Reliable Auto DB

2020 Volkswagen Atlas reliability

Is it reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas holds 27 complaints after 7 years, a rate of 4 per year. That is the fewest complaints per year among the 7 Atlas years on this site. NHTSA has 4 recalls on file, including Front passenger seat weight sensor, Tire pressure monitoring, and Side and window.

2018 Volkswagen Atlas
Photo by Kevauto, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Complaints

27

Per year

4

Recalls

4

Years on the road

7

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (11 of 27), then Air bags (8) and Forward collision avoidance (7).

Next to 2019 and 2021

The 2019 Atlas has 480 complaints, 38 per year, and the 2021 has 472 complaints, 70 per year. The 2020 has fewer complaints per year than the 2019. 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. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (4)

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.

Complaints by component (27 total)

Electrical system
11
Air bags
8
Forward collision avoidance
7
Steering
5
Service brakes
4
Engine
3
Fuel and propulsion system
2
Powertrain
2
Lane departure
1
Seats
1
Speed control
1
Structure
1
Show 4 more Show less
Crash-flagged

0

Fire-flagged

0

Injury reports

0

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

220219202232023520245202532026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "The car will shut down/stall while sitting at a red light. The START/Stop function is turned off, I turn it off while driving. So I am stalled at a red light and then have to place the car back into park and restart it.…"
    Unknown or other · filed 2026-07-23
  • "I received alerts while I’m driving to tell me that the fuel pressure was low and to turn off the engine immediately… and then it would go away. there were several different times about 5 total separate incidents on…"
    Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2026-07-08
  • "The airbag occupancy detectors on the passenger side are faulty. I noticed that other similar models of the VW Atlas are having this issue and it has an active recall, but my particular model has not."
    Air bags · filed 2026-02-19
  • "Two main issues... The automatic breaking will break in the most random spots. There is no car around but it reacts to certain ways the lines are painted on the road is my guess. It will do it to some cross walks as…"
    Electrical system, Service brakes, Forward collision avoidance · filed 2025-08-13
  • "Hello. I have a 2020 Vw Atlas V6 SE R-Line. The truck shots off when idleling, on speeds of 5 mph to 10 mph and even on the highway. This is a serious problem and extremely dangerous to my family and myself as well as…"
    Engine, Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2025-05-09

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Atlas 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (8-speed) Front-wheel drive 20 24 22 MPG $2950
Atlas 3.6L, 6-cyl Automatic (8-speed) Front-wheel drive 17 23 19 MPG $3400
Atlas 4motion 3.6L, 6-cyl Automatic (8-speed) All-wheel drive 16 22 19 MPG $3400
Atlas Cross Sport 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (8-speed) Front-wheel drive 21 24 22 MPG $2950
Atlas Cross Sport 3.6L, 6-cyl Automatic (8-speed) Front-wheel drive 17 23 19 MPG $3400
Atlas Cross Sport 4motion 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (8-speed) All-wheel drive 18 23 20 MPG $3250
Atlas Cross Sport 4motion 3.6L, 6-cyl Automatic (8-speed) All-wheel drive 16 22 19 MPG $3400

Specs and fitment

1st generation, 2018–2023
Body styles SUV
Oil VW 502.00/504.00 5W-30 (VR6 or 2.0T per manual) , 6 qt capacity
Tire size 255/50R20
Towing capacity 5,000 lbs

Known issues for this generation

NHTSA safety recall 22V152000 covers affected vehicles after the agency found that 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. A delayed air bag deployment can increase the risk of injury. 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.

Compare

Previous year 2019 Volkswagen Atlas Next year 2021 Volkswagen Atlas See every Volkswagen Atlas model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas holds 27 complaints after 7 years, a rate of 4 per year. That is the fewest complaints per year among the 7 Atlas years on this site. NHTSA has 4 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?

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (11 of 27), then Air bags (8) and Forward collision avoidance (7).

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

The 2019 Atlas has 480 complaints, 38 per year, and the 2021 has 472 complaints, 70 per year. The 2020 has fewer complaints per year than the 2019. The 2020 has fewer complaints per year than the 2021.

Has the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas been recalled?

The 2020 Volkswagen Atlas has 4 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?

Owners have filed 27 complaints about the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2020 Volkswagen Atlas get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas is 20 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What engine oil does a Volkswagen Atlas use?

US Atlas manuals specify VW-approved oil for the VR6 or 2.0T engine in the maintenance section.

What does NHTSA recall 22V-152 cover on the Volkswagen Atlas?

NHTSA safety recall 22V152000 covers affected vehicles after the agency found that volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

What generation is the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas?

1st generation (2018-2023).