VehicleVerdict

2021 Volkswagen Atlas electrical system problems

The 2021 Volkswagen Atlas has 144 electrical system complaints filed with NHTSA — 20% of the year's total, and up sharply from the prior model year.

144

Electrical System complaints

20%

Share of year

0

Crash-involved

2

Related recalls

Electrical System complaints by year

Atlas electrical system complaints by model year144 complaints2018: 121 complaints2019: 75 complaints2020: 11 complaints2021: 144 complaints2022: 39 complaints2023: 24 complaints2024: 39 complaints2025: 14 complaints2026: 1 complaints
Atlas electrical system complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

Related recalls

22V514000Electrical SystemJuly 20, 2022 · 43,091 units

Defect

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."

Consequence

A rearview camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.

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.

21V616000Electrical SystemAugust 6, 2021 · 33 units

Defect

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. Damaged relays may have been installed in the engine compartment fuse box, which could inadvertently activate the horn or engine starter.

Consequence

A horn or starter that remains activated for an extended period of time can overheat, increasing the risk of fire.

Remedy

Dealers will inspect and as necessary, replace the relays, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 27, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 97FR.

What owners report

Door harness replacement needed, car is only a few months old, less than 10k Miles. Various sensors go off indicating a contact door switch issue, and the parking brake will go off and windows will open. This happened to me with children in the car and snowy weather, which could have caused an…

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Electrical System · February 17, 2022

Common questions

How many electrical system complaints does the 2021 Volkswagen Atlas have?

NHTSA has 144 complaints about the 2021 Volkswagen Atlas electrical system — 20% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Are there recalls for the 2021 Volkswagen Atlas electrical system?

Yes — 2 NHTSA recall campaigns for this model year are tied to the electrical system: 21V616000, 22V514000.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.