10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
2,548 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 #18

Oct 092022

Tiguan

  • miles
The emergency braking system caused a rear accident. Leaving at fault " unable to control vehicles ", listed by State Farm, resulting in a personal injury claim with no injuries for $475,000 all parties including Volkswagen will be sued. The vehicle has caused loss of employment and a lawsuit on top of that I'm still paying a $586 Car note and $686 car insurance just for me to drive now. I'm mad asf !!!!

- San Pedro , CA, USA

problem #17

Jan 232023

Tiguan 4-cyl

  • miles
Error code: "Driver door contact switch". When this comes on randomly I can't unlock or lock my doors. I have had to climb out of my car through the passenger side door after parking because the driver's side won't unlock. Fault: "Auto parking break" When this comes on I can't turn on or off the parking brake. Sometimes when I'm driving and there is a bump or a change in surface level the parking break comes on. My car stops all of a sudden and cars behind me swerve not to hit me. I have noticed that the issues can go as fast as they come on. They only really happen in cold weather. Last year (2022) was the first year that things happened. I took my car in to see what Volkswagen could do. They said that because the error codes weren't running then they couldn't diagnose the issue. They also said that they have never heard of this before. However, when the error codes are on it's unsafe to drive the car. I have read that other Volkswagens have this issue. The link below is one example. https://knightlawgroup.com/volkswagen-tiguan-wiring-harness-automatic-braking-problems/

- Muncie, IN, USA

problem #16

Jan 072022

Tiguan

  • miles
My Tiguan is doing the same thing as the Atlas. I have been told by the Dealer and the Vw representative that did a physical inspection of my vehicle. That the issues are the same. I was doing 70 mph on the highway all the dash lights went on and then the breaks engage bring my vehicle to a complete stop. This was in March of 2021. Vehicle was taken straight to dealer I was told then what was happening. And was told the issed was resolved. Then in January 2022 the vehicle did the same thing once at a low speed, and again that same morning going 30 mph, were the truck behind us did everything he could to avoid hitting the vehicle as my vehicle came to a complete stop. I was the front car and thankfully the truck behind me was the only other vehicle on the road. I pulled in to a parking lot, I attempted to back up and the vehicle would not go in to reverse. I had to have my vehicle towed to the dealership where has sat since January. They have not been able to repair the unit. As they are waiting for a wire harness for the door. Vw corporate has been notified and is not been helpful at this point.

- Weatherford, TX, USA

problem #15

Feb 182021

Tiguan

  • miles
My vehicle was parked in a slightly sloped driveway and turned off. After 2 minutes, car went back approx. 100 feet through walkway and ended up in the middle of main road. This is a serious malfunction of the vehicle as it can cause injury to someone. When called the customer service center, the rep says there is a recall on engine and transmission control software upgrade but I was not notified about this recall. In addition, on the nthsa website it says the upgrade is for "update to address elevated tailpipe emissions that were found during vehicle testing".

- Solon, OH, USA

problem #14

Feb 022021

Tiguan

  • miles
2019 Volkswagen Tiguan. Consumer writes in regards to issues with automatic braking system. The consumer stated the automatic braking system was overly sensitive and distracting. The consumer stated twice the vehicle shut down. The consumer stated the automatic braking system general activates when backing out or in a drive thru. The dealer was contacted and stated the vehicle operated as designed.

- Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, USA

problem #13

Jul 142020

Tiguan

  • 400 miles
Vehicle started leaking fluids 2 weeks after purchasing. The car has now been in 6 times for leaking oil fluids, as well as noisy brakes, and a bucking tranny. Has had seals replaced, boot replaced and is now leaking again 1/2021 in the front, and also leaking in the rear of the car.

- Depew, NY, USA

problem #12

Aug 232020

Tiguan

  • 2,500 miles
My vehicle's front assist collision sensor will engage itself while going down some driveways regardless of how slow or angled I try to exit (I always make sure that my exit and turns are safe from any ongoing traffic so the sensor is only being tripped from ground in front of the sensor). I have been almost been rear ended three times because of this and almost hit from the side when the the sensor engaged when I was more than halfway out into the first lane to make my turn. I have engaged several VW service technicians about a permanent fix but they said that they are aware of the problem after hearing of several other complaints but there is no permanent fix. It is the driver's responisbility to manually turn off the front assist collision sensor each and every time you intend to drive the car.

- Buena Park, CA, USA

problem #11

Aug 122020

Tiguan

  • 3,000 miles
The frontal braking assist. It locks up even when it is turned off. It will just brake very suddenly., causing the car to lock up. There doesnt even have to be a reason for it. This has happened several times during the year I have had the car. This has happened in motion, and city street.

- Long Beach, CA, USA

problem #10

Aug 042020

Tiguan

  • 12,000 miles
I was driving on a residential street with no cars in front of me and my autonomous emergency braking system engaged itself bringing my car to an abrupt stop. There was nothing in the street, on the front on my car, or in front of me.

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #9

Jul 212020

Tiguan

  • 5,400 miles
The automatic braking system activated twice in six weeks while pulling out from a parking lot onto a city street. This happened at 2 different locations. Both times when this occurred the vehicle was turning right and came to a complete stop 1/3rd to 1/2 through the turn.

- Peoria, AZ, USA

problem #8

Mar 052020

Tiguan

  • 8,300 miles
Driving in windy conditions, 4 separate times on one day, sensor went off. Red car graphic on my screen with "side impact" wave lines on the sides and car automatically braked suddenly. Happened in city, while in motion. No other cars in close proximity at time of sensor warning and braking. 3 of 4 times happened as was driving North into a strong North wind. Never had this warning thrown before.

- Sioux City, IA, USA

problem #7

Sep 022019

Tiguan

  • 6,000 miles
Two separate problems. #1 on two separate occasions the cars emergency system activated with no cars or anything in proximity. VW just cleaned sensors. It happened once after that while parking the car. #2 with only 8000 miles on the brakes pulse when applied. We were told just wait for 1 year service and it will be looked at. The Tiguan went in Friday morning and we were informed the brake rotors are warped. VW North America recommend rotors and associated hardware to fix the problem. Troublesome issue with only 10000 miles les than I year old.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #6

Aug 052019

Tiguan

  • 1,600 miles
I was driving down a side road in a parking lot with no cars in front of me and no one in back of me. Suddenly the car braked and threw me forward. It scared the living daylights out of me. There was no reason why this happened. There was nothing in the road. I reported this problem to Volkswagen and they had no answer and told me to disable the braking sensor which I did. I felt the need to report this issue since I felt this was a possible defect in the braking sensor. If this would have happened on a busy road I could have been hit from behind. Again there was no reason for the sudden braking. This is a leased car and when I turn it in I just want to let them know that the sensor is turned off for the next person who leases it and has no idea it is turned off. In summary, I was going around 35-40 mph when this braking occurred with no reason whatsover. Thank you for your time.

- North Tonawanda, NY, USA

problem #5

Aug 242019

Tiguan

  • 185 miles
The vehicles brake line that went into the ABS system was not tight enough and brake fluid leaked out resulting in the failure of the braking system. The loss of the braking system could be felt while driving, and eventually resulted in the vehicle not stopping. Fortunately, no one was injured. The vehicle was new and had 185miles on it when the brakes failed.

- Doylestown, PA, USA

problem #4

Apr 012019

Tiguan

  • 50 miles
The automatic breaking sensors went off for no reason. Car started breaking on it's own. Luckily no car behind me. Car was in motion on a 35 mph part of route 30 in Indiana when it started to break suddenly. Took it to the dealership and they could not replicate it. I sent Volkswagen a message and they didn't reply.

- Schererville, IN, USA

problem #3

Jul 072019

Tiguan

  • 2,100 miles
My wife wasdriving down a residential street no cars in front or behind. The autonomous brakes activated and brought car to full stop for no reason.

- Seaford, NY, USA

problem #2

Jul 042019

Tiguan

  • 4,200 miles
The cars breaking assistance brings the car to a complete stop at any speed. It will break when nothing is around, when backing out of driveway, driving down freeway, and pulling out onto the road.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #1

Jul 022019

Tiguan

  • 135 miles
Purchased car June 30, check engine light illuminated on way home from dealer. Next day check engine light off, brake power boost failure flicker on screen, auto start/stop not functioning, restart car all gone. Next trip tire pressure warning, unable to reset. Had to go to an appointment and was heading to dealer on the way home, car went black, lost acceleration, no response from throttle while driving 75mph on busy freeway. Had to coast across five lanes of traffic to be safe. Restart car, drove to dealer. Total amount of miles on car 152. Purchased Sunday evening 6:30 pm in repair after near collision Tuesday evening 5:00 pm.

- San Rafael, CA, USA