2021 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport Fuel System Problems

The Car has Stalled at Stoplights 3 different times. There was a message on the dashboard that told me to "manually restart the engine". I put the car in park and restarted the engine. Note: I don't use the "Eco Stop Start" mode. I'm not sure what caused this problem but in reviewing some forums it may be an N80 Valve and/or a Carbon Canister. Yes, the vehicle is available for inspection. Obviously, a stalled car could be a safety risk for the driver and others. I will be taking it to a dealer but they seemed to think it may be the battery. I don't think so, because the car started immediately once I pressed the Start Button. No Warning Signs or messages prior to Stall. Message to Manually restart after Stall.

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. The contact stated that while attempting to refuel the vehicle, the fuel door failed to open. The contact physically broke open the fuel door to refuel the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not contacted regarding the failure. The failure mileage was 47,000.

I purchased my 2021 VM Atlas Cross Sport, new with zero miles back in late August 2021. On, Saturday, February 12th, I noticed that my Remote Start stopped working and took it in for service on Tuesday, February 15th, to the VW of Orland Park, IL. The service technician informed me that the fuel pump is bad and needs to be replaced. He went on to say that the replacement part is on back order, about 3 weeks, but that I can pick up the vehicle and continue to drive it while we wait for the replacement part. This is very concerning and unsettling for me given the amount of time it will take to get the replacement part and the fact that no one can predict when and where a fuel pump will stop pumping fuel to the vehicle. Clearly VW does not share my same concern and in my opinion this is very much a safety issue that needs to be reported.

Within my vehicle, fuel injectors are leaking fuel near engine compartment components that operate at high temperatures. A fuel leak, fuel odor and multiple illuminated malfunction indicator light (MIL) alerted me to the condition described above. Additionally, fuel was spewing from the engine component. All of the above incidents occurred on 2 separate occasions with new vehicle (2.5 months old) with 2300 miles on it, and vehicle is currently inoperable due to the above. This is the 2nd time the vehicle has been checked in for service to repair this issue, with the Service Department initially returning the vehicle to me claiming the issue was fixed. Within 24 hours of receiving vehicle in possession, vehicle had to be towed to Dealership due to strong fuel odor, fuel leak, illuminated MIL alerts, and because the vehicle would no longer start. Fuel leaking in the engine compartment has a higher potential risk of fire as the components are operating at higher temperatures compared to other areas of the vehicle. My safety and the safety of others were put at risk due to the risk of fire occurring, and because the vehicle stopped operating normally without any warning (MIL alert) that the issue was occurring while driving on a busy street. The illuminated malfunction indicator light (MIL) alerts did not proactively identify this problem prior to it occurring. MIL's occurred after the problem almost caused multiple accidents. The problem has been confirmed by the dealer's Service Department, and they are awaiting parts to try and fix the issue for a 2nd time. There is currently a preliminary evaluation open by the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) for safety-related-issues of fuel leaks for 2018-2020 Volkswagen Atlas. Investigation: PE 21-008, opened on 03/29/2021. Specific ODI report identification numbers: 11382958, 11218819, 11218780. Issues experienced on 2021 Volkswagen Atlas mirror prior identified ODI reports referenced above.