2019 Volkswagen Atlas Brakes Problems

Multiple occurrences where forward collision warning goes off with no vehicles Incident 1. 5/15/2026 Road: Highway I-94 Weather: Clear and sunny Condition: Cruise control on, light traffic, nearest vehicle at least 4 cars in front, 2 vehicles behind and to the right (fast lane), driving in the middle left lane. Forward collision warning went off and took cruise control off. No vehicles stopping in front of me. Incident 2. 6/3/2026 Road: Urban side streets Weather: Clear and sunny Condition: Coasting towards a roundabout approximately 200' from the intersection, no vehicle in front, no vehicle behind, no animals, people or objects on the road. Forward Collision Warning went off under no threat of collsion. Incident 3: 6/14/2026 Road: 2 lane urban road. Weather: Dusk, clear, no rain, Condition: paved road, no animals, no vehicle in front, vehicle behind, approaching an intersection, coasting (light was yellow) towards intersection. , evening dusk, clear no rain, no precipitate, clear roads. Fwd. Collision warning went off, going straight.

NHTSA ID

11744272

Incident

Jun 14, 2026

We purchased a 2019 Atlas in 2020 and recently had to take it to the dealership in [XXX] multiple times with no answers as to why the steering is shaking and the car vibrating at speeds over 50 mph. Apparently according to this complaint link, [XXX] it is very common and consumers have had the same poor response from their dealerships to fix this safety concern. I got a quite (PARTS ONLY) for $1181.85 and feel there is no way we are responsible for this cost to resolve an Atlas safety issue after expressing concern over and over and over again. File attached for your review. We have an impeccable driving record, have not had any accidents and take pride in our vehicle ownership. However, this experience over the past 8 months has been nothing but a nuisance and we are highly concerned for the safety of our family while driving the 2019 Atlas. Please review and contact us to resolve this matter at your earliest convenience. Thank you, [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11736101

Incident

Sep 2, 2025

Component Failed: ABS Braking System / Wiring Harness. Safety Risk: While driving at highway speeds with my service animal, the vehicle suffered a catastrophic ABS failure. The brakes became unresponsive, and the dashboard displayed multiple critical safety warnings, nearly resulting in a collision. Confirmation: The failure was confirmed by Schumacher VW (West Palm Beach) during a forensic inspection. They identified the cause as a corroded/damaged wiring harness—the exact defect visible in a diagnostic video from Jim Ellis VW one week prior. Warning Symptoms: "Front Assist" and sensor warning lamps appeared on [XXX]. I paid Jim Ellis VW for a diagnostic; however, they failed to repair the visible defect and later falsely denied to the BBB that the diagnostic ever occurred. Summary: This vehicle (VIN: [XXX] ) has a documented safety defect that was identified by a technician but concealed by dealership management. This concealment led to a total loss of braking assist while the vehicle was in motion. The vehicle is currently available for inspection at Schumacher VW. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11723430

Incident

Feb 3, 2026

I am reporting a critical safety failure of the ABS wiring harness following service at Jim Ellis Volkswagen. I originally brought the vehicle in for a "Front Assist" safety light diagnostic. Immediately following the service, the ABS wiring harness failed, disabling my braking safety systems. The dealership is currently withholding the diagnostic report and technician notes that would confirm the state of the wiring harness during their inspection. This failure has rendered the vehicle undriveable and creates a severe safety risk to the driver and public.

NHTSA ID

11721018

Incident

Jan 29, 2026

Brake booster faulty, alert continuously came on and off while driving at different speeds created drastic changes in cars braking ability that were potentially hazardous if driver did not pull over.

NHTSA ID

11671833

Incident

Jul 7, 2025

Driving at constant speed on highway, vehicle either loses acceleration and / or applies brake for short moment. Tapping the accelerator appears allow the vehicle to resume to initial intended speed. Automatic braking, not intended by the driver is a safety risk for both this and adjacent drivers. The problem has been reproduced by a dealer service center. No other agencies have inspected the vehicle's problem. No warning lamps, messages or other symptoms evident. Dealer has had the vehicle to two weeks and has not provided a viable resolution.

NHTSA ID

11653333

Incident

Mar 24, 2025

While approaching an intersection at about 20 mph, vehicle suddenly applied the front collision braking and almost caused an accident from the vehicle behind me. There were no vehicles in front of me or any other obstacles. Other 2019 models have been recalled with he same issue for a harness wiring or software update. This is dangerous and risks my family's life.

NHTSA ID

11616934

Incident

Sep 27, 2024

The ABS or AES malfunctioned while driving. The brakes were automatically applied, without warning, with a medium amount of traffic and vehicles behind me. This poses a significant safety issue to myself and others when the brakes get applied without warning. A vehicle behind me had to swerve to avoid rear-ending me and others had to go around me on an onramp to the highway. I am taking my vehicle to Volkswagen of Waco today to have this issue looked at. I am also looking into a dashcam to see if I can get the issue on camera in case the dealership isn't able to duplicate the issue. This issue has occurred other times, this has not been an isolated incident. I do get a faulty brake booster light while the vehicle is braking so there is no warning before it happens, just me flying into my steering wheel.

NHTSA ID

11584394

Incident

Apr 22, 2024

While driving approx 20MPH while turning a corner in a neighborhood, the FAULT BRAKE BOOSTER warning went off and braked my vehicle. The car continued to flash this warning and the brakes were not easily depressed (felt somewhat like when ABS happens in icy roads). This happened multiple times until I could get home.Took the vehicle to VW dealer and they replaced a sensor. 3 weeks later the same warning and braking situation happened while in a parking lot. Returned to dealer and still being evaluated. Online, this is a recall for 2019 Atlas' but not for my VIN. Concerned this should be included in a recall. Worried for my safety as this has happened multiple times including after repair and causes the car brakes to go automatically and unexpectedly.

NHTSA ID

11574246

Incident

Jan 27, 2024

Electronic Brake keeps activating on its own. Passenger airbag warning light goes off when no one is in the seat.

NHTSA ID

11568933

Incident

Jan 30, 2024

I was driving on the freeway on 10/13/2023, it was raining and I was startled by an alarm and a flashing warning on my dash stating brake booster failure, the abs light went on and I was concerned because I recently had by brakes done at the Volkswagen dealership in Brooklyn Center Minnesota on 10/4/2023. I was afraid of not being able to brake and I pulled over and put my car in park and I received a park assist failure warning on my dash as well as the park assist light turned on by the shifter. I shut my car off and called Volkswagen in Brooklyn Center. I was assured that my brakes wouldn’t stop working and the service tech was unaware why the red light near my shifter for the park assist would turn on by itself. The dealership was about to close and I was told that I could maybe be squeezed in on that following Monday and eventually was scheduled. I restarted my car and received another error for the electronic stabilization control. I called back the dealership and was able to catch the tech before he left and I was concerned about driving it. I was told, you are basically driving a 1985 Volkswagen, be aware you don’t have the safety features. My car was reviewed on 10/24/2023, I was provided with a rental car and was told the problem was the abs electronic braking module that this is known to go out at my mileage. I do see that others have had this issue and there was a recall, but I was told my VIN number was not included. Prior to this I did report driving in a mall parking lot and I had an alarm go off for a collision warning and my car suddenly braked on it’s own and no vehicle was around me. I have also been in slow traffic and periodically had the collision warning go off and the vehicle was a good distance in front of me. I was told that that can happen with the sensors. I’ve also been driving in the winter and I’ve gotten the warning look that it’s safe to move alarm alot when I’m stopped in traffic, I’m guessing that it’s due to ice near the sensor.

NHTSA ID

11551964

Incident

Oct 13, 2023

At random times, at random speeds, my instrument lights will illuminate with a beep and display the brake light. Sometimes just the brake icon, sometimes the brake and ABS, and sometimes both along with the engine light. At the same time my vehicle will violently brake on its own. When I depress the brake pedal to gain control the pedal is "jerky", rigid, and difficult to push in. Sometimes this lasts for a moment, sometimes longer. This is very dangerous and seems to occur more frequently. A 'Brake Booster Faulty' message appears on the dash.then dissappears

NHTSA ID

11545838

Incident

Sep 21, 2023

Start/stop error lightafter already replaced by dealership Brake booster faulty EPC light comes on-off randomly

NHTSA ID

11543920

Incident

Jul 1, 2023

The vehicle will make a loud alarm and the dash will display "Brakes Booster Faulty". The vehicle then will brake itself regardless of where you are and brake pedal will not work properly. This could cause you to get rear-ended as the vehicle will simply stop!

NHTSA ID

11541950

Incident

Aug 12, 2023

I have had the same issue with this car since I’ve bought it when. The issue is that often my dash beeps and says faulty break booster and then my breaks lock up and become spongy and the vehicle has issues breaking. Very scary and very dangerous. Then the “break” warning indicator light illuminates and the vehicle eventually resets itself and goes back to normal functioning. My vehicle has been at the dealer at least four times during the warranty period for this exact same problem. It has also been there for a recall for rattling noises, air hissing out of gas tank when gas cap is unscrewed, and air conditioner going out. My car is currently in shop again for FAULTY BREAK BOOSTER. Others are having this same problem all over the internet. I want VW to honor me a manufacture buyback which I have already initiated the process for as my car meets the Louisiana Lemon Law Criteria’s. I want VW to fix these problems on this model for future consumers as well. I have submitted all of my supporting documents to VWGOA

NHTSA ID

11533875

Incident

Oct 14, 2020

When starting the vehicle, the warning system will flash and display several errors, mainly "parking brake failure" and the light on the parking brake control will flash.Parking brake will disengage after several attempts and warning will go away. Problem started about 1 month ago and is becoming more persistant.

NHTSA ID

11529088

Incident

Jun 4, 2023

While driving on the highway, a warning flashed on the dashboard- FAULTY BRAKE BOOSTER. The pressure of the brake pedal was significantly diminished and was accompanied by a clicking sound. The red brake warning light illuminated. After 5 minutes, proper brake functioning was restored. Within a period of 20 minutes, the above sequence of events was repeated 3 times. After stopping and parking, the warning light went out. Upon start up later in the day, the same Faulty Brake Booster warning sounded and the brakes again were spongy and choppy. The following day, when driving to the VW dealership, the same message flashed on the dash multiple times and brake functioning was impaired.

NHTSA ID

11528948

Incident

Jun 23, 2023

Suddenly Warning lights illuminate- Brake Booster Faulty, Start Error, ABS. Brakes then feel spongy, jerky hard to slow down and stop safely. Vehicle then needs to be towed to dealership for repair - vacum sensor C10A301 replaced. This has happened three times 4/22/21, 8/5/21 and 6/7/23. Dealership claims to need the part for refund from VW for warranty repair. This is a dangerous situation and needs to be remedied, especially as this is a family car.

NHTSA ID

11526124

Incident

Jun 7, 2023

At random time, during slower speeds, many vehicle would “jerk” mad produce a Brake Booster Faulty warning and the brake light would illuminate on the console. The brakes would then become “spongy” and difficult to operate. The light would stay in, or turn off after a while and driving would resume as normal. Difficult to replicate but scary how random it is.

NHTSA ID

11523420

Incident

May 23, 2023

ABS and Brake warning light come on dash making the break pedal click, causing the car to break abruptly or lock. Usually happens while at a complete stope or if driving below 30 to 20 miles an hour.

NHTSA ID

11523130

Incident

May 18, 2023

Vehicle emergency break activates, unable to release, or when teleased after multiple attempts the light continues flashing on the break button and warning alert on the dasboard. The first time it happened i arrived to destination and parked, when parked as i am waiting it activated when the door was opened. It has not been inspeacted yet, it fist started about 1 week ago. Its unpredictable when it will happen.

NHTSA ID

11520666

Incident

Apr 30, 2023

I was driving on the highway around 60 mph. Without warning, my car's brakes fully engaged. There was no car or object ahead of me. A warning light that had the words "Brake Booster" was displayed but I couldn't make out what else it said as I was trying to regain control of the vehicle. Thankfully, there was no one behind me otherwise this could very well have resulted in a high-speed accident. The car went from 60 mph to around 20 mph. I pulled off the side of the road as quickly as possible.

NHTSA ID

11520325

Incident

May 3, 2023

Warning light indicated BRAKE BOOSTER FAULTY, brake light came on and brakes felt different pressing down.

NHTSA ID

11515807

Incident

Apr 6, 2023

My vehicle has completely just shut down atleast five times since owing it. I have a special needs son who is in the vehicle with me all the time. The vehicle engine will shut down with no warning and not restart. Traffic behind me not aware that my vehicle has shut down after the light has turned green. It has shut down at various times in the middle of traffic. I’m fearful for myself and child that an accident is just a matter of time. I read complaints from others who state they have experienced the same problem. I’m concerned for the SAFETY of others and me and my son. No warning is given before it just dies. I don’t feel safe in this vehicle. This vehicle needs to be FIXED immediately. My vehicle has approximately 38,000 miles on it currently. This occurred either when I have stopped completely at a light, or when trying to start up the vehicle. Respectfully, VAP

NHTSA ID

11507927

Incident

Feb 14, 2023

My vehicle Beeps loudly and says “BRAKE BOOSTER FAULTY”. My brakes become spongy or hard to engage and I usually have to start the car over again. This has become a frequent issue and I’m afraid to drive my vehicle now. I’ve tried to catch a video but I can never get my phone out in time.. I am shocked that this is a common issue and it has yet to be recalled.

NHTSA ID

11506501

Incident

Feb 9, 2023