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2023 Volkswagen Taos

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Taos years

Owner complaints for the 2023 Volkswagen Taos are substantially higher than the model-year median of 53.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 6 of 106 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 42 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes. Review the 33 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

2 crash reports0 fire reports1 injury reports

Engine complaints

42 reports
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Mileage unknown · Dec 23, 2024
Electrical SystemEngineVehicle Speed Control

While driving Dec 10, 2024 my VW Taos failed to accelerate after slowing at an intersection. If this happens when I’m turning, on coming traffic has to slow down unexpectedly. The EPC light and check engine light came on. Car would not go above 15-20 mph. Called dealer and cautiously drove car to dealer. The mechanic said a popp…

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While driving Dec 10, 2024 my VW Taos failed to accelerate after slowing at an intersection. If this happens when I’m turning, on coming traffic has to slow down unexpectedly. The EPC light and check engine light came on. Car would not go above 15-20 mph. Called dealer and cautiously drove car to dealer. The mechanic said a popped fuse was reason the lights came on and car wouldn’t accelerate. They replaced 10A fuse and said codes/lights corrected. Now on 12/23/24 same exact issue has occurred. This is a huge safety concern. Taos 2022 models had a safety recall for a fuel delivery module that was causing that exact same issues and EPC and check engine light to come on. I am waiting for the dealer to call me back now to discuss how serious this really is and to get them to acknowledge they didn’t truly diagnose the vehicle the first time (given the 2022 Taos safety recall). Please investigate, I believe the 2023 models have the exact same problem. Not being able to accelerate is dangerous in multiple scenarios.

NHTSA ODI #11632173

Mileage unknown · Nov 27, 2024
Engine

Vehicle displayed instances of overheating but was told by dealership it wasn't a big issue and the vehicle was safe to drive. I took the vehicle to the dealership for scheduled maintenance and when I returned to pick up the vehicle I was told that coolant was leaking into the oil and the head gasket was defective. The service d…

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Vehicle displayed instances of overheating but was told by dealership it wasn't a big issue and the vehicle was safe to drive. I took the vehicle to the dealership for scheduled maintenance and when I returned to pick up the vehicle I was told that coolant was leaking into the oil and the head gasket was defective. The service desk representative stated the head gasket is a known issue in the 2022-23 models. The engine will need to be taken out of the vehicle, taken apart, and a new gasket installed. I was also told this issue would most likely happen again due to the design of the gasket. Parts are on order and the dealership has the vehicle as it's not safe to drive prior to repairs being made.

NHTSA ODI #11627638

Mileage unknown · Nov 20, 2024
EngineService Brakes

Haven’t owned the vehicle for 2 years and I’ve already had to have brake lines replaced, windshield and now the head gasket has crapped out. Which apparently is a huge issue with this vehicle. It’s really the worst buy I’ve ever made. Trade in value, at just 2 years old, is only 19,000…when I paid 30….it’s really awful. Now I ha…

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Haven’t owned the vehicle for 2 years and I’ve already had to have brake lines replaced, windshield and now the head gasket has crapped out. Which apparently is a huge issue with this vehicle. It’s really the worst buy I’ve ever made. Trade in value, at just 2 years old, is only 19,000…when I paid 30….it’s really awful. Now I have to wait for, God only knows how long, because the parts are on back order, to have it fixed! Volkswagen has ruined me for ever loving their name.

NHTSA ODI #11626452

Mileage unknown · Oct 22, 2024
Engine

On August 4th, 2024 Volkswagen Taos coolant reservoir at 17,348 miles was nearly empty. Went to closest dealership, which could not set appointment to look at until October 21. Every couple hundred of miles, I have had to refill the coolant level. The VW Taos was finally able to be diagnosed with a head gasket failure on October…

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On August 4th, 2024 Volkswagen Taos coolant reservoir at 17,348 miles was nearly empty. Went to closest dealership, which could not set appointment to look at until October 21. Every couple hundred of miles, I have had to refill the coolant level. The VW Taos was finally able to be diagnosed with a head gasket failure on October 21, 2024 with 22,359 miles. The parts and fix are a couple of months out, with no current ETA. Was given back vehicle to drive in the meantime. This is a major safety issue, as the gasket could completely fail at any time. This is also causing premature wear on the engine, as coolant will be leaking into the oil. The manufacture, Volkswagen, was contacted and unable to offer any assistance and told to keep driving in the meantime, since the dealer gave me back the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI #11621394

Mileage unknown · Sep 25, 2024
EngineService Brakes

a low coolant light went on . Brought car in and head gasket and rear brake pads need to be replaced. the car has 16000 miles on it. This is unacceptable. !!!!!!!!!!!! I would like to know if the car will be replaced with the same faulty brake pads and the same faulty head gasket. These are know issues so why hasn't VW f…

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a low coolant light went on . Brought car in and head gasket and rear brake pads need to be replaced. the car has 16000 miles on it. This is unacceptable. !!!!!!!!!!!! I would like to know if the car will be replaced with the same faulty brake pads and the same faulty head gasket. These are know issues so why hasn't VW fixed both these parts and why would I want to same ones in my car that are known to be faulty.

NHTSA ODI #11616341

Mileage unknown · Sep 23, 2024
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemService Brakes

On 9/5/2024 I brought the vehicle into the dealer for the 30000 mile service. Upon inspection the dealer found the rear brake pads were badly worn and needed replacement and that they were not under warranty and that I would be responsible for the cost. In February 2024 Volkswagen sent me a notice that they were extending the w…

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On 9/5/2024 I brought the vehicle into the dealer for the 30000 mile service. Upon inspection the dealer found the rear brake pads were badly worn and needed replacement and that they were not under warranty and that I would be responsible for the cost. In February 2024 Volkswagen sent me a notice that they were extending the warranty on the rear pads to 24000 mi / 2 years from 12000 mi / 1year but did not indicate why. I referenced this notice to the dealer and stated I thought the pads should be covered as even though I had 30000 miles on the vehicle it was only 18 months old and that the large discrepancy between the front and rear brake pads 10 mm vs 2 mm showed that the rear pads were subpar. That has gone nowhere. I have been trying to negotiate some kind of middle ground on this but with no resolution a this point. I realize the Web is not always a reliable source of information but I have found incidents similar to mine which also include two other issues that my vehicle has : Head gasket failure causing coolant leaks - this was found on my vehicle with repairs scheduled as soon as the parts come in. And severe hesitation during acceleration which was identified as a turbo issue which was corrected by an “ adaptation “ of the turbo which I should monitor ongoing which leads me to believe this could be a continuing issue. These two repairs were under warranty. Both of these issues pose concerning safety and performance issues. And a previous problem with the display screen that shows the backup camera, which was corrected after repeated visits . All these issues on the vehicle less than 2 years old cause me great concern about it being a safe car ongoing. I hope you find this information useful. Thank you

NHTSA ODI #11615924

Mileage unknown · Sep 21, 2024
EngineFuel/propulsion System

I was attempting to turn left across on coming traffic, plenty of room safety wise. The engine lagged and would not speed up. Pedal almost the the floor and I was going maybe 5 mph, the car was barley rolling and had the two cars coming not been paying attention I would have been tboned. Once through the intersection the vehicle…

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I was attempting to turn left across on coming traffic, plenty of room safety wise. The engine lagged and would not speed up. Pedal almost the the floor and I was going maybe 5 mph, the car was barley rolling and had the two cars coming not been paying attention I would have been tboned. Once through the intersection the vehicle aggressively sped up. Took the vehicle into the dealership they had it 28 days, confirmed they felt the engine lag and ran diagnostics and couldn’t find anything wrong but whatever they did fixed it for about 3 weeks and now the engine is lagging again.

NHTSA ODI #11615792

Mileage unknown · Sep 18, 2024
Electrical SystemEngine

The vehicle has 8000 miles on it and was sold to me knowing it had a well known head gasket problem. The vehicle has acceleration and overheating problems when it runs out of coolant which is leaking. The problem has been confirmed by suburban Vw in Farmington hills Michigan and it has been in service there since [XXX]. I repor…

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The vehicle has 8000 miles on it and was sold to me knowing it had a well known head gasket problem. The vehicle has acceleration and overheating problems when it runs out of coolant which is leaking. The problem has been confirmed by suburban Vw in Farmington hills Michigan and it has been in service there since [XXX]. I reported the problem 8 months after purchase but they were unable to take it in due to many different reasons including lack of spare parts, not enough staff and no rental cars. I have had to top the coolant up on 5 occasions and have had leaks and stains on my garage floor which I reported INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI #11615280

Mileage unknown · Aug 18, 2024
Electrical SystemEngineFuel/propulsion System

EPC (engine light) light came on two separate times while car stopped accelerating and was shaking a lot with smells of chemicals from vents all at once. Inside electrical issues as well. Car bought new First incident was the first week and a few months later and a year later

NHTSA ODI #11609199

Mileage unknown · Jul 4, 2024
EngineVehicle Speed Control

Vehicle will take off like a rocket when accelerating from a stop. I had to restart the vehicle because it had no acceleration before issue started. Took to the dealer was told that this is normal. I was then advised to put the vehicle in sport mode and it should stop. Vehicle has only 3300 miles on it and this is a new issue th…

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Vehicle will take off like a rocket when accelerating from a stop. I had to restart the vehicle because it had no acceleration before issue started. Took to the dealer was told that this is normal. I was then advised to put the vehicle in sport mode and it should stop. Vehicle has only 3300 miles on it and this is a new issue that just started. Took it to a local shop and it showed a p2422 so we took it to the dealer and that’s when they stated no codes found and no issues found. We have multiple videos of the rocket take off.

NHTSA ODI #11598898

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.