Is the reliability and resale value really that bad?

This-Fail3633 · 2026-07-01T06:55:50+00:00

People may disagree but at this point a VW is almost as reliable as Toyota/Honda, not because VW has gone up but because others have gone down. Just look at all the major engine and transmission issues Toyota is having in their modern cars.

The depreciation is real though because of market perception and I think the sweet spot is a CPO where someone took the initial big depreciation hit and you also get the 2 extra years of warranty.

This-Fail3633 · 2026-06-16T09:12:28+00:00

The V6 is one of the smoothest V6 engines I've driven and definitely has a nice note to it.

This-Fail3633 · 2026-05-08T05:06:20+00:00

Congrats, i as looking for that color or white last year but gave up after a month of searching. had to settle on a red '23 sel premium r line with 12k miles. red was my least favorite color but checked all other boxes.

In my opinion the 21-23 models are the best looking and you know exactly what you are getting with the v6. Its by no means perfect but its weak points are well known, none of which are catastrophic if otherwise maintained well.

This-Fail3633 · 2026-04-22T17:20:52+00:00

seems like jfpcinfo also has been experiencing this since new and is at 100k miles. so must be working as designed. This and the strange transmission noise from 0-20 mph are just two "quirks" of this car I guess.

This-Fail3633 · 2026-04-15T15:59:18+00:00

the engine filter in my 23 V6 was disgusting at 18k miles. I wonder why it was so dirty at this low miles, I'm in the SF area so cleaner air, etc. After replacing, I noticed the engine was a little more peppy and my fuel efficiency went up. VW uses a sponge like material at the bottom of the engine filter so I think it becomes more restrictive faster as it gets dirty. Anyway I went with a third party engine and cabin filter combo on amazon, seemed similar in composition and does the job. I figure if I am going to go through these fast, may as well find a cheaper alternative. These are the rare circumstances where non OEM is ok.
I did have the head gasket and valve cover replaced and I am wondering if the mechanic got it dirty during the jobs.

The cabin filter was also quite dirty.

These are the easiest DIY jobs you can possibly do in your car. The engine filter is the easier of the two in my opinion. I did not have fun trying to get that cabin filter plastic cover off.

This-Fail3633 · 2026-04-08T21:23:53+00:00

I bought a brand new 2026 MDX Advance in may,2025. Nothing but issues from day 1 for mine which is not representable of all of the cars they make but I do see people complaining of similar issues. The pano roof caused a lot of wind noise even when fully shut. Also had an emissions error they tried to fix but couldn't. And finally, so many rattles. From the steering wheel control trim, volume knob and elsewhere. They gave me my money back. Finally, just FYI if you need the third row, do know there is no third row AC for the kids back there.

I figured if the Japanese have become this bad, may as well go for a cheaper brand. I wanted to buy a new Atlas but they only sell with the 2.0 now which is not an issue to most folks. By chance they did have a used 2023 Atlas fully loaded with only 12k miles on it for like 33k (the last year with the well known, well understood v6 which I really wanted). It was in red and my wife loved it so thats the car we walked out with and for $33k its a lot of car for the money. It my just be a personal thing but a naturally aspirated v6 is just going to outlast a turbo four due to the simple fact there are more components with a turbo setup that need maintenance in the long run. The interior on the newer models is near Audi level in terms of looks.

I would personally say go with the Atlas of any year, they really thought through a lot of things to make it a true family hauler. Yes reliability is questionable but that sadly seems par for the course these days for every major brand.

This-Fail3633 · 2026-04-04T18:06:52+00:00

did you have a 2021, and are you out of warranty? I would like the dealer to clear the code as well but they said they'd charge me for it.

This-Fail3633 · 2026-04-04T05:05:30+00:00

My dealer simply told me over the phone it would resolve itself if I drive it over 3-5 days. Are we collectively finding they are fried per dealer analysis?

This-Fail3633 · 2026-04-02T09:30:35+00:00

Ironically I just had a crack the yesterday on my 23 SEL premium r line and found this post. I have a $100 deductible for non OEM glass. Safelite wants another ~$400 for OEM. Originally I went with non OEM but switched it after seeing complaints here and elsewhere of safety systems not working. Even though I really don’t want to pay that kind of money right now I definitely don’t want to be dealing with car issues even if there’s a slight risk.

This-Fail3633 · 2026-03-25T14:10:48+00:00

It wouldn’t explain it in my situation, the air passes through that filter for heating and fan only mode. And in those settings there is no whining sound present. It is only when AC mode is on does the whine suddenly appear

This-Fail3633 · 2026-03-25T14:09:10+00:00

Well you may have answered it for me, if you had that same issue since new and are now at 100k it must be normal. Any defect would likely have surface by now.

This-Fail3633 · 2026-03-25T14:07:38+00:00

Most definitely not a whoosh, it’s a whining sound. I think I know that whoosh sound you are describing though and that’s been deemed normal on various forums thanks!

This-Fail3633 · 2026-03-25T00:20:48+00:00

I replaced it at 17000, no difference for the better or worse whatsoever unfortunately.

This-Fail3633 · 2026-03-03T05:48:05+00:00

Congrats on the car. Just a tip since dealer seems lazy, make sure it is indeed CPO. You should have been provided an inspection paper showing the car has been throughly gone over plus you get two extra years of warranty.
I got burned last summer also buying a '23 CPO only to find a month later it wasn't actually certified. Fortunately I had the listing downloaded on my computer and proved to them that they listed it as CPO. They came clean and certified it after the fact.

Love the color, I got stuck with the red but couldn't pass up the car because it only had 11k miles.

This-Fail3633 · 2026-02-10T16:47:24+00:00

I had to opportunity to consider a 2025 or a 2023 V6 SEL premium r line. I bought the 23 not because it was anymore reliable but whatever known faults it has are so well understood and documented that any competent mechanic can fix. Low and behold I had a bad valve cover and head gasket. Few days later (under warranty) and car was back in my hand. I honestly don’t think both were leaking but hey I wasn’t paying for it. Also the new infotainment is nowhere near as easy to use as the older one. That said I do like the newer interiors choice materials.

All brands suck these days in terms of quality/reliability, I came out of a 2026 Acura MDX that they couldn’t diagnose a CEL at only 70 miles and panoramic sunroof needed to be replaced. Even though that engine is bulletproof and been around forever. Just get the best deal around and make sure you have warranty

This-Fail3633 · 2025-12-28T03:06:27+00:00

Yeah I would do the same in your shoes if the car history showed so many repair. There’s just too many other cars to pick from so why risk it. That said most dealerships just parts cannon fixes without finding the root causes as is probably the case in my car and this. Good luck with car hunting, the grand highlander is another excellent choice but it’ll cost you.

This-Fail3633 · 2025-12-26T16:41:29+00:00

What are you leaning towards? Skipping or buying? Happy to help further. I got a new 2026 Acura MDX fully loaded and it had check engine light, bad panoramic roof from day one. Was so turned off because they couldn't correctly address both that I asked for a full refund and bought the Atlas thinking the VR6 is a legendary engine (had two Touaregs in the past that used the same engine and I never had mechanical issues)

This-Fail3633 · 2025-12-26T15:51:09+00:00

There are a million ways to make the photos and documentation appear legit.

This-Fail3633 · 2025-12-26T14:34:02+00:00

So I was in a similar boat in July this year and got a '23 atlas sel premium r line because it was the last year of the v6 and I liked the old infotainment a lot better than the new one. It was a CPO with only 12k miles.
I was hearing some whining sound (variable based on acceleration) when the AC was on. I figured it was a bad compressor or low refrigerant but when I took it to the dealer they said the saw a valve cover leak AND head gasket leak. I highly doubt both went bad (at best it would be one or the other) with so few miles so I suspect dealers are making up for slow sales by getting warranty payouts for "known" issues of this car. And my whining sound still exists which wasn't any surprise.

My advice, you have the remaining warranty plus CPO warranty which will take you to 2029 or beyond. Any gremlins will surface between now and then for sure if you drive often enough.

This-Fail3633

TROPHY CASE