2024 VW Atlas SE W/Tech

[donnyj08]

My wife has wanted a third row for a while.

Our 2016 Tucson 1.6T had a major engine repair at 103k despite 3k OCIs. It was at 140K and the DCT was starting to chatter in 2nd and 4th and it liked about a qt every 1500 miles. It was time to trade it off.

We test drove some vehicles and decided on a 24 VW Atlas. The price was fair and the vehicle drives well. For 24 they all have an Aisin 8 speed and the Gen 4 EA888 engine. The combo works really well together with surprising torque and power considering the vehicles size.

I’m planning to use the Dealer supplied VW/AUDI 508/509 oil which looks to be rebranded Mobil ESP X2 0w20. I will likely be doing 5K miles OCI’s rather than the VW recommended 10k.

I had an early Audi TT which was a decently good and reliable car a couple decades ago so I decided to give VW another try since it’s what my wife really wanted. I know many liked the old VR6, but I’m glad this one has the EA888.

 

[Zee09]

Congratulations

 

[tbm5690]

Nice. Overall I like the refresh...the light bars are growing on me but the illuminated logos not so much. Very easy engine to tune for a few extra ponies too

 

[RooflessVW]

IMO, 5k with 504/507. Can leave the filter for 10k.

 

[skyactiv]

This might not interest you, but it could interest other VW and Audi owners.

It might have rain sensing wipers. If so, it can be programmed to automatically roll the windows up and shut the sunroof when the vehicle is off and it senses rain. You need VCDS to do it.

 

[donnyj08]

The car specifies 87 octane behind the cap and as minimum in the manual. Any reason to run 93 in it? We typically use BP or Sam’s Club for fuel.

 

[donnyj08]

IMO, 5k with 504/507. Can leave the filter for 10k.

I’ll likely stick with the 508/509 while under warranty. May go 504/507 after thats

 

[GMBoy]

The car specifies 87 octane behind the cap and as minimum in the manual. Any reason to run 93 in it? We typically use BP or Sam’s Club for fuel.

Calls for 87 - run 87 absolutely no reason to run higher octane.

 

[GMBoy]

If the dealership oil is rebranded Mobil 1 then why not just buy the Mobil 1 and save money over the stealership price?

 

[donnyj08]

If the dealership oil is rebranded Mobil 1 then why not just buy the Mobil 1 and save money over the stealership price?

First few oil changes are included in the purchase. I actually purchased 2 extra quarts in case needed during break in. They are only $7.89qt at the dealer. About the same as ESP X2 online or at AZ.

 

[KCJeep]

The car specifies 87 octane behind the cap and as minimum in the manual. Any reason to run 93 in it? We typically use BP or Sam’s Club for fuel.

I don’t care what they say to make the cost of ownership look better, a German turbo should get premium. You’ll get more detergents and less fuel dilution.

You are on the right track with 5k OCIs.

 

[donnyj08]

I don’t care what they say to make the cost of ownership look better, a German turbo should get premium. You’ll get more detergents and less fuel dilution.

You are on the right track with 5k OCIs.

That’s what I was thinking… deep in the manual it “recommends” premium for optimal performance, with 87 being the minimum AKI rating that can be used.

269HP 2.0T seems like a fair amount of power on 87 octane, I’m sure the knock sensors are busy when under load.

I know most older EA888s required premium.

 

[donnyj08]

This might not interest you, but it could interest other VW and Audi owners.

It might have rain sensing wipers. If so, it can be programmed to automatically roll the windows up and shut the sunroof when the vehicle is off and it senses rain. You need VCDS to do it.

Awesome, I’ll look into that.

 

[dgunay]

Congrats on your new purchase.

We are very happy with our '24 Atlas, the only gripe I've personally had is the transmission tune. It does not want to downshift to the second gear when you slow down and accelerate from 2-20 miles and keeps it on the third gear for better fuel economy. It skips the second gear and downshifts to the first gear at almost full stop.

It is not a deal breaker as it has a decent amount of low-end torque. I also drove a press vehicle to make sure it's not an issue specific to my car and it was the same, so it's how the TCU is tuned. It's not an issue, but a minor annoyance and I usually downshift manually to the second gear, it hurts to feel the third-gear clutch "slip" until it gets up to speed.

It runs on 87 octane perfectly fine, as long as it's a top-tier gasoline. My GLI also gets 87 until the day I tune it, or unless I'm taking it to a track.

All EA888 gen 3 and 4 runs safely with 87, except the Golf R. VW says 91 is required for those, like this one:

 

[fantastic]

EA888 sound like it would pair well with an Amsoil filter.
I like the appeal of this Atlas.

 

[Zee09]

Congrats on your new purchase.

We are very happy with our '24 Atlas, the only gripe I've personally had is the transmission tune. It does not want to downshift to the second gear when you slow down and accelerate from 2-20 miles and keeps it on the third gear for better fuel economy. It skips the second gear and downshifts to the first gear at almost full stop.

It is not a deal breaker as it has a decent amount of low-end torque. I also drove a press vehicle to make sure it's not an issue specific to my car and it was the same, so it's how the TCU is tuned. It's not an issue, but a minor annoyance and I usually downshift manually to the second gear, it hurts to feel the third-gear clutch "slip" until it gets up to speed.

It runs on 87 octane perfectly fine, as long as it's a top-tier gasoline. My GLI also gets 87 until the day I tune it, or unless I'm taking it to a track.

All EA888 gen 3 and 4 runs safely with 87, except the Golf R. VW says 91 is required for those, like this one:

View attachment 210276

Arteon says 91 min. Too

 

[donnyj08]

Congrats on your new purchase.

We are very happy with our '24 Atlas, the only gripe I've personally had is the transmission tune. It does not want to downshift to the second gear when you slow down and accelerate from 2-20 miles and keeps it on the third gear for better fuel economy. It skips the second gear and downshifts to the first gear at almost full stop.

It is not a deal breaker as it has a decent amount of low-end torque. I also drove a press vehicle to make sure it's not an issue specific to my car and it was the same, so it's how the TCU is tuned. It's not an issue, but a minor annoyance and I usually downshift manually to the second gear, it hurts to feel the third-gear clutch "slip" until it gets up to speed.

It runs on 87 octane perfectly fine, as long as it's a top-tier gasoline. My GLI also gets 87 until the day I tune it, or unless I'm taking it to a track.

All EA888 gen 3 and 4 runs safely with 87, except the Golf R. VW says 91 is required for those, like this one:

View attachment 210276

Thanks for the information. I too have noticed the trans doing that. Glad to hear it’s in the tuning. I wasn’t concerned as it goes away when In sport mode. They are definitely trying to keep it as fuel efficient as possible with the trans logic.

We have very few Top Tier stations near us so I’ll likely run premium most of the time. All our shells became Circle k brand and Casey’s isn’t top tier either. We have 1 marathon but it’s a rat hole. Closest to top Tier we have is probably BP which they say exceeds top tier with invigorate.

It does say in the manual to achieve rated performance in atlas 2.0 to use premium fuel so it should in theory only add to the vehicle performance slightly.

We are still on the dealer first tank which is likely 87 and it does seem perfectly fine.

 

[KCJeep]

Thanks for the information. I too have noticed the trans doing that. Glad to hear it’s in the tuning. I wasn’t concerned as it goes away when In sport mode. They are definitely trying to keep it as fuel efficient as possible with the trans logic.

We have very few Top Tier stations near us so I’ll likely run premium most of the time. All our shells became Circle k brand and Casey’s isn’t top tier either. We have 1 marathon but it’s a rat hole. Closest to top Tier we have is probably BP which they say exceeds top tier with invigorate.

It does say in the manual to achieve rated performance in atlas 2.0 to use premium fuel so it should in theory only add to the vehicle performance slightly.

We are still on the dealer first tank which is likely 87 and it does seem perfectly fine.

BP / Amoco doesn’t participate in top tier but their premium is way over its requirements. It’s what I ran in both my last two VWs as well as my current turbo Mustang.

Casey’s gas is notoriously bad and even their ethanol free premium led to running issues in my Jetta which a few tanks of BP premium rectified. I wasn’t a fan anyway but that sealed the deal.

 

[dbias]

Beautiful suv. I had a 2020 cross sport VR6 and loved it. Wife kept complaining about how wide it was and seeing over the hood. Tbh it is a big vehicle and has a lot of interior space. The second row seats are excellent for third row access.
My dealer was very reasonable on the price of both oil and filters.
I had the same engine in my Audi A4 and it called for 504 oil and if I end up getting the GTI I’ve had my eye on I’ll run 504 0w-30 in it also. Very good oil spec.

 

[donnyj08]

BP / Amoco doesn’t participate in top tier but their premium is way over its requirements. It’s what I ran in both my last two VWs as well as my current turbo Mustang.

Casey’s gas is notoriously bad and even their ethanol free premium led to running issues in my Jetta which a few tanks of BP premium rectified. I wasn’t a fan anyway but that sealed the deal.

We noticed the same with our previous T-GDI Hyundai. It hated Casey’s fuel. Ran like a dog and got terrible mileage compared to the BP or Speedway fuels