A 2025 Volkswagen Atlas owner was left scratching her head after the car’s infotainment screen suddenly turned black. TikTok creator Brittany (@simply.brittany0) documented the troublesome glitch in a video that garnered over 307,000 views online. Not only did the problem leave her driving without the help of Apple CarPlay, but other cabin functions were affected by the issue as well. Dead Volkswagen Atlas Screen “OK. Everything’s good,” she says, swiping through the screen of her Volkswagen’s infotainment system. The TikToker has Apple CarPlay enabled and is using Google Maps to navigate while driving. From the onset of the clip, it appears that things are going swimmingly, which she corroborates with her narration: “We’re doing good. Everything’s great.” After a few seconds, the clip jumps forward in time, and the Google Maps application is still functioning properly. That is, until Brittany sees something that catches her attention on the car cabin’s center display. “It’s about to do it,” she remarks. “No way, no way,” she continues as the infotainment system suddenly goes black. “Hello? What is happening?” she says, her hands off the steering wheel. What’s especially troubling is that the vehicle featured in her clip just recently rolled off the production line. “This is a brand new car,” she says. Following this, she rattles off a warning message that surfaces on her car’s dashboard display. According to the dialog prompt, the Volkswagen informed her that some features are “currently not available.” Next, Brittany begins to mash the blank display with her finger. “Where’s my screen?” she asks. Despite pushing into it repeatedly, there’s no response from the car’s touchscreen. Incredulous, the driver questions aloud whether or not the display will come back on. “Is Anyone Else’s Volkswagen Doing This?” An on-screen caption that’s present throughout the video encapsulates Brittany’s annoyance with the glitch. “This is a brand new car … didn’t turn back on,” she says in a latter portion of the video. Afterward, she can be heard breathing heavily and telling another passenger in the video that she’s “scared.” OWNERSHIP STORIES Viral stories from across the web Our team of experts tracks what owners are saying about car-shopping, repairs, the daily driving experience and more on social media. Things take a turn for the worse when she begins fiddling with the climate control buttons situated right beneath the dead display. “Wait, I can’t even turn on my air because it’s on the screen,” she exclaims, attempting to adjust her Atlas’s temperature settings. “Um, hello?” she asks aloud before continuing to try and bring the car’s air conditioning to life. “I can’t change—oh my gosh. No freaking way,” she says, continuing to drive. Then, the clip cuts to the Atlas’s infotainment screen rebooting with the Volkswagen logo. But the revival is short-lived as there’s a quick flicker of purple and the screen dies out again. It reboots yet again as Brittany asks her passenger if they’re indeed recording the VW screen malfunction. “Ummm, what the heck?” she asks after the animation populates the screen yet again. This time, it kicks on, showing Brittany her Apple CarPlay UI. Then, after a few seconds, the A/C controls are visible, much to the driver’s befuddlement. “We Literally Bought This Car in February” A caption for Brittany’s post further delineates her disappointment with the vehicle. She says that the issue documented in her TikTok occurred sporadically for two consecutive days. Unfortunately, she isn’t the only Atlas owner who’s been having issues with the car’s center console screen. The Autopian penned in a 2024 article that several Atlas drivers have been afflicted with static displays. A Redditor provided a photograph of the bizarre distortion. Curiously, a purple line across the screen hovers above the busted and fuzzy image, similar to the flash of color in Brittany’s clip. Furthermore, a Volkswagen Jetta driver uploaded a YouTube video where he described a near-identical issue. According to him, his screen’s “UI and infotainment went completely blank.” But he did offer up a solution for other Volkswagen drivers left fighting with a vacant screen. The YouTuber demonstrated that holding down the infotainment system’s power button for 10 seconds reboots it. As evinced in the clip, the car’s screen turns on and prompts him to insert a USB device. He states that in order for this trick to work, any devices connected to the infotainment system should be removed. Gallery: 2024 Volkswagen Atlas Other Volkswagen Gripes Users in the VWVortex forum remarked that they, too, have had to deal with blank screens in their Volkswagen. “Reading here as well as multiple Google hits, it seems like tons of people have these blank screen issues with their VW infotainment screens,” one of the site users penned. Someone else in the same thread mentioned that they were indeed one of these unlucky drivers. “Screen going blank, car-play garbled connection (intermittent). On the phone with VW now,” they stated. Another Reddit user said that their “infotainment screen won’t turn on,” and provided a picture of the blank unit in question. “This is the 3rd or 4th time in the last couple months that I turn on the car but the screen stays black,” they wrote. Unlike Brittany, however, they said that the touchscreen was responding to finger presses, and they were able to adjust climate controls. Like the aforementioned YouTuber, someone in the Reddit thread recommended holding down the power button to power cycle the screen. “It’s normal. Hold down on the power button, the screen will blink, flash on and off. And then once you see the Volkswagen start up symbol, you’ll hear a faint ‘click’ then release, and it will power up. My 24 did same,” they said. Motor1 has emailed Volkswagen and Brittany. This story will be updated should either reply. We want your opinion! What would you like to see on Motor1.com? Take our 3 minute survey. - The Motor1.com Team