2018 Volkswagen Atlas electrical system problems
111 complaints about electrical system have been filed for the 2018 Volkswagen Atlas, which is 16% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the most reported problem area for this model year.
At a glance
- Complaints
- 111 16% of this year's complaints
- Typical mileage
- 19,000 miles 66 complaints with mileage
- Crashes and fires
- 1 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 0 and 0
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
When electrical system problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 34 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 22 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 6 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 0 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 3 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 66 electrical system complaints that report mileage, the median is about 19,000 miles, and 94% were reported before 60,000 miles.
These complaints mention 1 crash.
What owners wrote
EPC light Tire light My cold air doesn't work, cruise control, heating on driver side mirror. Not sure what else. I made my first car payment in June 2026. Looks like I got a lemon vehicle.
While sitting at a red light for about a minute the car turns off due to the cars on/off feature. When the light turned green the car would not start back up. I had to put the atlas in park and rest set to turn it on. It will not turn back on until after a few tries. This has happened to me about 5 different times now. I now drive with that feature turned off until VW can fix this glitch. Very unsafe while sitting traffic and car is stalled in the middle of the road.
Other problems reported for the 2018 Volkswagen Atlas
- Engine 103 complaints
- Air bags 100 complaints
- Brakes 75 complaints
- Forward collision avoidance 36 complaints
- Fuel system 35 complaints
- Steering 26 complaints
- Seats 17 complaints
- Drivetrain & axles 16 complaints