2023 Volkswagen Atlas Exterior lighting Problems
- Complaints
- 15about this part
- Share
- 11%of 142 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 55,000miles
- Trend
- Too newThis model year is less than 4 years old, so a trend is not meaningful yet.
NHTSA recorded 15 complaints about the exterior lighting of the 2023 Volkswagen Atlas, 11% of the 142 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 55,000 miles.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“I noticed today that my daytime running light strip is out on my driver side headlight I notice it’s a common issue on this year model Atlas. I know the daytime running lot helps people see you when your going down the road.”
NHTSA complaint #11766748, filed 2026-09“Car was returned from VW dealer Friday for door harness replacement. Saturday night around 930pm we were driving on the toll road when the car starts malfunctioning at 75mph. Various warnings flashed and beeped. My husband was trying to keep control and merge over to slower lanes so we could pull over to safety. During this time the speedometer showed we were going zero which we clearly were not, windows started rolling down then the vehicles screens and outside lighting went black. This is at night while trying to get over 3 lanes of traffic safely. We coasted off ramp where car died. …”
NHTSA complaint #11516541, filed 2023-04“The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen Atlas. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH he noticed the headlights were out independently. No warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that headlight assembly needed to replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacture was notified of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 55,000.”
NHTSA complaint #11735493, filed 2026-05, 55,000 miles“The daytime running lights are not working. It is a safety concern by not being seen easily by oncoming drivers. No warnings were given prior to going out. This seems to be a common problem among same vehicle make and model according to forums on the internet. The only way to be repaired is to replace the entire headlamp assembly at a cost of $1500-$2000 which is not feasible.”
NHTSA complaint #11737102, filed 2026-05“Head lights not fully functioning. Day time running lights not providing adequate visibility. There have been many complaints and many owners experiencing this issues routinely around the same amount of miles. There was no indication of the issue in any way shape or form on the dashboard .”
NHTSA complaint #11678375, filed 2025-08Related service bulletins
- 11032219Apr 2, 2026Condition is normal due to cold fresh air and humidity
- 11030845Mar 30, 2026Moisture Accumulation
- 11021373Jul 14, 2025What to do if customer mentions water droplet within tail lights.
- 11011375Nov 27, 2024moisture witin rear tail lamp assembly
- 11005830Jul 15, 2024Phyical condensation within Taillamp cluster is an optical phenomenon and does not affect the function of the taillights.
Exterior lighting: other model years
Other parts of the 2023 Volkswagen Atlas
37 complaintsEngine
37 complaintsOther or unknown
26 complaintsAir bags
22 complaintsFuel system
20 complaintsBrakes
15 complaintsForward collision avoidance
9 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
8 complaintsBack-over prevention (rear camera)
5 complaintsLane departure
3 complaintsSteering
3 complaintsEngine cooling
2 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2023 Volkswagen Atlas
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology