10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
2,495 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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problem #19

Jun 082023

Tiguan

  • miles
When I turned the car on to leave work, the Check Engine and EPC lights came on, the car went into "Limp Home" mode and a warning came on the dash saying "Max Speed 4000 RPMs". Immediately, I could smell fuel, so I turned the vehicle off and exited. I noticed the ground under the car was wet. My husband came to check it out and the same thing happened. We saw that fuel was flooding out from underneath the engine. As he drove the vehicle to an adjacent lot to be able to be towed, fuel spewed out from underneath the engine. We had the vehicle towed to a VW Dealership in Grand Rapids who was able to diagnose a broken fuel rail bolt inside the intake manifold after they had the same experience with a massive fuel leak. Per the service advisor, this was not the first time they've seen something like this. Given the extreme flow of fuel from the engine, I'd say I'm very lucky that this didn't happen while driving through town or at speed on the highway where a vehicle fire would be possible with fuel pouring out of the manifold onto the hot engine.

- Portage, MI, USA

problem #18

Oct 042019

Tiguan

  • miles
My problem does not involve a crash but involves frequent DELAYED ACCELERATION in warm and cold weather, due to Drive-by-Wire technology or software. My VW service department does not acknowledge the problem and considers this delayed acceleration as turbo lag! Really, turbo lag at idle and no forward movement! Example sitting in parking lot at idle, auto trans in D drive. I stopped to let out my wife of car and I depressed accelerator pedal and nothing happened for six second delay, the motor continued at idle, 1000 rpm, than after approx., full six seconds (i was counting) then car raced off and I had to brake. This issue occurs from full stop warm or cold and from idle to 1800 rpm and up to 25mph and from first week of ownership beginning in October 2019. This had been reported up to eight times and only serviced by the selling VW dealership. The internet is full of remarks from VW owners of multiple VW models with same 4 cylinder turbo and many other European and Japanese manufacturers. I suggest these cars with 4 cylinder and turbo be investigated. I previously owned a 2016 GMC Terrain with drive by wire that never in three years displayed this similar issue.

- Lake Tapawingo, MO, USA

problem #17

Aug 082020

Tiguan

  • miles
Blind spot indicator went out dealer replaced under warranty (passenger side) warranty expired a few thousand miles later and now the driver side is faulty. Vehicle has a rough idle and oil leaks. Dealer will not diagnose problem and now that car is out of warranty they wont do anything unless paid for. Car has rough idle and miscellaneous oil leaks occasionally almost stalling. Independent shop ran a diagnostic and shows one cylinder misfiring and want to inspect pcv as most the time these fail on

- Sacramento, CA, USA

problem #16

Oct 122021

Tiguan

  • miles
Automatic start/stop feature malfunctioned while vehicle was at a complete stop in a left hand turn lane at the front of an intersection. Caused major traffic jam because vehicle would not restart. No warning signals were given prior to failure, car engine simply turned completely off and dashboard message then read to "manually restart engine". Attempted to do so but it did not work. After that, I randomly started turning the car off and on, switching from park to drive in whatever order to try to get the engine to restart since manually restarting the "normal" way did not seem to work. While the car was not restarting, the yellow engine light did appear, I am not sure exactly when. No one's safety was at risk in this particular instance, however it could have been depending on when this problem occurs. It has happened twice prior to this incident but both times occurred in a parking lot, not in open traffic. Eventually, after about 5 minutes the car did restart and I was able to resume driving. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by anyone for this particular issue and therefore not reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center.

- Beverly Hills , CA, USA

problem #15

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 #14

Oct 282020

Tiguan

  • 9,000 miles
Regardless of outside ambient or engine operating temperature. When ever this vehicle powers down (aka sleep mode) when it is restarted this vehicle requires a minimum of 2:20 seconds of idle time before engine RPM will drop below 1000 RPM so it can be safely placed into gear. This happens in 105 deg tx days in the parking lot of the grocery store as well as the garage in the morning. Dealer says "no codes", so it is working as designed! an acquaintance at work has 2018 Tiguan and his does not do this. This wastes gas and is bad for the environment. Went to dealer 2X thus far. They do not care.

- Morgans Point Resort, TX, USA

problem #13

Jun 042020

Tiguan 4-cyl

  • 11,000 miles
I was beginning to merge South on I75 but pulled over on the shoulder before my speed reached approx 50 mph and I was less than.2 miles on the ramp. I immediately pulled over when I could smell and saw smoke coming out of the vents on the dash. Upon exiting the car I saw flames under the hood. While I was getting my children out of the car, a few men had stopped to help with fire extinguishers, but they were unsuccessful. The fire chief thought that the cause may have been an electrical short or some soft of manufacturing defect. I am not certain what caused the fire under the hood, but do know that I had not had any issues with the car until June 4th. It was a 2019 ;ease that I have been leasing less than a year. The car was brand new when I rolled it off the lot. It was in the dealership on 1/31 for scheduled maintenance.

- Traverse City, MI, USA

problem #12

Jun 012020

Tiguan 4-cyl

  • 8,000 miles
New 2019 Tiguan S 4motion purchased in Feb 2020 and has about 8K miles. Already having issues with hard shifting (both up and down) and have had the vehicle chug/stall and almost cause a crash 2 times now because it wouldn't accelerate. All of these issues are after about half hour of driving. Hard downshift is normally around 20-30mph and up shift 30-40. Never jerked before and now it's hard and very unsafe.

- Galena, IL, USA

problem #11

Jan 012020

Tiguan

  • miles
Vehicle consistently dies upon entering traffic locally or highway dealer says there is no fix it's been in the shop at least three times they've denied the last request for a review but it has become a serious safety issue

- Pompano Beach, FL, USA

problem #10

Sep 262019

Tiguan

  • 10,467 miles
Vehicle has been in service 5 times since purchased. Car stalls and does not restart.

- Massapequa, NY, USA

problem #9

Dec 202019

Tiguan 4-cyl

  • 1,200 miles
I HAVE BEEN HAVING SERIOUS STALLING ISSUES WITH THIS CAR...SINCE THE 1ST DAY I RECEIVED IT. WHEN I AM DRIVING THE CAR WOULD REFUSE TO ACCELERATE LIKE GETTING ON AND OFF EXITS ON EXPRESSWAY...CHANGING LANES ETC...IT ALSO STALLS AND THE ENGINE STOPS WHILE DRIVING..THE CAR HAS A LANE DEPARTURE ASSIST WHICH PULLS THE CAR FROM 1 LANE INTO THE OTHER VIOLENTLY...I AM HOPING TO GET THIS CAR REPLACED WITH ANOTHER LINE FROM VW ONLY BECAUSE MY LEASE IS 5 MNTHS OLD...THEY ARE REFUSING TO HELP ME BECAUSE THERE IS NO RECALL, MAYBE IF SOMEONE DIES THEY WILL GIVE A RAT'S [XXX] ABOUT THIS ISSUE...AN ISSUE THEY HAD I. 2014....EASE LOOK INTO THIS..FAMILIES CAN DIE FROM THIS PROBLEM. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Long Beach, NY, USA

problem #8

Oct 202019

Tiguan

  • 5 miles
The plastic oil pan at the bottom of the engine of my 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0T started leaking while I was on the highway, nearly stranding my family. It was very disappointing to see any vehicle using a fragile, unprotected plastic oil pan at the bottom of the engine, especially the Tiguan, which is marketed as a sport utility vehicle.

- Frisco, TX, USA

problem #7

Oct 142019

Tiguan

  • 60 miles
Our 2019 VW Tiguan with 2 liter turbo motor has a random and repeated engine "stall" issue. The engine does not die but remains at idle (1000 RPM), in either D or S auto trans mode, but there is no forward movement even though the gas pedal is against floor board and then there is a rush of power, this delay lasts from 1 to 5 seconds, just enough to cause traffic merging issues. This problem usually occurs from standing start when driven straight ahead or turning. So far has not occurred above 50mph when entering freeway. This has occurred since car was delivered new with 40 miles on odometer and continues now at 1200 miles and usually at speeds from 0 - 25 mph and under 2000 RPM. I spoke to the local VW service manager and he suggested it was just turbo lag. I have owned turbo cars in past and this is not turbo lag, it is a loss of "signal" due to drive by wire technology which should never be allowed on a vehicle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! otherwise the motor operates fine, providing decent gas mileage and power when on-boost above 2000 RPM. Our last new car a 2016 GMC terrain was also drive by wire but never exhibited this issue. There are numerous complaints online duplicating this problem which I had hoped was cleared up in older versions, evidently not.

- Independence, MO, USA

problem #6

Sep 032019

Tiguan

  • 1,500 miles
I leased my 2019 Tiguan in March 2019. Shortly after (~1,500 miles), I experience my 1st acceleration failure. While attempting to turn left with oncoming traffic (with my 4 year old in the back seat), my car would not accelerate although my foot was pressing the gas pedal to the floor. After multiple seconds and multiple attempts to accelerate forward, I put the vehicle in park, turned it off, turned it back on, put in drive, and was able to complete the turn. Thankfully the vehicles coming towards me were paying attention and halted, or it would've resulted in a collision. This failure happened 3 more times shortly after, 1 of the them occurring when my husband was driving. While getting my vehicle in for service, 1 of the VW employees mentioned they receive calls regarding this same failure every week, sometimes every day. A 2nd VW employee mentioned they have never received a call on this failure for my vehicle. "??". the dealership performed a 26M1 software upgrade that 'should fix the problem.' Concerned for not only the safety of my family, but the safety of the drivers around me, I filed a claim with VW corporate and asked to be removed from my lease due to the failures almost resulting in multiple car accidents. They refused to allow me to get out of the lease as my experienced failures 'do not warrant the ability to be removed from the vehicle.' Shortly after the software upgrade, my check engine light came on and I've experienced the same failure 3 more times (1 of them while attempting to reverse). Here we are again' I have a service appointment scheduled for 09/10 and opened my VW corporate claim back up.

- Highlands Ranch, CO, USA

problem #5

Aug 182019

Tiguan

  • 3,400 miles
New car, 2 months old, 3,000 miles. Issue has happened 4X. First istance, turning left onto a major 3 lane road, car suddenly loses power and then chugs to catch speed leaving you powerless with the foot peddle to the floor. Second instance, exiting a shopping center, light turned green, stepped on gas peddle and car bogged and sputtered as if out of gas and stalled in middle of intersection. Once I got it started again it moved forward. At next traffic light it sputtered again and would not go even after pumping gas peddle. Creeps to a rolling run and then goes. Third instance was entering an on-ramp from a stop light, car sputtered as if out of fuel again and barely made it out of intersection where I had to pull off the road to get the car going. 4X same as above. I'm now at dealer for second time- no repair and they say VW is aware of some customers experiencing this issue no fix at this time. Very dangerous to drive on atlanta city streets. I'm nervous to put my family back in the car.

- Marietta, GA, USA

problem #4

Jun 192019

Tiguan

  • 1,200 miles
I bought the Tiguan brand new from the dealership with high hopes for our family SUV. Almost immediately I noticed that the vehicle hesitated to accelerate from a stopped position a few times, but couldn't believe I was having a problem so soon after buying the car. When I realized that this was a recurring car issue and not user error, we had only owned the car for 3 weeks and the car had roughly 1200 miles. It was absolutely terrifying when I was turning left during rush hour traffic with my 12 month old son in the back seat and my car would not accelerate beyond about 5 miles per hour. Luckily the driver coming towards me on the main road slowed down with enough time for me to make my left turn and coast right into a nearby subdivision. I pressed my foot onto the accelerator to the floor and it took about 20 seconds for it to kick into speed. I took the car to the dealership where I assumed it would be fixed. After 9 days in the shop, they claim they drove the vehicle 80 miles and couldn't duplicate the issue. Therefore, they want me to put my family back into the car that is completely unsafe to drive. They tried to tell me that it was the "turbo lag" that I am experiencing which, in the long run, a manager admitted to my fiance and I is untrue isn't even what we are expressing as the problem. After talking to 3 managers, we finally found someone who is head of the service department at the dealership who sympathized with our issue and is letting us use a loaner until Volkswagen calls us back, but this is only after I showed them all of the other reviews on this website that state our exact issue. Now we wait to see if Volkswagen will do the right thing or if their customer service is as terrible as the dealership where we bought it when we went in with a real and terrifying issue. This is the beginning of what will be a recall. Unsafe and scary.

- Ferndale, MI, USA

problem #3

Jun 052019

Tiguan

  • 920 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan. While the contact's daughter was driving 40 mph, the epc, oil, and system/power warning indicators illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle began to hesitate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The vehicle was towed to capistrano Volkswagen (located at 32922 valle rd, san juan capistrano, ca 92675, (949) 493-4511) where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 920.

- San Clemente, CA, USA

problem #2

May 012019

Tiguan

  • 26 miles
My brand new 2019 VW Tiguan fwd next day after buying showed multiple problems that related to transmission and breaking and a unknown source of rattling sound. I noticed when I cold start the Tiguan and let it idle for 3-4 minutes the normal engine sound slowly goes down but a louder and more noticeable rattling sound comes up. It is heard while driving also. It's concerning but what is more concerning is the that the Tiguan hesitates while shifting gears. I noticed it happens while accelerating from a stop. Not only it hesitates to accelerate you'd feel the cars struggle while shifting gears. Each time the gear is shifting you could feel the car is at a confused state and so you feel it thump. At other times I've experienced the car almost stalls where the RPM goes up but transmission slips. It doesn't change gear. The worst of all is that while slowly breaking the car tried to speed up. The RPM is also seen to go up. The very unfortunate news is that though the dealer's technician drove with me and saw the issue they don't have a fix. VW corporation also isn't providing a fix. There's other reports of similar problems. The Tiguan has a known transmission problem according to other owner reports. It may not be all Tiguan but my car is a lemon. The problem probably has to do with which location the car was manufactured. This is a very big safety concern. I am very worried about such erratic issues 2nd day. How did VW get past safety boards. They need to solve this issue before devastating events such as death or other things occur. No vehicles should slip gears while accelerating nor speed up while breaking.

- Springfield, VA, USA

problem #1

Feb 202019

Tiguan

  • 230 miles
The first day I drove my new 2019 Tiguan sel home, I opened the passenger driver-side door and the handle got stuck and would not go back in...made an appointment for 2-days later to get this fixed. During the 2-day waiting period, I was stopped in a turning lane on a four-lane, lighted road to make a U-turn. When I hit the gas peddle to go the car jerked forward, and went to a standstill for about 5-seconds while my foot was firmly pressing the gas peddle. This caused the two oncoming vehicles to have to screech to a stop; and the vehicle in the middle lane had to swerve to avoid hitting me and spin out. When the Tiguan started moving forward, I had to pull over because I was shaking. The same issue happened again the next day, but no oncoming cars were in sight. Went in for the door appointment, I told the service rep about engine and asked to speak to a manager. An assistant manager came out, I told him about the engine, and he respond that's a VW and gave me a hug and two free T-shirts. New door handle had to be ordered due to corrosion, had to come back 3-days later to have it fixed. During those 3-days, the passenger seat seat belt warning sound started randomly going off, along with the airbag light flashing above the hazard light when my handbag was on the seat. Reported that and the engine issue again at next appointment. Had to leave the car for two days...at pick-up was told everything was tested fine, but VW did not bother to test the seat sensor. Was instructed to not put anything on the passenger seat, as stated in the car's manual. Requested a new vehicle, or let me out of my lease due to feeling totally unsafe...was denied by both corporate and dealer. Money should never come before safety, so I paid $3000 to break my lease today as VW Corp & dealer told me to get back in that car. This is a deadly safety issue.

- Naples, FL, USA