Showing the 2020 Atlas SEL R-Line. We haven't verified this trim's engine; the numbers below cover every version of this model year. Every version
Owner complaints, recalls, fuel economy and safety ratings from public NHTSA and EPA data, updated Oct 18, 2026.
Fuel economy
19–22 mpgcombined; city 16–20, highway 22–24; every version of this model year
Five years of fuel
$14,760–$17,100U.S. average; Ohio $13,190–$15,280 at local prices; every version of this model year; fuel only, not other costs of owning it; 15,000 miles a year, at EIA fuel prices for the week of Oct 12, 2026
NHTSA's VIN data lists these trims for the 2020 Atlas. A trim's engine and numbers are shown as its own only where EPA names versions after the trim and no other version could be it; "seen with" means a source shows that engine on the trim, not that it was the only one. Recalls and complaints cover the whole model year: whether a recall applies to a car depends on its VIN, on NHTSA's recall lookup.
Owners have filed 27 complaints with NHTSA about the 2020 Atlas. These are unverified owner reports, counted by the part of the car they name; one complaint can name several parts. Counts aren't adjusted for how many were sold, so they don't show how reliable a car is.
Complaints by part of the car
Part
Complaints
Crashes
Fires
Injuries
Electrical system
11
0
0
0
Air bags
8
0
0
0
Forward collision avoidance
7
0
0
0
Steering
5
0
0
0
Unknown or other
5
0
0
0
Service brakes
4
0
0
0
Engine
3
0
0
0
Fuel/propulsion system
2
0
0
0
Power train
2
0
0
0
Lane departure
1
0
0
0
Seats
1
0
0
0
Structure
1
0
0
0
1 more part
Vehicle speed control
1
0
0
0
What the columns count
Complaints: complaints that name that part. One complaint can name several parts, so the rows overlap and don't add up to the total.
Crashes and Fires: complaints that report one. Two owners can file about the same event, and NHTSA doesn't link them, so these count reports, not events.
Injuries: the number of people the complaints say were injured.
None of these columns shows that a part caused a crash, fire or injury: they're what owners reported, unverified.
Complaints by model year
Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, and counts aren't adjusted for sales, so a shorter bar doesn't mean a more reliable year.
NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for the 2020 Atlas over its history. Campaigns are matched by model and year, so each one may apply to a given car, and its repair may already be done: check a VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup for the open recalls on that exact car.
Air bags: sensor
NHTSA campaign 23V215000 · reported Mar 29, 2023 · 143,053 vehicles potentially affected across the whole campaign
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.
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.
Risk: A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
NHTSA campaign 22V815000 · reported Oct 31, 2022 · 296,044 vehicles potentially affected across the whole campaign
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.
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."
Risk: An undetected sudden loss of pressure in all four tires increases the risk of a crash.
NHTSA campaign 22V152000 · reported Mar 28, 2022 · 222,892 vehicles potentially affected across the whole campaign
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.
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.
Risk: A delayed air bag deployment can increase the risk of injury.
NHTSA campaign 22V086000 · reported Feb 16, 2022 · 3,648 vehicles potentially affected across the whole campaign
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.
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."
Risk: Without the reduced GVWR label, the vehicle could be overloaded, leading to a loss of control and increasing the risk of a crash.
Carmakers sent NHTSA 625 service bulletins and notices that cover the 2020 Atlas, the latest on Sep 17, 2026. They tell dealers how to fix known issues.
The parts they mention most: equipment (214), electrical system (138), engine and engine cooling (127), engine (75), unknown or other (54).
NHTSA defect investigations
Opening an investigation isn't a finding of a defect. Outcomes are as NHTSA's summary states them. A recall is shown as an investigation's outcome only where NHTSA's summary names it; other recalls NHTSA's file lists with it are marked as listed, not caused.
The owner's manual gives the oil and how often to change it. We show oil facts only once we've checked them against the manual, and we haven't yet for the 2020 Atlas.
See used 2020 Volkswagen Atlass for sale on: Autotrader · CarMax
These are searches on those sites; we don't copy or check their listings. Your ZIP is used for these links and never kept.
Specs
EPA class: small sport utility vehicle. EPA greenhouse gas score: 3–4 out of 10. Each version EPA tested:
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Version
Engine
Transmission
Fuel
City / hwy / comb
Atlas Front-Wheel Drive
2.0 L, 4 cyl, turbo
Automatic (S8)
Regular Gasoline
20 / 24 / 22
Atlas Front-Wheel Drive
3.6 L, 6 cyl
Automatic (S8)
Regular Gasoline
17 / 23 / 19
Atlas 4motion All-Wheel Drive
3.6 L, 6 cyl
Automatic (S8)
Regular Gasoline
16 / 22 / 19
Sources and dates
U.S. EPA fuel economy data, file of Sep 29, 2026
NHTSA owner complaints, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA recalls, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA manufacturer communications, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA defect investigations, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings, file of Aug 7, 2026
U.S. Energy Information Administration, file of Oct 12, 2026
Fuel cost: EPA mpg with fuel prices for the week of Oct 12, 2026 and electricity prices for Jul 2026. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (Oct 2026). Complaints are unverified reports owners filed with NHTSA. About the data