# Atlas head gasket failure twice already



## Radomir Adamov (10 mo ago)

Hi members, how common is to have head gasket failure. I have a friend of mine with 2020 Atlas and already twice the head gasket was replaced at no cost at the dealer under warranty, but they told my friend to sell the car, basically to get rid of it quickly, because possibly going bad again. What kind of problem is this??? Anyone else sharing the same experience? Is it a lemon car or??


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## Alpinweiss2 (Jan 9, 2017)

Is it the 3.6 VR6 engine?

🍺


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## shadytheatlas (Jul 5, 2018)

I’ve heard of it on the 2018/2019. Apparently it’s rare to have it replaced twice. There was a thread on here somewhere where someone’s block was warped so the initial head replacement didn’t fix it. Are you certain it’s a 2020?


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## Radomir Adamov (10 mo ago)

shadytheatlas said:


> I’ve heard of it on the 2018/2019. Apparently it’s rare to have it replaced twice. There was a thread on here somewhere where someone’s block was warped so the initial head replacement didn’t fix it. Are you certain it’s a 2020?


Hi, my mistake, the owner just told me it is 2019, but still....The tech guy at the dealer told my friend to get rid of it ASAP.


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## Radomir Adamov (10 mo ago)

Alpinweiss2 said:


> Is it the 3.6 VR6 engine?
> 
> 🍺


Yes, the 3.6 L engine, weird issue.


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## shadytheatlas (Jul 5, 2018)

I don’t doubt a dealership told your friend that. To be honest I would not own an Atlas outside of its warranty. There are just too many high dollar items happening to these vehicles.


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

Makes more sense--as far as the first headgasket issue--that it's a 2019. The reported issues seem to be 2018s and some 2019s. 

Re the second headgasket failure--that's indicative of a poor repair job by the dealer. They did the job wrong somehow--either missed a warped head, improper head bolt torque, or something else. 

After 2 strikes, the owner is probably best off unloading the car while still under warranty, especially in today's used market. At least the dealer offered good advice there.


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## mtbsteve (Dec 6, 2011)

shadytheatlas said:


> I don’t doubt a dealership told your friend that. To be honest I would not own an Atlas outside of its warranty. There are just too many high dollar items happening to these vehicles.


While I am a victim of a past VW TDI having some non-warranty covered repairs, the Atlas seems like a pretty solid vehicle so far. The only big issue, if you can call it one, was the head gasket issue on some of the '18-'19 Atlas 3.6 engines, which the OP is bringing up. I haven't heard of any other large scale issues plaguing the Atlas models, even on this forum where I would expect to see posts about major issues. That being said, if I was the owner of that particular Atlas, I would look to sell and move on unless they are getting a replacement engine. 
As for Atlas reliability overall, I am not seeing reports of 4motion failures, transmission issues, engine issues (other than the already mentioned issue), brakes, suspension, etc. The general consensus seems to be that it just keeps chugging along and while it doesn't do anything remarkably better than the competition, it seems reliable enough to not discount it for any reason.


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## shadytheatlas (Jul 5, 2018)

I personally know two other people who had an Atlas. One had the engine replaced and experienced a transmission issue. The other had a cracked exhaust manifold. Dealerships had their vehicle for no less than 3 months over a 2 year period.

I’ve had issues of my own that have been discussed on here.

Here are others I know of off the top of my head: Head gaskets, catalytic converters, steering racks, struts, fuel injectors, water pumps, batteries, constant coolant loss even after new head gasket, door harness (i believe this was a result of a lawsuit), stop/start issues, emergency braking, etc.

One would think based on my comments I don’t like the Atlas. I actually do. I just hate the issues. My experiences with VW Care and my friends experiences has really been disappointing also. That is my biggest reason to not keep the car past the warranty. I don’t believe that VW Cares about their customers.


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

For the record, I have a 2018 (built Aug 2018) with 37.5k miles that's fortunately had none of those issues.


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## speed51133! (Aug 5, 2002)

I had MUTIPLE trips to the dealer for weeks. The lane assist pulled hard to the left. They re-calibrated cameras, and did an alignment. Same issue They ended up changing the rack and re-calibrating, it is needed after any alignment adjustment and takes 6 hours. Well, same issue. They said the camera calibration was very new and the tech that did it was new and not familiar with it. I guess he made an adjustment to the rack in the wrong sequence and that renders the rack broken. VW corporate authorized another rack, another alignment, and another calibration. They also got a local tech who had done these before to come in. It is/was a common issue. This dealer had just not seen it yet.

I also had a new clock spring put in as the steering wheel clicked when turning. The new spring took care of 85% of it IMO. The dealer told me the small click left-over is normal. I have had MANY cars, from a $15k Jetta in 98, to 60k Benz, and everything in-between. None of them ever made a click. I just accepted it and moved on. Other than that, the infotainment sometimes totally freezes up. Turning it off and on does nothing. Re-starting the car does nothing. You have to shut it off, exit the car, and wait a few minutes for it to really reset. An infotainment software update did help, but it still happens, albeit rarely. 

My car is a 2019. I am OK with it now, but I don't think I would have gotten it had I known about this. If I experienced the warped engine (the common issue is the engine deck, not head) and needed a new one as that is often the fix, I would get rid of it asap. There is a level of precision and quality when the car is assembled on the line. Some mechanic with unknown experience, care, mood, etc. is a wild card. I don't think you ever get the same level of quality when it comes to torque specs, care of plastic components, aligning pieces back together, scratches, etc.


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## mtbsteve (Dec 6, 2011)

speed51133! said:


> My car is a 2019. I am OK with it now, but I don't think I would have gotten it had I known about this. If I experienced the warped engine (the common issue is the engine deck, not head) and needed a new one as that is often the fix, I would get rid of it asap. There is a level of precision and quality when the car is assembled on the line. Some mechanic with unknown experience, care, mood, etc. is a wild card. I don't think you ever get the same level of quality when it comes to torque specs, care of plastic components, aligning pieces back together, scratches, etc.


Agreed. If I had the engine issue it would be fixed under warranty then traded in. Had to do it with a 2010 Equinox 4cyl that was otherwise fine for the first 30k miles/3 years+. The first year for that engine had many documented issues with oil consumption. I had it addressed after many dealer visits, the repair took over a week and failed shortly after, ended up eating the balance shaft bearing, and ended up with a new engine. Already planned on trading it in and after driving it upon pick up noticed the lack of smoothness with the engine/transmission, traded in with less than 300 miles on the new engine and moved on from the problem.


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## shadytheatlas (Jul 5, 2018)

I hear what y’all are saying about trading after major repair. I was pretty upset over my head / gasket replacement. One thing that kept me
from trading is that I still had 3 years left on my bumper to bumper warranty (6 years total on 2018). I seriously considered a Q7 at the time. I would have taken a huge hit on trade in so I decided to hang onto it unless there is another major repair.

My friends experiences where the dealership kept their cars for months, got tired of dealing with the dealership and with VW Care, so they took the loss and traded. I can’t blame them. Their dealership experiences were pretty bad and they just soured on the brand.


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## Mustang Matt (Mar 26, 2019)

What were the signs of the head gasket failing? When I park I smell coolant. I had the low coolant light come on once but it hasn't come on since.


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## shadytheatlas (Jul 5, 2018)

@Mustang Matt I would say that the coolant smell is the smell of VW. A lot of people would argue with me about that, but my Atlas and my Audi have that smell, both with no visible leaks. I attribute the smell to the windshield washer fluid, if you use windshield washer from VW it smells like coolant.

Regarding the head bolt torque issue. I lost coolant regularly until 17k miles. The dealership continued to top it off and pressure test it over multiple visits. It wasn’t until they pressure tested it and placed a boroscope in the cylinders that they diagnosed the issue. Loss of coolant with no other explanation, like water pump, is the first symptom. Then seeing coolant leaking into the cylinder is a dead giveaway.

This guy has a couple of blog posts about replacing the head on 2018 and 2019s. Great information.



https://www.springfieldvw.com/topics/2018-atlas-head-gasket-3-6l/


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## speed51133! (Aug 5, 2002)

Its not just a head gasket failure. VW wouldn't be swapping engines if all it needed was new gaskets and retorquing the bolts. It's a warping issue, and it is not THAT uncommon.


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## shadytheatlas (Jul 5, 2018)

My understanding is if the coolant leaks too long into the engine it will cause rust to form inside the block. If that happens VW replaces the engine. At least that is what I was told by the master mechanic at the dealership that did the head work on mine. In 2020 he had done around 20 of these if I am remembering correctly. I need to find my parts list but I’m pretty sure the whole head was replaced.


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## speed51133! (Aug 5, 2002)

there is oil in there. unlikely it will rust with oil.


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## shadytheatlas (Jul 5, 2018)

I was told that by the mechanic at my local VW. I assume he knows what he is talking about.

This link talks about the effects of water in the oil also.









Blown Head Gasket Symptoms and Causes | Blue Devil Products


Wondering if your head gasket is blown? We'll walk you through everything you need to know about head gaskets in general and the signs of a blown head gasket.




gobdp.com





“Having water in your oil will make your oil ineffective in properly lubricating your motor which will quickly allow wear on your cylinder walls and on the crank and camshaft bearings. Even if you don’t drive the vehicle, the presence of water in the oil can cause rust on machined surfaces which can lead to pitting in the metal and necessitate and engine rebuild.”


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## Hohlraum (Aug 19, 2018)

Mustang Matt said:


> What were the signs of the head gasket failing? When I park I smell coolant. I had the low coolant light come on once but it hasn't come on since.


I had that issue and they ended up replacing my water pump. It was a really slow leak that eventually got bad enough that I had to put coolant in the reservoir once a week. Still stinks like coolant after parking though. I'll be getting rid of the car close to when the warranty expires for sure.


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## fourthchirpin (Nov 19, 2004)

shadytheatlas said:


> My understanding is if the coolant leaks too long into the engine it will cause rust to form inside the block. If that happens VW replaces the engine. At least that is what I was told by the master mechanic at the dealership that did the head work on mine. In 2020 he had done around 20 of these if I am remembering correctly. I need to find my parts list but I’m pretty sure the whole head was replaced.



Do they know where the coolant is getting in by? I know those newer 3.6's have an added coolant port going into the head near the tensioner this may be the source.... 🤔


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## shadytheatlas (Jul 5, 2018)

@fourthchirpin the head bolts are not torqued properly and the coolant is seeping through the head gasket, usually around cylinders 2, 4, and 6.


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

shadytheatlas said:


> @fourthchirpin the head bolts are not torqued properly and the coolant is seeping through the head gasket, usually around cylinders 2, 4, and 6.


Do you or anyone else know, for the engines affected with this issue, if the coolant is known to leak into oil passages? I've read multiple reports that the coolant leaks into the cylinders, but I'm wondering about the oil. Reason I ask is that an oil analysis could reveal the issue if coolant does end up on the oil. I've done three different Blackstone reports on my Atlas and all returned zero traces of coolant in the oil, which I found reassuring.


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## shadytheatlas (Jul 5, 2018)

@mhjett the mechanic that replaced the head on mine told me if there is rust in the block they replace the engine. Based on that I would assume the coolant reaches the oil in some vehicles. He said he had seen a couple that had rust in the block.


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## fourthchirpin (Nov 19, 2004)

shadytheatlas said:


> @fourthchirpin the head bolts are not torqued properly and the coolant is seeping through the head gasket, usually around cylinders 2, 4, and 6.


does this effect only 2018-2019 engines? does anyone have connections to the dealer that can verify if this has been fixed issue. and solutions.


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## shadytheatlas (Jul 5, 2018)

Supposedly the issue affected some 2018s and some early 2019s.


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## Mozey357 (1 mo ago)

Had head gasket replaced in Feb 22 after really slow coolant leak In our 2018 SEL R line. Continued to lose coolant and brought it to the dealer in September, said they pressure tested it and it was all good And filled coolant way past the fill line. Just brought back to the dealer today Dec 9th with pictures of the reservoir through the months since the head gasket, said they found coolant in cylinder and said that the block was warped, and that I will need to have the engine replaced. Now I need to wait until they have a rental car which is about 4-5 weeks out before I can bring my car back, they are estimating that they will have my car in the shop for a month. guess I’ll see how it runs after the engine replacement before making any decisions.


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