Reliable Auto DB

2022 Volkswagen Atlas reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 183 complaints with NHTSA about the 2022 Volkswagen Atlas over 5 years — 34 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Atlas years here — under the median of the other years, which is 48. NHTSA has 7 recalls on file, including Front passenger seat weight sensor, Critical fasteners, and Internal engine parts.

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

183

Per year

34

Recalls

7

Years on the road

5

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (50 of 183), then Service brakes (46) and Electrical system (44). Those filings include 3 that report a crash, 2 that report a fire, and 2 that report an injury.

Next to 2021 and 2023

The 2021 Atlas has 472 complaints, 70 per year, and the 2023 has 133 complaints, 31 per year. The 2022 has fewer complaints per year than the 2021. The 2022 has about the same number of complaints per year as the 2023.

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 2022 Volkswagen Atlas. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (7)

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 suspension, critical fasteners 2022-10-26 · NHTSA campaign 22V807000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Volkswagen Atlas FL and 2022-2023 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The driver-side rear trailing arm bolts may not have been tightened properly, allowing them to loosen and fall out.
Remedy Dealers will replace the driver side rear trailing arm bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 25, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42M2.
Recall engine and cooling, engine, internal engine parts 2022-10-07 · NHTSA campaign 22V753000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Audi Q5 Sportback, Q5, 2022-2023 Volkswagen Atlas FL, and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The engine connecting rod bearings may become damaged, which can result in engine failure.
Remedy Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace an affected engine, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 6, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 13i4 (VW) and 13i5 (Audi).
Recall trailer hitch 2022-08-31 · NHTSA campaign 22V657000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The trailer hitch bolts may have been insufficiently tightened.
Remedy Dealers will tighten the trailer hitch bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 28, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 66N8.
Recall back-over prevention, sensing system, camera 2022-07-20 · NHTSA campaign 22V514000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Golf GTI, Jetta GLI, Jetta NF, Arteon FL, Tiguan LWB, 2022 Taos, Jetta PA, Tiguan PA, 2021-2022 Atlas Cross Sport, and Atlas FL vehicles. The manufacturing process of the eMMC memory module in the infotainment system may cause the rearview camera image not to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Remedy Dealers will update the infotainment software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 16, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91DV.
Recall gasoline fuel system, fuel injection, injectors 2022-04-13 · NHTSA campaign 22V245000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Atlas FL and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The long fuel injectors may have been assembled without filters.
Remedy Dealers will replace the long fuel injectors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 20, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 24iD.
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.

Complaints by component (183 total)

Engine
50
Service brakes
46
Electrical system
44
Air bags
30
Forward collision avoidance
20
Exterior lighting
14
Fuel and propulsion system
13
Back-over prevention
8
Steering
6
Seats
5
Powertrain
4
Parking brake
3
Lane departure
2
Seat belts
2
Speed control
2
Structure
2
Visibility and wipers
2
Child seat
1
Engine and engine cooling
1
Fuel system, gasoline
1
Hydraulic brakes
1
Visibility
1
Show 14 more Show less
Crash-flagged

3

Fire-flagged

2

Injury reports

2

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

202022292023522024432025392026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "Passenger side LED Daytime Running Light in the headlight assembly failed. Warning light illuminated with message “Please check right daytime running light/parking light.” The failure was confirmed upon visual…"
    Exterior lighting · filed 2026-09-23
  • "Vehicle shuts of sporadically when idling and requires restart by pressing ignition button."
    Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2026-09-20
  • "2022 Volkswagen Atlas – Hood Release Cable Failure The hood release cable on my 2022 Volkswagen Atlas failed when I attempted to open the hood. I pulled the interior hood release handle normally, but the cable mechanism…"
    Unknown or other · filed 2026-09-13
  • "The infotainment module in my vehicle that I purchased in March 2026 has completely gone out and was deemed faulty by two different Volkswagen dealerships. Because of this amenity no longer working, I do not have access…"
    Electrical system, Back-over prevention, Forward collision avoidance · filed 2026-09-09
  • "We were told by Salem County Volkswagent that there is an issue with the hood latch on our 2022 Volkswagent Atlas which may render it impossible to open the hood. The cable/latch/other part(s) is/are nearing failure and…"
    Unknown or other, Engine · filed 2026-09-08

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Atlas 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (8-speed) Front-wheel drive 21 25 23 MPG $2800
Atlas 3.6L, 6-cyl Automatic (8-speed) Front-wheel drive 18 24 20 MPG $3250
Atlas 4motion 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (8-speed) All-wheel drive 20 24 22 MPG $2950
Atlas 4motion 3.6L, 6-cyl Automatic (8-speed) All-wheel drive 17 23 19 MPG $3400
Atlas Cross Sport 3.6L, 6-cyl Automatic (8-speed) Front-wheel drive 18 24 20 MPG $3250
Atlas Cross Sport 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (8-speed) Front-wheel drive 21 25 23 MPG $2800
Atlas Cross Sport 4motion 3.6L, 6-cyl Automatic (8-speed) All-wheel drive 18 24 20 MPG $3250
Atlas Cross Sport 4motion 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (8-speed) All-wheel drive 20 24 22 MPG $2950

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 2021 Volkswagen Atlas Next year 2023 Volkswagen Atlas See every Volkswagen Atlas model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2022 Volkswagen Atlas reliable?

Owners have filed 183 complaints with NHTSA about the 2022 Volkswagen Atlas over 5 years — 34 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Atlas years here — under the median of the other years, which is 48. NHTSA has 7 recalls on file, including Front passenger seat weight sensor, Critical fasteners, and Internal engine parts.

What are common problems with a 2022 Volkswagen Atlas?

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (50 of 183), then Service brakes (46) and Electrical system (44). Those filings include 3 that report a crash, 2 that report a fire, and 2 that report an injury.

Is the 2022 Volkswagen Atlas more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2021 Atlas has 472 complaints, 70 per year, and the 2023 has 133 complaints, 31 per year. The 2022 has fewer complaints per year than the 2021. The 2022 has about the same number of complaints per year as the 2023.

Has the 2022 Volkswagen Atlas been recalled?

The 2022 Volkswagen Atlas has 7 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 2022 Volkswagen Atlas?

Owners have filed 183 complaints about the 2022 Volkswagen Atlas with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2022 Volkswagen Atlas get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2022 Volkswagen Atlas is 21.1 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).