Reliable Auto DB

2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport reliability

Is it reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport holds 106 complaints after 7 years, a rate of 15 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Atlas Cross Sport years here — under the median of the other years, which is 23. NHTSA has 11 recalls on file, including Front passenger seat weight sensor, Tire pressure monitoring, and Side and window.

2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport
Photo by Kevauto, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Complaints

106

Per year

15

Recalls

11

Years on the road

7

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (33 of 106), then Air bags (23) and Service brakes (18). Those filings include 3 that report a crash, 1 that reports a fire, and 1 that reports an injury.

Next to 2021

The 2021 Atlas Cross Sport has 165 complaints, 30 per year. The 2020 has fewer complaints per year than the 2021.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (11)

Recall Front passenger seat weight sensor 2024-06-20 · NHTSA campaign 24V464000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Atlas and 2020-2024 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 seat is occupied.
Remedy Dealers will replace the PODS sensor mat and wiring harness, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 30, 2024. Owner notification letters will be mailed in phases, on October 18, 2024, December 10, 2024, December 20, 2024, and January 17, 2025. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69PZ.
Recall Front passenger seat weight sensor 2023-03-29 · NHTSA campaign 23V215000
Summary 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 seat is occupied.
Remedy 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 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69FB.
Recall tires, tire pressure monitoring 2022-10-31 · NHTSA campaign 22V815000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan LWB, Golf Sportswagen A7, Golf Alltrack, Golf R GP, Audi Q3, Audi A3 Cabriolet, 2019-2020 Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas, Golf A7, Audi A3, 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport, and 2021 Atlas FL vehicles. The tire pressure monitoring system may not detect an air pressure loss in adequate time when deflating occurs among all four tires simultaneously. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."
Remedy Dealers will update the TPMS software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 18, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi’s customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are (Audi) 45J7, and (VW) 45J6 and 45J8.
Recall air bags, side and window 2022-03-28 · NHTSA campaign 22V152000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Atlas, 2020-2023 Atlas Cross Sport, and 2021-2023 Atlas FL vehicles. The door wiring harness electrical contacts may corrode, disrupting the electrical connection and delaying the deployment of the driver or passenger front side air bag during a side impact crash.
Remedy Dealers will secure and, as necessary, replace any the front door wiring harnesses showing a fault code, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 20, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 97GF.
Recall Labels 2022-02-16 · NHTSA campaign 22V086000
Summary 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 side steps, was not installed. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Remedy 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 number for this recall is 09D9.
Recall visibility, defroster and HVAC 2021-11-17 · NHTSA campaign 21V892000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas and 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The air conditioning system drain tube could be blocked, causing water to leak inside the vehicle near the air bag control module.
Remedy Dealers will repair the drain tube and replace the air bag control module, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 87H4.
Recall Steering 2021-01-27 · NHTSA campaign 21V026000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas and 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The front steering knuckle may fracture in the area of the strut mounting.
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, replace one or both steering knuckles, free of charge. The recall began February 16, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 40Q7.
Recall Steering 2020-11-17 · NHTSA campaign 20V712000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas and 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. One or both steering knuckles may have been damaged during production.
Remedy Volkswagen has notified owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, replace the steering knuckle, free of charge. The recall began November 19, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 40Q6. Note: Owners are advised to DO NOT DRIVE the vehicle until the vehicle has been inspected and repaired if necessary.
Recall tires, sidewall 2020-11-13 · NHTSA campaign 20V702000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport and 2021 Atlas vehicles equipped with Continental Cross Contact LX Sport tires, size 255/50 R 20 105 T. The tires may have been over cured.
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect DOT date code and mold number on the vehicle's tires to see if they are affected, replacing them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 30, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 44Q5.
Recall Seats 2020-08-26 · NHTSA campaign 20V505000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen ) is recalling certain 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport, Jetta, Jetta GLI and Tiguan and Audi Q5 and SQ5 and 2021 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. Parts of the front seat frame and backrest adjuster may not have been welded properly.
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front seats, and, as necessary, replace the seatback frames, free of charge. The recall began September 11, 2020. Volkswagen owners may contact their customer service at 1-888-241-2289. Audi owners may contact their customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 72L1, 72K8, and 72K9.
Recall exterior lighting, headlights 2020-08-26 · NHTSA campaign 20V504000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2020 Atlas Cross Sports and 2021 Atlas vehicles. The driver's side headlight may have been aimed too low during production. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will adjust the driver's side headlight, free of charge. The recall began September 9, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 94N7.

Complaints by component (106 total)

Electrical system
33
Air bags
23
Service brakes
18
Forward collision avoidance
15
Engine
9
Steering
8
Speed control
6
Exterior lighting
5
Fuel and propulsion system
4
Suspension
4
Powertrain
3
Structure
3
Electronic stability control (ESC)
2
Wheels
2
Back-over prevention
1
Chest clip, buckle, and harness
1
Lane departure
1
Latches, locks, and linkages
1
Seat belts
1
Tires
1
Visibility
1
Show 13 more Show less
Crash-flagged

3

Fire-flagged

1

Injury reports

1

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

9202010202125202282023232024142025172026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "Air Bag error-seat occupant classification module-passenger side occupant detection sensor is defective. Air bag may not deploy upon impact. Confirmed that airbag sensor is defective at dealership. Airbag error first…"
    Air bags · filed 2026-09-11
  • "steering went out completly and the SUV shut off in the middle of the street. had to restart car to get it home. SUV shut off in the middle of a turn. Had the SUV checked at dealership and they found a bad steering…"
    Steering, Suspension · filed 2026-09-08
  • "VW SOS system TCU has gone bad. I see this as a safety issue and VW will not replace under warranty"
    Unknown or other · filed 2026-09-02
  • "Air bag error light lit up with barely over 60k miles. Dealer diagnosis identifies the issue as a faulty Driver Head Curtain Airbag Igniter. Correction is to replace the driver side head curtain airbag assembly at a…"
    Air bags · filed 2026-08-27
  • "The contact owns a 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag, cruise control, electronic parking brake, and several other unknown warning lights…"
    Visibility, Air bags · filed 2026-08-06

Specs and fitment

1st generation, 2020–present
Body styles SUV
Oil 0W-30 (2.0L and 3.6L per engineoildb) , 6 qt capacity
Tire size 245/60R18, 255/50R20, 265/45R21 (trim dependent)

Known issues for this generation

Recall 22V-152 covers certain 2020-2023 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles among other Atlas models: door wiring harness contacts may corrode and delay driver or passenger front side air bag deployment in a side impact. Dealers secure or replace front door harnesses showing a fault code. Recall 26V-473 covers certain 2024-2026 Atlas Cross Sport and Atlas vehicles: a low-voltage electrical event may keep the rearview camera image from displaying; dealers update rearview camera software. Recall 25V-835 covers certain 2026 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles among other VW models: incorrect wheel bolts may have been installed; owners are advised not to drive until repaired and dealers inspect and replace bolts as needed.

Compare

Next year 2021 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport See every Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport holds 106 complaints after 7 years, a rate of 15 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Atlas Cross Sport years here — under the median of the other years, which is 23. NHTSA has 11 recalls on file, including Front passenger seat weight sensor, Tire pressure monitoring, and Side and window.

What are common problems with a 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport?

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (33 of 106), then Air bags (23) and Service brakes (18). Those filings include 3 that report a crash, 1 that reports a fire, and 1 that reports an injury.

Is the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2021 Atlas Cross Sport has 165 complaints, 30 per year. The 2020 has fewer complaints per year than the 2021.

Has the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport been recalled?

The 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport has 11 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport?

Owners have filed 106 complaints about the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport with NHTSA.

What oil does a Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport take?

Common US listings use 0W-30 for the 2.0L and 3.6L (about 6.0 qt with filter).

Does recall 22V-152 affect the Atlas Cross Sport?

Yes for certain 2020-2023 Atlas Cross Sport (among other Atlas models): corroded door wiring contacts may delay side air bag deployment; dealers repair the harness.

What generation is the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport?

1st generation, model year 2020 onward in the US.