Problems · by component
2019 Volkswagen Atlas forward collision avoidance problems
73 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas cite forward collision avoidance, 15% of all 484 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
73
15% of all complaints
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the forward collision avoidance
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“I was proceding through an intersection when my car's automatic braking system activated with no warning or reason. I was driving on [XXX] on [XXX] at around [XXX]. I was stopped at a red-light behind another vehicle waiting for the light to change. When the light changed green, I proceded to drive forward through the intersection with about a car distance between the car in front of me. As soon as I cleared the intersection, my car suddenly stopped and made a loud noise while it slid forward. Unsure of what had happened, I looked around and saw nothing in the road or around my car. My car had suddenly jerked as if I hit or ran a large object over. After observing my surroundings for causes of what had just happened, I looked down at my dash and saw the red foward collision warning icon lit up on my dash. I noticed it for a few seconds before the car released and I was able to continue proceding forward. I am not sure of my exact rate of speed, but I am guessing it was around 25mph. In my experience with the car, when the front collision warning system activates, there is an audible and visual warning with both an audible chime and bright red car icon on the…”
“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.”
“There is a yellow triangle on my dash and when the dealer did the troubleshooting they indicated that there is a fault in the system with the transmission shifter and a part is needed to correct the issue. The vehicle is just beyond the warrantee period with 39,000 miles.”
“The sensors will cause the car to automatic brake when nothing is in front of it. It highly dangerous and could potential lead to a accident. this has happend multiple times since I purchased the car sind MArch 2021. I would say it happen at least once a month.”
“I was driving on the SB 55fwy in light stop and go traffic and had my ACC w/ traffic aware system engaged. My car was doing as it normally does, keeping a safe distance to the vehicle in front of me, automatically slowing, stopping and accelerating at a safe speed for the conditions. This feature I had been using on my car since I originally purchased it and paid for these safety features. When traffic was not stopped it was traveling between 15-20mph. All of the sudden my dashboard lit up with error messages, audible warnings, and check engine light, all flashing and beeping at me and before I quickly glanced at the dash to the alarming warnings, I had rear ended the car in front of me. This took me by complete shock as my car had always been overly cautious about applying emergency braking in close situations. This time it did nothing. The error message said Adaptive Cruise Control sensor had failed and along with that it had disabled all of the safety features I had become accustomed to and paid extra for, including, the emergency braking and front end collision warning. This caused almost $14k in damage to my vehicle and more so potentially could have put…”
“While driving 25 mph with no traffic or people around the car came to an extreme sudden stop and without warning. The dashboard lit up red with warning lights and warning alarms sounded followed by complete shutdown of cars systems. No skidding or tire screach - just an instant forceful stop, as if engine cutoff and breaks forcefully seized simultaneously. We were able to restart car and immediately drove to dealership a couple miles away to report an extreme safety concern. Because there was no traffic or people around we feel it has something to do with a sensor and the automatic breaking system. The car was dropped at local dealership (LowCountry Volkswagen - Mount Pleasant SC) for inspection. This was a dramatic event and safety for driver and others was put at risk due to such a forceful stop. We have serious concerns driving vehicle. What would.happen of system failed driving at higher speeds or if traffic was around? Vehicle has been at dealership for 1 day and problem has not been duplicated. Vehicle has not been inspected by manufacturer, police, or insurance but can be made available. Dashboard lit up with red warning lights at time of incident. There…”
Showing 6 of 73 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 31, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.