2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport recalls

11 safety recalls, 108 owner complaints and a 5-star NHTSA crash rating. Official NHTSA data.

20252024202320222020
11Recalls
108Complaints
4Crashes & fires reported
5/5NHTSA overall rating

Not every 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport is affected by every recall. Check your VIN to see open recalls on your exact vehicle.

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2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport recall list

Air Bags recall

24V-464
June 20, 2024 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Problem
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Atlas and 2020-2024 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The passenger occupant detection system (PODS) may experience a fault in the wiring and deactivate the front passenger air bag when the seat is occupied.
Safety risk
A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the PODS sensor mat and wiring harness, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 30, 2024. Owner notification letters will be mailed in phases, on October 18, 2024, December 10, 2024, December 20, 2024, and January 17, 2025. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69PZ.

Air Bags recall

23V-215
March 30, 2023 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Problem
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Atlas and 2020 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The passenger occupant detection system (PODS) may experience a fault in the wiring and deactivate the front passenger air bag when the seat is occupied.
Safety risk
A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the PODS sensor mat and wiring harness, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 22, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69FB.

Tires recall

22V-815
October 31, 2022 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Problem
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan LWB, Golf Sportswagen A7, Golf Alltrack, Golf R GP, Audi Q3, Audi A3 Cabriolet, 2019-2020 Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas, Golf A7, Audi A3, 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport, and 2021 Atlas FL vehicles. The tire pressure monitoring system may not detect an air pressure loss in adequate time when deflating occurs among all four tires simultaneously. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."
Safety risk
An undetected sudden loss of pressure in all four tires increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will update the TPMS software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 18, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi’s customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are (Audi) 45J7, and (VW) 45J6 and 45J8.

Air Bags recall

22V-152
March 28, 2022 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Problem
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Atlas, 2020-2023 Atlas Cross Sport, and 2021-2023 Atlas FL vehicles. The door wiring harness electrical contacts may corrode, disrupting the electrical connection and delaying the deployment of the driver or passenger front side air bag during a side impact crash.
Safety risk
A delayed air bag deployment can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy
Dealers will secure and, as necessary, replace any the front door wiring harnesses showing a fault code, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 20, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 97GF.

Equipment recall

22V-086
February 16, 2022 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Problem
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Atlas and 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles equipped with accessory side steps. The reduced Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) label, reflecting the additional weight of the side steps, was not installed. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Safety risk
Without the reduced GVWR label, the vehicle could be overloaded, leading to a loss of control and increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will install the reduced GVWR label, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 31, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 09D9.

Visibility recall

21V-892
November 17, 2021 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Problem
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas and 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The air conditioning system drain tube could be blocked, causing water to leak inside the vehicle near the air bag control module.
Safety risk
A water leak may damage the air bag control module, causing an inadvertent air bag deployment and increasing the risk of injury or a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will repair the drain tube and replace the air bag control module, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 87H4.

Steering recall

21V-026
January 27, 2021 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Problem
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas and 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The front steering knuckle may fracture in the area of the strut mounting.
Safety risk
A fractured steering knuckle can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, replace one or both steering knuckles, free of charge. The recall began February 16, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 40Q7.

Steering recall

Do not drive20V-712
November 17, 2020 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Problem
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas and 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. One or both steering knuckles may have been damaged during production.
Safety risk
A damaged steering knuckle can fail, causing a loss of steering, thereby increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Volkswagen has notified owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, replace the steering knuckle, free of charge. The recall began November 19, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 40Q6. Note: Owners are advised to DO NOT DRIVE the vehicle until the vehicle has been inspected and repaired if necessary.

Tires recall

20V-702
November 13, 2020 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Problem
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport and 2021 Atlas vehicles equipped with Continental Cross Contact LX Sport tires, size 255/50 R 20 105 T. The tires may have been over cured.
Safety risk
Over cured tires can result in a sidewall break causing a sudden loss of air pressure or the tread separating from the tire. Both conditions increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect DOT date code and mold number on the vehicle's tires to see if they are affected, replacing them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 30, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 44Q5.

Exterior Lighting recall

20V-504
August 26, 2020 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Problem
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2020 Atlas Cross Sports and 2021 Atlas vehicles. The driver's side headlight may have been aimed too low during production. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Safety risk
A headlight aimed incorrectly aimed reduces the driver's visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will adjust the driver's side headlight, free of charge. The recall began September 9, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 94N7.

Seats recall

20V-505
August 26, 2020 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Problem
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen ) is recalling certain 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport, Jetta, Jetta GLI and Tiguan and Audi Q5 and SQ5 and 2021 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. Parts of the front seat frame and backrest adjuster may not have been welded properly.
Safety risk
In the event of a rear-end crash, the backrest adjustment could break, possibly reducing the amount of occupant restraint, thus increasing risk of injury.
Remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front seats, and, as necessary, replace the seatback frames, free of charge. The recall began September 11, 2020. Volkswagen owners may contact their customer service at 1-888-241-2289. Audi owners may contact their customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 72L1, 72K8, and 72K9.

2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport owner complaints

108 complaints filed with NHTSA, including 3 crashes, 1 fire, 1 injury and 0 deaths.

Problems by component

Electrical System33
Unknown or Other24
Air Bags23
Service Brakes18
Forward Collision Avoidance15
Engine9
Steering8
Vehicle Speed Control6
Exterior Lighting5
Power Train4

Recent complaints

October 22, 2026Power Train

The contact owns a 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. The contact stated that while driving, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to respond as intended. The contact became aware of an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle, and the transmission shuddered abnormally. The contact stated that there was an abnormal odor inside the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.

October 17, 2026StructureUnknown or Other

I am reporting a potential safety defect involving the hood-release mechanism on my 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. The interior hood-release lever/latch has failed, preventing me from opening the hood through the normal release mechanism. This creates a safety concern because I cannot access the engine compartment to check essential fluids, inspect mechanical problems, perform necessary maintenance, or address potentially dangerous conditions such as overheating, leaks, or smoke. After researching this issue, I discovered multiple reports and videos from other Volkswagen Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport owners experiencing similar hood-release failures. This suggests the problem may be widesp

September 11, 2026Air Bags

Air Bag error-seat occupant classification module-passenger side occupant detection sensor is defective. Air bag may not deploy upon impact. Confirmed that airbag sensor is defective at dealership. Airbag error first appeared one week ago at 75k miles. VW will not cover cost to repair defective air bag sensor.

September 8, 2026SteeringSuspension

steering went out completly and the SUV shut off in the middle of the street. had to restart car to get it home. SUV shut off in the middle of a turn. Had the SUV checked at dealership and they found a bad steering unit. I had the SUV in 3 times with the complaint and they found nothing until the warranty ran out. Neillo VW checked it in 2020,2021,2023 and say they found nothing,

September 2, 2026Unknown or Other

VW SOS system TCU has gone bad. I see this as a safety issue and VW will not replace under warranty

2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport crash test ratings

VersionOverallFrontalSideRollover
2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport SUV AWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport SUV FWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Driver aids on the tested 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport: electronic stability control standard, forward collision warning no, lane departure warning no. Rollover risk: 15.1%.

2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport recall FAQ

Does the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport have any recalls?

Yes. NHTSA lists 11 safety recalls for the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. The most recent, filed June 20, 2024, concerns the air bags.

What are the most common 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport problems?

Owners have filed 108 complaints with NHTSA. The most reported area is electrical system (33 reports), followed by unknown or other.

Is the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport safe?

The 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport earned up to a 5-star overall safety rating in NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program crash tests.

How do I get a recall fixed on my 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport?

Contact any authorized Volkswagen dealer. Recall repairs are free, even if you are not the original owner or the warranty has expired.