Hey all, just bought a 2021 Atlas SE and the horn is driving me absolutely nuts. It’s so weak and apologetic. Any way to change it? I can do it myself but I’ve been looking through YouTube to find how-to videos and I don’t see any. Why did VW put such a wimpy horn on a big SUV? It sounds embarrassing...lol!
2021 Atlas SE horn (and replacement?)
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Are you sure something isn't wrong with it? The horn sounds normal on ours but is weakened sounding when you lock the car and get the audible on the second push of the fob/sensor on the door.
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Ouch...hahahahaha. No, our 2018 sounds normal.
It’s emasculating as ****. Imagine Bruce Willis in a car chase scene trying to warn people in other cars while using that horn!
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There are aftermarket horns you can surely get if you want more volume.
To tell the truth, that really sounds like the OLD OLD Beetles...like my 72 Beetle. My Atlas sounds the same, but the 2015 VW Golf Sportswagen horn will blow away anything! It is loud and strong!
Nice! I’ll look At my local junkyard. Pretty sure I can pull a good used one out of one of their cars
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Same here with my 2020 CS. At first, I thought it was a homage to the original beetle. But now it's just annoying. I'm going to get a pair on Hella, just like I did on my last 4 cars.
Can you post a link? Thanks...
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I bought this kit. It had all the parts and adapters I needed, plus instructions on how to replace the horn without removing the front grill.
philcustomvision.com
Here’s the before and after on my car
VW HORN UPGRADE
philcustomvision.com
Here’s the before and after on my car
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Did you buy the regular kit or Hella Kit?I bought this kit. It had all the parts and adapters I needed, plus instructions on how to replace the horn without removing the front grill.
VW HORN UPGRADE
Here’s the before and after on my car
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The Hella kit.
I just installed the Complete Kit (Hella) yesterday. Now our '20 SEL R-line horn sounds like it should.
HOWEVER, installing it is a real PITA if you follow the instructions and install it from above with the grill in place and you have big hands. (Size XL gloves barely fit my hands.) I had to do everything with one hand and my arm filled the opening at the top, so I did everything based on feel. The instructions recommend wearing cloth gloves because of sharp plastic parts in that space. They're kidding, right? I recommend wearing long sleeves, even if the temperature is 90 deg. F. Shining a bright light through the grill helps, but only to see what you are supposed to do next and what you should have done instead.
I don't even want to talk about dropping things inside there. A magnetic telescoping pick-up tool and a wife with long, thin arms are essential for this task IMO.
Tip: Plug in the harness BEFORE you install the horns because the original wire and plug WILL fall out of reach and the magnetic telescoping pick-up tool won't help you. (That's where my wife with long, thin arms comes in.)
"The upgrade will only take about 30 minutes..." Now that's funny. 😄
I put Loctite on the nuts that hold the horns onto the brackets because I don't want to go back in there if the horns ever loosen on the brackets.
All said and done, the upgrade is worth the time (hours) and money IMO. 👍
Such a funny thread. We have an 18 Atlas and the horn is the typical American horn. Had service done on it (another subject another thread) and they put us in a 21.5 Atlas loaner. My wife and I were headed to Costco coming up to a traffic light when a jacked up Silverado came speeding up the shoulder and cut in front of us. I slammed on the horn and as soon as it made a sound, I quickly stopped; my wife and I both looked at each other and laughed. @Ish407 talk about emasculating!! 🤣😂
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