# Too Bad To Ignore



## finz72 (Sep 3, 2018)

Hello everyone !

First, I'd like to say that I've totally fallen for the Atlas ! I've driven 5 different SUV's over the past week (driving an 2019 Ascent soon) and by far, the Atlas is my fav.
There's something that I can't ignore though. If you go to Edmunds.com and read all the user reviews, the Atlas is taking a huge beating as far as reliability and issues. So much in fact, that it makes me very nervous to even consider buying this vehicle. Should I be worried or swayed by these reviews ? Take a look and see what I'm taking about ....It's downright scary !!!


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## knedrgr (Jun 6, 2011)

finz72 said:


> Hello everyone !
> 
> First, I'd like to say that I've totally fallen for the Atlas ! I've driven 5 different SUV's over the past week (driving an 2019 Ascent soon) and by far, the Atlas is my fav.
> There's something that I can't ignore though. If you go to Edmunds.com and read all the user reviews, the Atlas is taking a huge beating as far as reliability and issues. So much in fact, that it makes me very nervous to even consider buying this vehicle. Should I be worried or swayed by these reviews ? Take a look and see what I'm taking about ....It's downright scary !!!


I had issues with mine: 

1) on my 3rd head unit, since the first one didn't work. The second one had dead pixels. And the third is working fine.
2) various recalls.
3) on my 2nd display unit. The first one didn't want to take the software update, so it was replaced.
4) delaminated rear pass door seal (no water leak, just cosmetic).

But the bottom line – for me — is the factory 6yr/72K miles bumper to bumper warranty takes care of it all. My dealer is fantastic to work with. I get a free loaner Atlas, and I'm in/out in less than 30 minutes. Minor inconvenience for driving the car that fits our family's needs.


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## szatkoff (Jun 1, 2001)

Bought mine in July and have about 1700 miles and love the car. I smile every time I see it in my driveway. Can't report any real issues. We are waiting for a door panel that is on back order, since the left side passenger door panel was not assembled correctly from the factory and need a map light switch, since ours is sticky and takes multiple presses to turn on or off. All handled under warranty. This is a first year automobile, so there will be issues.

Just remember that for every bad review you are seeing, there are probably hundreds that are happy with the car and therefore not inclined to say anything.

Steve


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## finz72 (Sep 3, 2018)

szatkoff said:


> Bought mine in July and have about 1700 miles and love the car. I smile every time I see it in my driveway. Can't report any real issues. We are waiting for a door panel that is on back order, since the left side passenger door panel was not assembled correctly from the factory and need a map light switch, since ours is sticky and takes multiple presses to turn on or off. All handled under warranty. This is a first year automobile, so there will be issues.
> 
> Just remember that for every bad review you are seeing, there are probably hundreds that are happy with the car and therefore not inclined to say anything.
> 
> Steve



Thank you ...I'm trying to tell myself the same thing, that most people just post negative experiences. I will be purchasing a 2019, therefore, I hope all (or most) of the first year problems are solved.


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## Icantdrive65 (Nov 8, 2001)

11k miles on our SEL 4motion and it is great. The only issue we had was the auto start/stop stopped working for a couple of weeks and then it started working again.


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## Guest (Sep 24, 2018)

*Same Boat!*

I'm in the same boat as you, love the car, but am hesitant to purchase it due to the issues I've read. I'm going to wait until next year to purchase the vehicle. Probably create a 2019 VW atlas Reliability Thread once they start getting released to see how others and dealing with their vehicles.


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## Icantdrive65 (Nov 8, 2001)

For what it's worth, I believe that the issues with emergency braking may be user error. I can't get mine to emergency brake on steep driveway transitions. Also, it doesn't paralyze the car. Just hit the brake and release it and you can go again right away. The issue seems to be that people freak out and don't know what to do.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

finz72 said:


> ....If you go to Edmunds.com and read all the user reviews, the Atlas is taking a huge beating as far as reliability and issues.....


So is it accurate information? Is it different than any other vehicle? User reviews are not accurate data.


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## brachiopod (Sep 15, 2018)

szatkoff said:


> Bought mine in July and have about 1700 miles and love the car. I smile every time I see it in my driveway. Can't report any real issues. We are waiting for a door panel that is on back order, since the left side passenger door panel was not assembled correctly from the factory and need a map light switch, since ours is sticky and takes multiple presses to turn on or off. ...
> 
> Steve


Oh, that's weird, that was the only problem I've had with mine too; one of the overhead map lights on pass side would not turn off unless you pressed it multiple times (like 50). They replaced the whole overhead unit to fix it, and I'm not sure that they actually understood the problem since the description that they wrote was that the entire thing was "loose" but about 40 minutes in the shop and fixed under warranty with no arguments. I've not had any other problems with mine.


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## 0macman0 (Nov 6, 2017)

I read through the edmunds reviews and I think you are getting two things there, subjective opinions that those people posted here as well, and those who had awful issues. It’s pretty biased towards the negative.

I love my atlas and have had nothing but positive things to say about it. It drives nicer than any of the competition. No problems after 20K. Tows remarkably well. Not a drag racer but love the VR6 character and the 8AT is first class.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## TablaRasa (May 12, 2008)

We are loving it! I agree on the the previous post regarding the people that have no complaints about Tha cars. It rarely gets publicity, well because they are busy enjoying the car haha. No seriously, bad reviews gets posted more often than the good reviews. Just the nature of us being humans. Negativity gets more discussions hehe. Also, not every Atlas owners have an account here. I know because my coworker has one who loves it but doesn't know of this forum. Again, cruise worry free knowing you have yhjat 6 year/72k warranty


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## donpost (Jul 12, 2018)

We picked up ours in August, 1800 miles, no issues. None.. Love the vehicle. I too was hesitant reading all the negative reviews but the warranty helped ease my concern. We looked at a bunch and settled on the Atlas as it fit our needs best. 

Hope this helps!


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## cometguy (Jul 29, 2018)

finz72 said:


> Hello everyone !
> 
> First, I'd like to say that I've totally fallen for the Atlas ! I've driven 5 different SUV's over the past week (driving an 2019 Ascent soon) and by far, the Atlas is my fav.
> There's something that I can't ignore though. If you go to Edmunds.com and read all the user reviews, the Atlas is taking a huge beating as far as reliability and issues. So much in fact, that it makes me very nervous to even consider buying this vehicle. Should I be worried or swayed by these reviews ? Take a look and see what I'm taking about ....It's downright scary !!!


Can you list the other SUVs that you've driven in the past week for comparison? I'm curious.

I am waiting for the Atlas Cross Sport, as I'd like something a bit smaller and don't want the third row of seats, but I'm watching the Atlas closely because they evidently both go under the name "Atlas" for good reason.


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## cometguy (Jul 29, 2018)

knedrgr said:


> I had issues with mine:
> 
> 1) on my 3rd head unit, since the first one didn't work. The second one had dead pixels. And the third is working fine.
> 2) various recalls.
> ...


What's a "head unit"?
And what recalls?


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## *DesertFox* (Sep 26, 2017)

cometguy said:


> What's a "head unit"?
> And what recalls?



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_head_unit


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## *DesertFox* (Sep 26, 2017)

cometguy said:


> What's a "head unit"?
> And what recalls?



https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2018/VOLKSWAGEN/ATLAS/SUV/AWD#recalls


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## snobrdrdan (Sep 10, 2008)

If the Atlas had been out for 5 years and had nothing but bad reviews...that's one thing

BUT the Atlas has only been out for one year and we all know that 1st year models might have a few hiccups. I wouldn't read too much into those USER reviews....take them all with a grain of salt.
FWIW, and on the flip side, the reviews from journalist have been mostly positive


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## finz72 (Sep 3, 2018)

cometguy said:


> Can you list the other SUVs that you've driven in the past week for comparison? I'm curious.
> 
> I am waiting for the Atlas Cross Sport, as I'd like something a bit smaller and don't want the third row of seats, but I'm watching the Atlas closely because they evidently both go under the name "Atlas" for good reason.


Yes, in the past week I've driven the 2018 Atlas SEL-P, 2018 Tiguan SEL-P, 2019 Honda Pilot Touring, 2018 Audi Q5, 2018 Honda CRV Touring. I've looked at the 2019 Subaru Ascent. 
I've looked at a wide range of size SUVs. The prices range from 35k - 49k. 
The Honda Pilot was nice, but it seemed more kid oriented being that it had a rear entertainment player and cabin-talk. I'm possibly interested in a larger SUV but it's only my wife and I, so I don't need the kid stuff but I'd like most of the bells and whistles.
The Audi was fantastic and right at the Atlas price point. I just felt that the extra room and comfort in the Atlas was more to my liking. 
The Tiguan was great also, it was a baby Atlas. Again, I just felt better in the Atlas, it's hard to describe. More control of the road, maybe ?


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## knedrgr (Jun 6, 2011)

knedrgr said:


> I had issues with mine:
> 
> 1) on my 3rd head unit, since the first one didn't work. The second one had dead pixels. And the third is working fine.
> 2) various recalls.
> ...


I'll add some more context for clarification.

Picked ours up last September, so it's just over a year old. Currently, sitting at 21K+ miles. It's a fantastic car for every miles that I've put on it. Hauls plenty of cargo and all of our family's stuff. 

As far as power is concern, that's all subjective and relative to the driver of the car. My VR6 4Motion, server me well, and feels adequate in traffic. I don't expect to win the drag race with the Cayenne.


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

Life is full of risks and you take a risk for reliability when you buy any new/used car. Ours is 8 mos old/9K with no issues worth noting i.e. trouble. People go online to complain/seek solstice in other's that have the same problem, not to say "mine is fine". The data are not representative. There are issues and you can see some of the common ones here in this forum. Do a good test drive, take it alone before you buy it and drive it to a parking lot and really look it over. The chances are you will be fine with an Atlas and we have really enjoyed ours so far.


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## finz72 (Sep 3, 2018)

KarstGeo said:


> Life is full of risks and you take a risk for reliability when you buy any new/used car. Ours is 8 mos old/9K with no issues worth noting i.e. trouble. People go online to complain/seek solstice in other's that have the same problem, not to say "mine is fine". The data are not representative. There are issues and you can see some of the common ones here in this forum. Do a good test drive, take it alone before you buy it and drive it to a parking lot and really look it over. The chances are you will be fine with an Atlas and we have really enjoyed ours so far.


Thanks. As hard as it may be, I try to tune out the negative reviews and I try to rely more on the amount of recalls that a certain vehicle has. The Tiguan has had many in the 2018 model year which is concerning. I'm hoping 2019 models will have much of the problems ironed out. 
I'm glad that you're enjoying the Atlas, I'm seeing more and more on the road which I like to see. At last they're now all in the shop !! Lol


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## fotchpd (Feb 19, 2004)

I read through most of the replies and guess there are some ups and down people are experiencing. With any car i have ever bought there are normally some issues... On my GMC 50k truck the head unit and e-brake stopped working after about 2-3 weeks.. so it happens.

But i have a SE Tech R-line for about a year w/ 9300 miles, we have had Zero issues with it, with some longer trips. I have used all options on the car especially the cruise control for the long trips and it is great, have both apple and android phones both with without issue with apple car play and android version. Some people complain about the power, i feel that for a SUV of its size its fine. Im not trying to race this car so getting to traffic speed or passing someone has never been an issue. 

As far as recalls im guessing those are very specific to a some lot codes of Altas that went out. the only recall i have gotten to date is they needed to replace a sticker. 

We are very happy with it in all, fits our family of 6 comfortably with having 2 car seats. Guess my only complaint i have coming from a minivan would be there was not an entertainment package with some TVs and stuff for the long trips.. but i guess thats what tablets are for.


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## TablaRasa (May 12, 2008)

finz72 said:


> Thanks. As hard as it may be, I try to tune out the negative reviews and I try to rely more on the amount of recalls that a certain vehicle has. The Tiguan has had many in the 2018 model year which is concerning. I'm hoping 2019 models will have much of the problems ironed out.
> I'm glad that you're enjoying the Atlas, I'm seeing more and more on the road which I like to see. At last they're now all in the shop !! Lol


I see them more now too. In our town alone, I see them more. There is one in particular that I saw yesterday parked in the CVS parking lot is a white SEL R-Line with euro plates in the front. I think we should start an " Atlas spotted" thread


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

TablaRasa said:


> I see them more now too. In our town alone, I see them more. There is one in particular that I saw yesterday parked in the CVS parking lot is a white SEL R-Line with euro plates in the front. I think we should start an " Atlas spotted" thread


always funny when you see a euro plate mounted on a car you can't even get in europe -_- I did mount a euro plate on my E61, but that was in the lawless swamp of FL. Now I can't do that anymore.


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## cometguy (Jul 29, 2018)

*DesertFox* said:


> https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2018/VOLKSWAGEN/ATLAS/SUV/AWD#recalls


Wow! Seven recalls in nine months, and six recalls in less than 4 months... That's a bit sobering...


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## TablaRasa (May 12, 2008)

cometguy said:


> *DesertFox* said:
> 
> 
> > https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2018/VOLKSWAGEN/ATLAS/SUV/AWD#recalls
> ...


Just to put this into context, the Atlas that were manufactured later were not part of these recalls AFAIK. A lot of the early ones had the recalls. Ours was manufactured in 5/2018 and the only recall we had was the caliper bolts, and when I brought it in, the dealer didn't find the bolts affected so no fix was needed


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## cometguy (Jul 29, 2018)

TablaRasa said:


> Just to put this into context, the Atlas that were manufactured later were not part of these recalls AFAIK. A lot of the early ones had the recalls. Ours was manufactured in 5/2018 and the only recall we had was the caliper bolts, and when I brought it in, the dealer didn't find the bolts affected so no fix was needed


That makes sense, and is more comforting


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## Icantdrive65 (Nov 8, 2001)

cometguy said:


> Wow! Seven recalls in nine months, and six recalls in less than 4 months... That's a bit sobering...


The recalls are all for very minor things. Not like the Subaru Ascent that had some frame welds missing.

VW is being more vigilant about recalls than I can remember.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

cometguy said:


> Wow! Seven recalls in nine months, and six recalls in less than 4 months... That's a bit sobering...


And how serious was any of them?


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## finz72 (Sep 3, 2018)

Icantdrive65 said:


> The recalls are all for very minor things. Not like the Subaru Ascent that had some frame welds missing.
> 
> VW is being more vigilant about recalls than I can remember.


That's a good thing. Again, hopefully VW has ironed out the kinks with their early builds and the 2019's will be that much more reliable !! I'm really getting excited about purchasing the Atlas or Tigaun in 2019 !!! Just waiting on getting out of my Honda lease ...5 more months !!


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## brachiopod (Sep 15, 2018)

*Minor recalls*

There were a few recalls, but they were all minor and I didn't have to do any them. I did them all at once because one of them updated the computer to give a compass on the screen. I had...

* Change an emissions sticker under the hood that was wrong. They actually had to order the sticker heh.
* Inspect the real seatbelts for damage from car seats, but I never used a car seat. They gave us a big printout about how to not damage your seatbelts with big car seats.
* Update the computer. Not sure if this was actually part of the recall below or what.
* Some kind of "air quality" recall that fixed something to do with remote start that I don't have.

So nothing critical unless you broke your seatbelts.


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## cometguy (Jul 29, 2018)

finz72 said:


> Yes, in the past week I've driven the 2018 Atlas SEL-P, 2018 Tiguan SEL-P, 2019 Honda Pilot Touring, 2018 Audi Q5, 2018 Honda CRV Touring. I've looked at the 2019 Subaru Ascent.
> I've looked at a wide range of size SUVs. The prices range from 35k - 49k.
> The Honda Pilot was nice, but it seemed more kid oriented being that it had a rear entertainment player and cabin-talk. I'm possibly interested in a larger SUV but it's only my wife and I, so I don't need the kid stuff but I'd like most of the bells and whistles.
> The Audi was fantastic and right at the Atlas price point. I just felt that the extra room and comfort in the Atlas was more to my liking.
> The Tiguan was great also, it was a baby Atlas. Again, I just felt better in the Atlas, it's hard to describe. More control of the road, maybe ?


Thanks for sharing this. Again, I'm curious because my wife and I are in the same boat now, with kids gone, so we think that a third row of seats is overkill, which is why I'm waiting to see what the Atlas Cross Sport looks like. Can you tell me why you think a third row of seats is not overkill for you in your assessment of the Atlas?


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## finz72 (Sep 3, 2018)

cometguy said:


> Thanks for sharing this. Again, I'm curious because my wife and I are in the same boat now, with kids gone, so we think that a third row of seats is overkill, which is why I'm waiting to see what the Atlas Cross Sport looks like. Can you tell me why you think a third row of seats is not overkill for you in your assessment of the Atlas?


Simply, I don't feel it's overkill because you can always put the third row seats down, use the additional cargo space. For my wife and I, there may be sporadic times where the third row may come in handy, like when family/grandchildren visit. I know we'd be paying a premium for that extra space but it would be there if needed. Incidentally, my wife thinks the Atlas would be too spacious for us but I would love to have the room !!!


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## knedrgr (Jun 6, 2011)

cometguy said:


> Thanks for sharing this. Again, I'm curious because my wife and I are in the same boat now, with kids gone, so we think that a third row of seats is overkill, which is why I'm waiting to see what the Atlas Cross Sport looks like. Can you tell me why you think a third row of seats is not overkill for you in your assessment of the Atlas?


Based on initial specs, the Cross Sport will be very similarly sized to the Atlas, except just a smidge shorter in length: 7.5" shorter. Width and Height are nearly identical. 

We have two small kids, and they're still in car seats. We don't have a use for the 3rd row seats, in the near future, but it is nice to have the use, when needed.

I did see someone posted a picture of their teenager using the 3rd row seat, folded the second flat, and lounged out for a long trip. That's a neat feature.


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## TablaRasa (May 12, 2008)

finz72 said:


> Simply, I don't feel it's overkill because you can always put the third row seats down, use the additional cargo space. For my wife and I, there may be sporadic times where the third row may come in handy, like when family/grandchildren visit. I know we'd be paying a premium for that extra space but it would be there if needed. Incidentally, my wife thinks the Atlas would be too spacious for us but I would love to have the room !!!


Agree on this. The 3rd row is not fixed and can fold. You basically have a nice back for anything and everything you want to haul when you need it (i.e. home depot trip and avoid having to rent their trucks) when folded. And for those situations where you wish you had a 3rd row at that instance, then you have it (i.e. relatives, friends from out of town you want to take out and about etc.). 

We, on the other hand have come into several situations so far where we could've used more room in the back since we were fully loaded with passengers. So, a carrier up top is on order. 

I guess the theory of , "when you have the extra space, you will find a way to fill it up" is true hahaha... No seriously, couldn't be happier with the space the Atlas offers.


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