NHTSA Complaint #11407349 — 2018 VOLKSWAGEN ATLAS

THIS HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES NOW. WHEN DRIVING, ALL EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION LIGHTS COME ON WITHOUT WARNING AND THE CAR APPLIES EMERGENCY BRAKING. THE DRIVER IS UNABLE TO ACCELERATE AND MUST COME TO A STOP IMMEDIATELY OR THE CAR DOES IT FOR THEM. THE ONLY WAY TO THEN DRIVE AGAIN, IS TO PARK IT, TURN THE CAR OFF, AND TURN IT BACK ON. WHEN THAT IS DONE, ALMOST ALL WARNING LIGHTS DISAPPEAR AND THE CAR BEHAVES AS THOUGH NOTHING EVER HAPPENED. THE ONLY ERROR THAT THE VEHICLE SHOWS IS AN ERROR WITH THE START/STOP SYSTEM AND SAYS THAT THE ENGINE IS ON DUE TO SYSTEM FAILURE. IF YOU MANUALLY TURN OFF START/STOP, THEN ALL WARNINGS ARE GONE. USUALLY, WHEN THE CAR IS TURNED OFF AND DRIVEN A SECOND TIME AFTER THAT, NO WARNINGS (NOT EVEN START/STOP) APPEAR. THIS HAS HAPPENED AT 65MPH ON CRUISE CONTROL, AT 10MPH IN A PARKING LOT, AND AT 50MPH. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED, A STORED CODE FOR MULTIPLE PASSIVE MINI FAULTS APPEARED, BUT DEALER COULD NOT RECREATE PROBLEM AND I WAS TOLD TO DRIVE IT AND CALL IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN. 3 MONTHS LATER, IT HAPPENED AGAIN WITH COMPLETELY DIFFERENT VARIABLES IN DRIVING PRIOR TO IT HAPPENING. WHEN BROUGHT IN TO THE DEALER, THE SAME CODE WAS THROWN IN ADDITION TO A CODE ABOUT LOW BATTERY OUTPUT. VW WARRANTY ENGINEERS DETERMINED IT NEEDED A SOFTWARE UPDATE. AFTER SOFTWARE UPDATE WAS PERFORMED, THE NEW CODE OF THE BATTERY OUTPUT LEVEL WENT AWAY. 2 MONTHS LATER, THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN AT A DIFFERENT RATE OF SPEED. NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS EVER ON, NOR IS IT PRESENTLY ON. THERE IS NO WARNING THAT THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN. THE DRIVER HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO STOP THE CAR IMMEDIATELY IN ITS TRACKS AND TURN IT OFF. THE DRIVER IS UNABLE TO DETERMINE A SAFE PLACE TO PULL THE CAR OVER TO UNTIL THEY HAVE TURNED IT OFF AND BACK ON AND VIRTUALLY ALL WARNING LIGHTS HAVE DISAPPEARED.