8.6

pretty bad
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
3,138 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

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problem #16

Oct 292023

Tiguan

  • miles
Low beam on Both headlights failed without any explanation. Everything was checked. The bulbs, the fuses, the relay, and the cause of the issue is still not known.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #15

Sep 032022

Tiguan

  • miles
The light of the roof inside. Mainly problem of a lot of cars !

- Stara Zagora, IL, USA

problem #14

Oct 022018

Tiguan

  • 50 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the exterior lights are too sensitive and come on with shadows and anger driver's in front of the contact. For driver's following the contact it could appear as if the vehicle was applying the brakes. (mastria Volkswagen of raynham 1619 new state hwy, raynham, MA 02767, (508) 802-9555) stated that the lights operated as designed and could not be changed. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 50.

- Middleborough, MA, USA

problem #13

Aug 012018

Tiguan 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 60 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the seat belt indicator flashed and a chime was heard even when the driver's seat belt was secured. Flow Volkswagen of charlottesville (1313 richmond rd, charlottesville, va 22911, (434) 296-4147) was notified several times, but was unable to replicate the failure. The vehicle was currently at the dealer being diagnosed. In addition, there was a delay in providing the part concerning an unknown recall for the ambient lighting. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA action numbers: EA18005 (seat belts) and PE18001 (seat belts); however, the failure was related. The manufacturer was notified of the seat belt failures. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 60...

- Charlottesville, VA, USA

problem #12

Sep 012018

Tiguan

  • 500 miles
Takata recall. I got a recall on September of the ambient light bar and I have been waiting to put it back on over a half year. When can I finish this?

- Gretna, LA, USA

problem #11

Nov 232018

Tiguan

  • 11,000 miles
The exterior lighting "headlights" are a serious safety hazard considering they provide very poor visibility when driving at night or in rain. I barely missed hitting an object in the street that was less than 30 feet to the right and in front of me. I was driving less than 20 mph. There is zero visibility when driving in rain at night. I would rate these headlights a 1 out of 10 when moving and a 3 out of 10 when stationary. I feel these headlights are so inferior that they pose a real danger to anyone driving a VW Tiguan. The lack of visibility is so deficient in illumination that I am not going to drive this vehicle at night unless necessary. Too dangerous.

- Hollidaysburg, PA, USA

problem #10

Nov 052018

Tiguan

  • 600 miles
Headlight sensitivity when in auto mode is super sensitive. Headlights automatically turn on and off depending on orientation to sun and whether briefly in shade such as driving under a bridge or under trees for even a few seconds. All exterior lights become activated and de-activated by the auto system causing other drivers to misinterpret what the car is doing (I.e. braking) which may lead to an accident. No method of adjusting auto on sensitivity or delay is provided in this particular car. I noticed this because my android auto navigation kept switching from night mode to daylight mode. This caused me to check the headlight on indicator light which matched the status of the nav system.

- Santa Clara, CA, USA

problem #9

Jul 232018

Tiguan

  • 8,000 miles
Panoramic sunroof led ambient panel lights recall resulting in darker lighting inside vehicle which makes me more afraid at night and was a false advertisement feature as the original lighting was what attracted me to the vehicle upon lease agreement.no effort has been made to repair the lighting defect caused by recall.

- Grovetown, GA, USA

problem #8

Sep 262018

Tiguan

  • miles
The backup lights on this car are almost non-existant and even with the camera its difficult to see to back up. I worry that no one notices I am backing up and therfore this could cause an accident or injury.

- Rockingham, VA, USA

problem #7

Aug 162018

Tiguan

  • 10,000 miles
Lowbeam visibility: Driving at night on a highway and noticed my low beams were not adequate for distance with speeds at 65mph, scary situation when you can't see. Was constantly using high beams to be able to see. Found info on the web that said 2018 models made before December 2017 have a poor rating for the headlights. This needs to be recalled as it is dangerous to drive at night with such poor distances for the headlights. Would say the distance was less than 40 feet on low beams.

- Woodbury, MN, USA

problem #6

Jul 312018

Tiguan

  • 1,350 miles
There is a recall for sunroof lighting: From VW website: High humidity in the panoramic sunroof ambient lighting bar led module (caused by environment or by leaving the sunroof open) could lead to a local short circuit. If this happens, there is a risk of a fire. So, I bought higher model because I wanted this feature, but now I cannot use it because VW is going to disconnect it? at the end, pay for feature, but you cannot use it because VW can't figure out which fire to put out.

- Chicag, IL, USA

problem #5

Jul 272018

Tiguan

  • 15,000 miles
This vehicle has a drive ability problem. The car has a major hesitation and is very dangerous when pulling onto the highway. The car almost cuts out but doesn't stall and find it very dangerous. The dealer told me that nothing is wrong with it. Also, there was a recall on my ambient lighting on my sunroof. There could be a leak or humidity could affect the wiring and could cause a fire. There fix is to disconnect it. I have no sunroof lighting. I should get a refund for something they took away.

- Woodbridge, CT, USA

problem #4

Jul 012018

Tiguan

  • miles
Bought the car in October 2017, immediately had to have the left rear sensor replaced because it would show that there was a vehicle to the left of me, even when I was in the left hand lane. When the headlights are set to automatic they are always on. They don't turn off when your driving in full sunshine. B pillar rattle has gotten steadily worse on both sides. I just took my car in and the dealership couldn't give me an estimate on when I will get it back. The rattling happens all times of the day and on all road conditions. The temperature doesn't seem to impact the rattling either.

- Davenport, FL, USA

problem #3

Jan 282018

Tiguan

  • 1,050 miles
This is an update to my earlier report, complaint number: 11065547. The low beam performance is worse than I originally reported. Tonight (Feb 2 2018) I took time to look at the range of vision of the low beams. I estimate it at 50 feet. I live on a curved street and as I drove down it, I observed that when the Tiguan was pointed at a house, it didn't get illuminated until I was on the property edge. The house has a 35 foot setback from the street and slightly uphill from the front of my Tiguan. None of the house was within the range of the headlights. I discussed adjusting the front headlights with my dealership but they didn't know if they were adjustable. I consider this a significant and dangerous situation that needs to be investigated.

- Crystal Lake, IL, USA

problem #2

Jan 082018

Tiguan

  • 500 miles
1) low beam headlights have a very short range, perhaps as little as 100 feet with a very sharp cut-off. Almost hit a deer because although I was driving at 30 mph, I could barely see the deer as it crossed the road. This was evident on a straight country road with no street lights while the car was in motion driving straight. This is a serious safety issue because it's dangerous to drive on low lit or unlit roads at night. The fix would be a redesigned headlamps (both sides) or a brighter bulbs. NHTSA safety rating site shows the problem clearly. It's dangerous. 2) windshield wipers continue to streak although they were replaced by the VW dealer, elgin VW, which did not fix the problem. The streaking creates a blind spot on the right part of the windshield. Unable to see to the right front at intersections.

- Crystal Lake, IL, USA

problem #1

Nov 102017

Tiguan

  • 2,102 miles
Very dim-invisible head light-lightening during heavy rains or dark street rides. Felt scary while driving. Almost thought that there were no head lights on the car. From that point I was really noticing and this is the rating I give for the lighting the road at night during motion -> 2/10 stationary ->6/10 city street ->6/10 please look into this and for sure you'll find this "defect" in the brightness of headlights.

- Troy, MI, USA