Verified government source

NHTSA complaint #11545908

This page summarizes an official U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration owner complaint. Use the verification links below to confirm the record directly with NHTSA.

Vehicle

2019 VOLKSWAGEN ATLAS

Manufacturer

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Components

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Dates

Incident: 09/18/2023
Filed: 09/21/2023

Owner complaint summary

This incident has occured on multiple occasions & can be replicated with the "auto stop/start" engine feature active. The vehicle can be inspected. I will describe the last occurrence. I was parallel parking on a slight incline. I pulled forward past the available parking spot before backing in. I came to a complete stop. The parking sensors on the vehicle engaged due to a nearby sign/light pole. The "auto stop/start" engine activated & shut off the engine. I put the car in reverse. The car did not start. I started rolling backward downhill into the parking spot with no power steering. The engine was off. The car had to be put back into park to be restarted. I was finally able to parallel park. A prior incident occured while attempting to attach a boat trailer. I backed up & was misaligned to the trailer coupler. It engaged parking sensors on vehicle. I put vehicle in drive. I sat still for a second which allowed auto stop/start to activate. I let off brake and pressed gas. I rolled backward into trailer. The risk is a crash due to no power steering and no engine power. This could be very dangerous for a new inexperienced driver. This has not been replicated at a dealership. I have just recently figured out why this happened and have not taken the vehicle in. It has been inspected by no one. There are no warning lamps or messages other than the auto start/stop activated message. Normally, the car will start the engine if the vehicle is put in reverse or my foot is coming off the brake pedal. This does not happen if the parking sensors are activated simultaneously. I've had separate issues with the front warning sensors activating at random while driving city and highway speeds. The warning comes on with no obstruction ahead. Luckily, I have the automatic braking turned off. Otherwise, I'm afraid the car would automatically brake at random and I would be rear ended. Dealership has not replicated this issue, but they have been notified by myself of the issue.

This is an owner complaint filed with NHTSA (ODI #11545908). It is not automatically an official recall, investigation outcome, or manufacturer admission unless the complaint text itself describes one.

Official record ID (ODI): 11545908. This page is the human-readable source link used across afterwarranty. The raw JSON link proxies NHTSA's public API for machine verification; prefer this page when reading the complaint.