NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
What owners actually said
191 reportsMileage unknown · Sep 19, 2023
Air BagsSteeringWheels
Vehicle was purchased from Volkswagen Marin Dealership As Certified Pre-owned 2019 model year Tiguan SE 4motion Turbo Color Red on August 24, 2021 and has 18,664 mileage already upon delivery. We have received a recall letter for the water pump & made an appointment to the Dealership& brought the car there In VW Sunnyvale, Ca..…
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Vehicle was purchased from Volkswagen Marin Dealership As Certified Pre-owned 2019 model year Tiguan SE 4motion Turbo Color Red on August 24, 2021 and has 18,664 mileage already upon delivery. We have received a recall letter for the water pump & made an appointment to the Dealership& brought the car there In VW Sunnyvale, Ca.. According to the service advisor (Tanya) that the recall we are acquiring is not in their database, but oil change service performed on 27,450 mileage (estimated) during that scheduled appointment for water pump service recall letter received. My wife paid for oil change service charges and fees total amount paid in cash for $450.00 - Now there are issues coming out while driving (1) frequently low tire pressure Front R-side (2) airbag icon shows (3) steering wheel steers to the right while driving; (4) the Volkswagen net-software was not activated nor provided.(5) the 4 alloy wheels has like a mirror scratch all over the design of the wheels This are the issues came out in the vehicle that we've purchased and owned possession... Please advise, hoping to get this into your attention and safety concerns is our main priority. Submitted by MR&MRS [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA ODI #11545531
Mileage unknown · Sep 15, 2023
Back Over PreventionForward Collision Avoidance
Was waiting at an intersection and began to pull out into traffic. The vehicle's wheels drop momentarily into the gutter section of the street (also causing the vehicle body to rock forward/down), but then the parking sensors "detect" the street itself as an object and slam on the brakes. This locks the vehicle's brakes while …
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Was waiting at an intersection and began to pull out into traffic. The vehicle's wheels drop momentarily into the gutter section of the street (also causing the vehicle body to rock forward/down), but then the parking sensors "detect" the street itself as an object and slam on the brakes. This locks the vehicle's brakes while it is half in the oncoming traffic's lane and is difficult to recover and continue driving. This happens several times a year after owning the vehicle for 3 years and is bound to cause an accident. In the most recent case, there was plenty of space before the next vehicle, but this won't always be true. The vehicle has not been inspected for this specific problem. It appears that the sensors are working "properly" in that they detect and alert of objects reasonably. The issue is with the logic built into the vehicle's computers when deciding when to apply/hold the brakes. The vehicle should be smart enough to recognize when body roll or other factors are causing a false positive and not be so quick override the driver's intentions. There is no warning when the system will misbehave and cause the vehicle to stop abruptly. The same intersection can be traversed hundreds of times and then suddenly it will beep and immediately lock the brakes.
NHTSA ODI #11544672
Mileage unknown · Aug 29, 2023
Forward Collision Avoidance
Driving my car on highway at 74 mph with no cars in front of or around me when the car braking system engaged by itself causing my Tiguan to slow from 74 to 50 in seconds. Took car into Vw dealer and had it there for 8 days. Was told there was no code from a scan and no duplication on test drive. Test drive was all of 3 miles.D…
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Driving my car on highway at 74 mph with no cars in front of or around me when the car braking system engaged by itself causing my Tiguan to slow from 74 to 50 in seconds. Took car into Vw dealer and had it there for 8 days. Was told there was no code from a scan and no duplication on test drive. Test drive was all of 3 miles.Dealer kept referring to TSB 45-21-01 vw bulletin. Turns out on research VW bulletin of that number is part of lawsuits. Having the brakes engage like that certainly put myself in danger of being hit/rear ended. Told by dealer "vehicle is operating normally when compared to another vehicle same model." Lastly was told by dealer if I was that concerned about it happening again why don't I trade it in for a new car. Some fix that is.
NHTSA ODI #11541538
Mileage unknown · Aug 21, 2023
Forward Collision Avoidance
I was traveling on the highway at 70 mph with no traffic ahead of me for at least a quarter mile when the car flashed the warning light for being too close to a car and then engaged the brakes dropping my speed from 70 to 50 in 3 seconds. If anyone had been behind me I would have been rear ended at highway speed.
NHTSA ODI #11539789
Mileage unknown · Aug 12, 2023
Unknown Or Other
I purchased a 2019 Tiguan as a low milage Certified Pre-Owned vehicle. In less than a year, it's been in the dealership for weeks due to an unidentified water leak. Apparently, VW's panoramic sunroof is prone to leaking. The first time I brought it in, they could not find a leak but there was obviously mold all over the rear pas…
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I purchased a 2019 Tiguan as a low milage Certified Pre-Owned vehicle. In less than a year, it's been in the dealership for weeks due to an unidentified water leak. Apparently, VW's panoramic sunroof is prone to leaking. The first time I brought it in, they could not find a leak but there was obviously mold all over the rear passenger floorboard. They charged me roughly $500 to clean the drains and sent me on my way. A couple months later, the leak and mold showed up again, so I brought it back to the dealership. Without completely explaining the fix plan moving forward, they completely disassembled the interior everything from the seats, headliner and trim panels all the way to the metal! Still unable to duplicate the leak, they hired a leak specialist, and still could not find a leak. They finally called me and tried to charge me to reassemble the vehicle. As a young military family, all I value is a safe reliable vehicle, and this vehicle has been nothing but a nightmare. If there is any way you can point me in the right direction to move forward on this known issue, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you again for your time. Aaron
NHTSA ODI #11538060
Mileage unknown · Aug 11, 2023
Electrical System
Started receiving error message “ 12v Battery Almost Drained, charge while driving” took it to a shop, they told me they battery was dead and replaced it with a new one. Checked the systems said everything else was working fine. Less than a year later the car is doing the same thing again. Car will not start and has to be jumpe…
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Started receiving error message “ 12v Battery Almost Drained, charge while driving” took it to a shop, they told me they battery was dead and replaced it with a new one. Checked the systems said everything else was working fine. Less than a year later the car is doing the same thing again. Car will not start and has to be jumped off.
NHTSA ODI #11537989
Mileage unknown · Aug 2, 2023
Forward Collision Avoidance
8/2/23 3:15 p.m. While starting to accellerate from a 4 way stop, the vehicle suddenly displayed a large red icon on the dash and slammed on the brakes bringing the vehicle to a complete stop. It was quite a violent stop and had there been passengers in the vehicle, they could have been hurt. Also, had there been another vehicle…
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8/2/23 3:15 p.m. While starting to accellerate from a 4 way stop, the vehicle suddenly displayed a large red icon on the dash and slammed on the brakes bringing the vehicle to a complete stop. It was quite a violent stop and had there been passengers in the vehicle, they could have been hurt. Also, had there been another vehicle behind me, I could have been rear ended. There was another vehicle approximately 80' in front of me that had just turned from the crossing road and another vehicle going the opposite direction in the intersection at about the same time. The vehicle has not yet been to the dealer for inspection. There was an amber exclamation point on the dash and another icon flashed on the dash occassionally. I did not know what these meant other than there was an issue with something that needed to be addressed soon. I had never seen these lights before. They came on shortly after the vehicle was started to beging this drive approximately 15 minutes before the issue. After the violent braking, all warning lights went out and the rest of the drive continued normally.
NHTSA ODI #11536114
Mileage unknown · Jul 28, 2023
Fuel/propulsion System
Gear shift from gears 1 to 2 or 2 to 1, the gears often “slip” resulting in a slight delay or jolt upon acceleration. This is an ongoing issue that occurs frequently, for years.
NHTSA ODI #11535094
Mileage unknown · Jul 7, 2023
Electrical SystemExterior LightingVehicle Speed Control
While driving an alert comes on that states check engine system. As soon as this happens all power in the car turns off. Engine is still running but you no longer have any turning signals, brake lights, headlights, air conditioning, etc. It happens randomly and has almost cause me to be rear ended due to car behind me not kno…
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While driving an alert comes on that states check engine system. As soon as this happens all power in the car turns off. Engine is still running but you no longer have any turning signals, brake lights, headlights, air conditioning, etc. It happens randomly and has almost cause me to be rear ended due to car behind me not knowing I was slowing down or stopping. This happens when I am not close to a dealership so they have not been able to witness this.
NHTSA ODI #11530993
Mileage unknown · Jul 4, 2023
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemPower Train
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 a…
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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.
NHTSA ODI #11530340
Official recalls
5Oct 31, 2022
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan LWB, Golf Sportswagen A7, Golf Alltrack, Golf R GP, Audi Q3, Audi A3 Cabriolet, 2019-2020 Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas, Golf A7, Audi A3, 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport, and 2021 Atlas FL vehicles. The tire pressure monitoring system may not detect an air pressure loss in adequate time when deflating occurs among all four tires simultaneously. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An undetected sudden loss of pressure in all four tires increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will update the TPMS software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 18, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audis customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are (Audi) 45J7, and (VW) 45J6 and 45J8.
Apr 6, 2022
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Tiguan and 2018-2021 Tiguan long wheel base (LWB) vehicles. Due to incorrect installation instructions, the accessory rear hatch spoiler may be insufficiently attached to the vehicle.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An insufficiently attached spoiler may separate from the vehicle, becoming a road hazard and increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the spoiler, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 3, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 66N5.
Mar 27, 2019
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Tiguan LWB vehicles. The tire information label contains inaccurate tire dimension and inflation pressure specifications. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: The incorrect specifications can result in improper tire inflations or to installing a tire of the wrong size on the vehicle. Either of these situations can increase the risk of a vehicle crash.
Remedy: Volkswagen has notified owners, and dealers will install a corrected tire information label, free of charge. The recall began April 16, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 01D2.
Mar 6, 2019
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Golf Sportwagen, 2019 Jetta, 2015-2019 Golf, and 2018-2019 Tiguan vehicles. The rear coil springs may prematurely fracture.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If a coil spring fractures while driving, it may damage a rear tire causing a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear axle coil springs, free of charge. The recall began April 12, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42J5.
Nov 26, 2018
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas and Tiguan and 2019 Volkswagen Jetta vehicles that do not have keyless entry. The instrument cluster may not provide an audible warning to let the driver know that the key is still in the ignition when the door is open. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the driver is not notified by an audible noise that the key is left in the ignition, it can increase the risk of vehicle theft or crash.
Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the instrument cluster, free of charge. The recall began December 13, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 90L3 and 90L4.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗