper…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswaen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. The owner's manuals provided with the affected vehicles do not inform the customers about the child restraint size limitation/restrictions for the second row…
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the center and left outboard seat belt buckles, and replace them if necessary, free of charge. Volkswagen will also provide an owner's manual…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas and Tiguan vehicles. In the event of a crash, the passenger frontal air bag may tear or not properly unfold during deployment.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag, free of charge. The recall began July 19, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas, Passat, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Golf, Golf SportWagen and GTI and Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The brake caliper pistons on these vehicles may have insufficient…
Fix: Volkswagen and Audi will notify their owners. Audi dealers will bleed the rear brakes. Volkswagen dealers will bleed the front and rear brake calipers. Note: Owners are advised not to drive their…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. The fuel tank on these vehicles may leak fuel due to a manufacturing error. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle…
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tank, free of charge. The recall began June 22, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Atlas vehicles. The fuel tank may have been manufactured with insufficient wall thickness, potentially resulting in the tank leaking fuel. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with…
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tank, free of charge. The recall began December 10, 2017. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.…
Federal defect investigations
Technical service bulletins
814 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on engine and electrical — are on file for the 2018 Volkswagen Atlas. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2018 Volkswagen Atlas reliable?
The 2018 Volkswagen Atlas drew 669 complaints in federal safety records — one of the years to avoid for this model. Its trouble index is 96/100, scored against the model's worst year (2021).
What are the most common 2018 Volkswagen Atlas problems?
The top reported problems for the 2018 Volkswagen Atlas are electrical (125 complaints), engine (100), and airbags (100).
At what mileage do 2018 Volkswagen Atlas problems show up?
Owners most often report 2018 Volkswagen Atlas problems around 19,000 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 8,800 and 33,000 miles.
Does the 2018 Volkswagen Atlas have recalls?
16 recall campaigns apply to the 2018 Volkswagen Atlas. At least one carries a do-not-drive or park-outside warning — check your VIN before driving.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.