2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Atlas Cross Sport years
- More complaints than other years 2nd of 7 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 11 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- 5 out of 5 stars
Owners have filed 106 complaints with NHTSA about the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. That ranks 2nd out of 7 Atlas Cross Sport model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is electrical system (33 complaints, 31%), typically at around 12,922 miles. Complaints mention 3 crashes, 1 fire, 1 injury. There are 11 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 1 defect investigation involving it.
- 106owner complaints
- 11safety recalls
- 1NHTSA investigations
- 3complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 33 | 31% | 12,922 | — | — |
| Air Bags | 23 | 22% | 45,600 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 23 | 22% | 2,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 18 | 17% | 6,828 | — | — |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 15 | 14% | — | — | — |
| Engine | 9 | 8% | 11,822 | — | — |
| Steering | 8 | 8% | 2,000 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 6 | 6% | 425 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 5 | 5% | — | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 4 | 4% | — | — | — |
| Suspension | 4 | 4% | 2,000 | — | — |
| Power Train | 3 | 3% | — | — | — |
| Structure | 3 | 3% | — | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 2 | 2% | 425 | — | — |
| Wheels | 2 | 2% | — | — | — |
| Back Over Prevention | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Chest Clip, Buckle, Harness | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Lane Departure | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 1 | 1% | 13,974 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Tires | 1 | 1% | 14,500 | — | — |
| Visibility | 1 | 1% | 134,000 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport recalls (11)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Air bags:sensor:occupant classification:front passenger
Problem: 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.
Risk: A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: 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.
Air bags:sensor:occupant classification:front passenger
Problem: 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.
Risk: A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
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 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69FB.
Tires:pressure monitoring and regulating systems
Problem: 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."
Risk: An undetected sudden loss of pressure in all four tires increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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 AudiÂs customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are (Audi) 45J7, and (VW) 45J6 and 45J8.
Air bags:side/window
Problem: 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.
Risk: A delayed air bag deployment can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: 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.
Equipment:other:labels
Problem: 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."
Risk: Without the reduced GVWR label, the vehicle could be overloaded, leading to a loss of control and increasing the risk of a crash.
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 number for this recall is 09D9.
Air bags: air bag/restraint control module; visibility:defroster/defogger/hvac system
Problem: 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.
Risk: A water leak may damage the air bag control module, causing an inadvertent air bag deployment and increasing the risk of injury or a crash.
Fix: 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.
Steering
Problem: 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.
Risk: A fractured steering knuckle can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
SteeringDo not drive
Problem: 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.
Risk: A damaged steering knuckle can fail, causing a loss of steering, thereby increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Tires:sidewall
Problem: 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.
Risk: Over cured tires can result in a sidewall break causing a sudden loss of air pressure or the tread separating from the tire. Both conditions increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Exterior lighting:headlights
Problem: 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."
Risk: A headlight aimed incorrectly aimed reduces the driver's visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Seats
Problem: 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.
Risk: In the event of a rear-end crash, the backrest adjustment could break, possibly reducing the amount of occupant restraint, thus increasing risk of injury.
Fix: 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.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Fuel Injector Leak (PE21008) — opened Mar 29, 2021, closed Oct 3, 2022.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
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 appeared one week ago at 75k miles. VW will not cover cost to repair defective air…
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 unit. I had the SUV in 3 times with the complaint and they found nothing until the…
VW SOS system TCU has gone bad. I see this as a safety issue and VW will not replace under warranty
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 cost of ~$1,200. The vehicle has never been in an accident nor had the airbags…
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 illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed…
Other Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Atlas Cross Sport | 0 | 2 |
| 2025 Atlas Cross Sport | 24 | 5 |
| 2024 Atlas Cross Sport | 100 | 8 |
| 2023 Atlas Cross Sport | 19 | 6 |
| 2022 Atlas Cross Sport | 74 | 7 |
| 2021 Atlas Cross Sport | 165 | 14 |
| 2020 | 106 | 11 |
See all Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport problems by year, every Volkswagen model, or the Volkswagen VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport?
Owners most often report electrical system, air bags, unknown or other problems. The top one, electrical system, accounts for 33 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport?
Yes, 11 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Atlas Cross Sport model years, the 2020 has more complaints than most years, and NHTSA rates it 5 out of 5 stars overall in crash tests. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.