2021 Volkswagen Tiguan Owner Complaints

I have to put oil into the engine every 2000 miles. The dealership has run 2 separate oil consumption tests and they claim they are unable to find anything wrong.

11/21/2022

The car will suddenly shut off while slowing down or coming to a stop. The “start/stop” error message is displayed and the car displays to “manually restart car”. At first this happened only sporadically, but now this is happening while on the highway in traffic or while turning in an intersection. Today it has happened 5 times. Our car only has 10,000 miles and has had problems from the beginning. The fuel pump had to be replaced after sitting at the dealership for a MONTH while they tried to fix and unknown “EPC” error that displayed and completely shut our car off while driving on the highway—not coming to a stop.

12/5/2022

The center console (where my lights, the buttons for the sunroof, and where typically sunglasses would go) was dangling and the clips inside were broken

8/4/2021

Sunroof exploded while I was driving down the highway. I was going 65-70 mph, no other vehicles around me.

7/11/2022

The gas door on the vehicle would not open. It is locked when the vehicle is locked, and is unlocked when the vehicle is unlocked. The gas door opens by pushing the door, and the door will pop open. After repeatedly locking and unlocking the vehicle, the gas door still would not open. I ended up prying the door open, breaking it off in the process.

12/3/2021

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the overhead console detached from the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the overhead console to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

8/26/2022

The gas door on the vehicle would not open. It is locked when the vehicle is locked, and is unlocked when the vehicle is unlocked. The gas door opens by pushing the door, and the door will pop open. After repeatedly locking and unlocking the vehicle, the gas door still would not open. I ended up prying the door open, breaking it off in the process.

12/3/2021

My Tiguan was towed on [XXX] to Beyer Volkswagen [4017 Valley Pike, Winchester, VA 22602] for service to repair a sudden and unexpected vehicle failure.  On [XXX], I started the Tiguan and noticed a hard start. I drove the vehicle about 4 miles down the road and noticed a smell of gasoline when I stopped and opened the door. I immediately drove the car home at which point I noticed gasoline on the road and driveway, as well as a heavy persistent smell of gas. I moved the vehicle to the road and had it towed [$95 at my expense] to Beyer VW for service. This failure rendered the vehicle undrivable and luckily was able to get it towed before it became engulfed in flames. [XXX], after getting the vehicle back for 1 week (dealership claiming repair fixed) the problem was not fixed and in fact gas spewed from the engine at a higher rate. Pictures attach showing about of gas which instantly dispelled at start and move from driveway to road. This is a critical vw problem that will result in fire. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

3/5/2024

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated while driving out of the driveway at approximately 5 MPH, the parking brakes engaged independently. An alert stating that the vehicle is in motion was heard. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, and was able to continue to drive; however, the failure reoccurred while driving on the highway. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer. The dealer informed the contact that they were unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provide no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 7,000.

3/10/2022

So this is not related to a specific incident, more long term. The throttle response in this vehicle is downright dangerous. MAny of times I feel like I am going to cause an accident. The throttle response is so laggy and jerky that off the line it seems to hesitate for almost 2 seconds. Light turns yellow? Good luck, it will barely downshift and get moving before it turns red. Sometimes the response is good, sometimes it terrible. No predictability. Have to turn it to sport mode when I have to make a left turn into traffic just to get a jump start. There are numerous forums that have talked about the issue. I have even brought it up to the dealership with no fix recommended. I have driven so many cars in my day, not one like this. Thinking about selling the car back just to get something safer unless they come out with a fix for it.

7/13/2023

ON 12MAR2021 WE TOOK POSSESSION OF OUR 2021 TIGUAN R-LINE IN WHICH WE PURCHASED NEW FROM VW CHATHAM ONTARIO CANADA. ON 13 MARCH 2021 WE WERE DRIVING HOME AROUND 8PM ON HIGHWAY 21 AT A SPEED OF 85 KILOMETRES TOWARDS THAMESVILLE, ONTARIO, TEMPERATURE WAS 2 DEG CELSIUS, WINDOWS WERE ROLLED UP SUNROOF CLOSED AND SUNROOF SCREEN WAS COMPLETELY OPEN WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN A LOUD BANG EAR RINGING HAPPENED AND THE DRIVER MY FIANC AND I WERE COVERED IN SMALL PIECES OF GLASS. WE IMMEDIATELY PULLOVER AND LOOKS UP AND FOUND THAT THE FRONT PANORAMIC SECTION OF THE SUNROOF HAD EXPLODED. I AM 100% CERTAIN THAT A ROCK DID NOT CAUSE THIS AS THE ROAD WAS EMPTY NO OTHER CARS. MY FIANC WAS EXTREMELY RATTLED AND VERY UPSET. I OPENED THE DOORS TO SEE IF ANY FOREIGN OBJECT WAS INSIDE THE VEHICLE AND NOTHING WAS PRESENT. THE AMOUNT OF GLASS INSIDE THE VEHICLE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THEN THE AMOUNT OF GLASS MISSING FROM THE SUNROOF. WE CLOSED THE SUNROOF SCREEN AND DROVE HOME ANOTHER 4 KILOMETRES. WHEN WE ARRIVED HOME WE PULLED THE VEHICLE INTO THE GARAGE AND INSPECTED THE SUNROOF. WHAT I SEEN WAS VERY DISTURBING AS THE GLASS REMAINING WAS BILLED AWAY FROM THE VEHICLE CONFIRMING THE GLASS EXPLODED AWAY FROM THE VEHICLE NOT INTO THE VEHICLE.

3/14/2021

After owning this vehicle for about a month (and 50 of MY miles, 526 total), this new vehicle was taken to the local dealer for a rattle/vibration coming from an area behind the left ear of the driver. The vehicle has now been at the dealer for over a week and is not expected to be returned for at least another 5-7 days. After doing some research I have found that this issue has existed on VW Tiguan's since at least 2018. https://www.vwvortex.com/threads/2018-tiguan-issues-purchased-on-9-16-b-pillar.8903433/ Some have stated this is a safety issue concerning welds in the B-pillar structure. I just wanted it to be on record that I am part of the owners that is experiencing this issue.

7/21/2021

When the vehicle is started remotely and cruise control was not turned off before turning off the vehicle, the ACC system shows an error and fails to engage when the driver tries to set cruise control. If one relies on ACC often but does not often use remote start, this situation can lead to improper driver expectations and rear-end collisions as the car doesn’t brake when the driver expects it to. This is a well-known issue at VW dealerships and widely reported by owners on VW forums. Mostly it’s just an annoyance, but today I experienced it as a safety issue.

6/5/2021

my Adjusting distance / gap configuration is set to "far" but it so far it happened twice while @70 mph speed and the car ahead of me start slowing down and my car was supposed to start adapting, instead it start accelerating which isn't the norm. if i wasn't paying attention i could have rear ended the car in front of me on high speed causing death or major injuries to everyone around me.

8/16/2021

I have had to replace multiple windshields for something barely hitting it on the freeway - I think this is my 4th windshield and have not been driving near big trucks or construction during the incidents. Another issue is that I have had the car abruptly break in both leaving the parking lot and on the freeway in traffic thinking I am going to hit something when nothing is there which seems to be a sensor issue.

5/22/2023

The front windshield is very fragile. I am now replacing it again after having replaced it just a year ago from the same issue. Crack develops and travels across the entire window.

3/12/2024

When using remote start function the following safety function are not operative, not working as advertised by VW, Adaptive Cruise Control, Cruise Control, Automatic/Emergency Braking, Rear Cross Traffic Warning and Forward Collision Warning. I have been trying to get my local VW dealer, VW of Corpus Christi to repair the issue and the are telling me that it is a "known issue and that VW is working on a fix. This has been the case for over two months now. My concern is that VW is selling vehicles that have a potentially dangerous safety issue and are using they costumers as test dummies. If VW is in fact aware that there vehicles have safety issue, why are they still being allowed to sell them in the US? Seriously concerned...

8/18/2021

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 MPH, the vehicle would brake independently suddenly. The contact stated that the independent braking had been an ongoing failure since he purchased the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated, however, prior to the sudden braking, a warning beeping sound would activate. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that there was no failure of the braking system. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 11,000.

8/15/2022

The seal on the passenger headlight on my 2021 Tiguan failed and condensation accumulated in the light. After a short while, the light shorted out and needed to be replaced. The dealer I went to was not very responsive and stated the light was on backorder and they could not obtain. Once the light shorted, the dealership took the car overnight, provided a loaner and replaced the headlight. For the record, I do not know if the light is VW or after-market and do not care as long as it continues to work. This is important b/c now the driver headlight seal failed and the light shorted out. Same story with the headlight on backorder and the dealership will not replace nor provide a loner. It is apparent the headlights used in VW Tiguans are faulty and run the risk of shorting out. So I am left a leased vehicle that is literally not legally fit to drive - no head light, turn-signal is also not operable.

3/6/2024

The overhead control console breaks free and falls down in front of the rear view mirror. Inspecting the broken console, the screws are to tight causing the plastic to fatigue and eventually break. Searching this issue on reddit, it seems common enough, people have had them fall when closing a door, pots holes ect. Mine broke free when giving over a speed bump.

8/14/2024

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive. The low oil level warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who observed a crack in the oil pan. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was towed back to the independent mechanic, who then diagnosed a failure with the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000. The VIN was not available.

6/3/2024

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the vehicle was leaking oil. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the valve cover needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. There was gray smoke coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the valve stem seals needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 53,000. The VIN was not available.

10/8/2024

The adaptive cruise control will be working perfectly fine and then it will just stop working. I can be using it all day and then all of a sudden I get in the car and I get up to speed and I go to press the adaptive cruise control button to set it and it starts off trying to set the speed and then all the sudden I get an error saying that it can’t set the speed. However, none of the buttons to try to set it back on track will not do anything you just keep getting the same error code with the little red light on the dashboard with the car in a little parentheses things around it. But if I were to put it in park turn the engine off and then turn it back on it works perfectly fine. It’s been dangerous because that’s happened to me on the interstate and I’ve noticed that it happens quite often when I’m on the interstate so I’m not sure if it’s because of the speed of up to 75 mph that I’m going but it’s also done that when I’ve been going 30 mph and I’ve tried to set it. It’s dangerous because if I have my music up loud I don’t hear the ding and the light on the dashboard doesn’t always catch my attention so I’m assuming that the adaptive cruise control has taken and is working correctly when it’s not. I bought this vehicle brand new on a lease with 100 miles on it and it’s always done it since I purchased the vehicle in September 2021.

10/17/2021

So this issue occurs once you remote start your vehicle. If you have remote started your vehicle, you get in the car, activate it by pressing the start/engine on button and go - when you later go to use the Adaptive Cruise Control or Standard Cruise control the vehicle will fail to activate either cruise control option. The only way to regain control of this feature is to power off the car completely and then restart it without using Remote Start. This is a known VW issue and there has been no observable action or report about this issue except for discussion with the dealer/service department. It should be noted that this is a non-issue if you do not use the Remote Start Function.

1/14/2022

From a cold start and backing down the driveway, the SUV displayed an error code “Error: Driver Door Contact Switch” and automatically put the park break on. The driver had to put the Tiguan in park, turn off the vehicle, and release the emergency break restart the Tiguan and pulled back up the driveway. The driver proceeded to open/shut all the doors to ensure that all doors were closed. The drive started the Tiguan and proceeded to back out the driveway and the same thing happened with the error code and the park brake. The driver restarted the Tiguan and pulled back up the driveway and turned off the Tiguan exited the vehicle locked it and noticed the error code was still showing on the dash.

11/22/2022

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 - 20 MPH the "Stop and Start Failure" message was displayed. The contact restarted the vehicle and the "Fault Electronic Brake" and "Driver Door Switch Failure" messages became displayed. The contact pulled to the side of the road and opened then closed the front driver’s side door and restarted the vehicle. The contact repeated the process three times however, the messages remained displayed. The contact continued to drive the vehicle at approximately 15 - 20 MPH and the parking brake suddenly activated. Once the parking brake had independently released the contact was able to get to the side of the road and turned off and restarted the vehicle several times. The failure had started occurring more frequently. The contact stated that several other unknown messages were displayed. The dealer had been informed of the failure however, the vehicle had not been taken to the dealer. The vehicle had not been diagnosed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 20,000.

1/29/2024

I was driving down the road and the overhead console fell out of the roof...i researched it and found this has happened to many people. Just glad i didnt wreck

8/4/2022

On ~August 1, 2022, the "overheard console" (containing lights, BT microphone, and sunglass compartment) unexpectedly "dropped" out of the vehicle's ceiling. The plastic and adhesive keeping this part in place appeared to have cracked into pieces, and the weight of the part caused it to fall. I was driving during this incident and it startled me into nearly having an accident. When I called the dealership I purchased this brand new car from less than two years ago, (Hewlett Volkswagen of Georgetown, Texas) they informed me that I was one of MANY customers experiencing the same issue on Tiguans manufactured in the last 2 years. In fact, when I described what happened, the service advisor guessed my make/model before I provided further detail. The dealership refused to accommodate my safety (let along the inconvenience) by offering a tow/loaner vehicle, so I had to drive over 25 miles (~40 minutes) to bring the car in to get the broken console removed. In that trip, I almost got into another accident because the part dangling from my ceiling was obstructing my view while driving. I have been waiting 6 weeks to get this part replaced, which the dealership confirmed was back order issues because they've had so many instances with other VW Tiguans this summer. I have contacted VW Customer Service hotline AND the dealership about a recall on this, but both validated that they've never filed anything despite being fully aware that "dropping overhead consoles" have been a RECURRING safety risk for cars with my make/model/year for months. While I've waited for VW to take responsibility, I've injured myself getting into my vehicle at night because I have no lights inside the car, let alone at extreme risk for assault. And because I cannot use the BT microphone, a feature which encouraged me to buy this car brand new, I have had to make sacrifices in my career. My life and the lives of others have been put at risk because VW has refused to consider this a safety recall.

9/7/2022

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the overhead console detached from the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the overhead console to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

8/26/2022

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the sunroof console detached. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a detached sunroof console. The contact was informed that the sunroof console needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that the parts to repair the vehicle needed to be ordered; however, the parts were on back-order. The contact stated that he had been waiting on the delivery of the parts for 45 days and parts were still on back-order. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 26,000.

11/4/2024

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the air bag control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to contact the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 13,000.

10/3/2022

I scraped the curb with my passenger front tire and all my side air bags deployed. There was no other damage done to the vehicle.

7/24/2024

I have had to replace multiple windshields for something barely hitting it on the freeway - I think this is my 4th windshield and have not been driving near big trucks or construction during the incidents. Another issue is that I have had the car abruptly break in both leaving the parking lot and on the freeway in traffic thinking I am going to hit something when nothing is there which seems to be a sensor issue.

5/22/2023

Vehicle keeps having all warning lights and warning messages come on whenever the car starts. Warning lights maintain on constantly and has audible beeping to indicate the warnings. Vehicle would also put itself into park randomly at, as well as disengage collision and lane sensors while driving. Vehicle has been taken to the dealership, and has been reproduced by them, stating "we have never seen this before and are not sure what to do, we need to reach out to Volkswagen directly" most recent update, they needed to replace the door harness and F5 module but are still unclear with the status of the repair. Dealership has indicated it's safe to drive if I wanted to pick it up while they figure out the issue.

11/9/2023

When using remote start function the following safety function are not operative, not working as advertised by VW, Adaptive Cruise Control, Cruise Control, Automatic/Emergency Braking, Rear Cross Traffic Warning and Forward Collision Warning. I have been trying to get my local VW dealer, VW of Corpus Christi to repair the issue and the are telling me that it is a "known issue and that VW is working on a fix. This has been the case for over two months now. My concern is that VW is selling vehicles that have a potentially dangerous safety issue and are using they costumers as test dummies. If VW is in fact aware that there vehicles have safety issue, why are they still being allowed to sell them in the US? Seriously concerned...

8/18/2021

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated while driving out of the driveway at approximately 5 MPH, the parking brakes engaged independently. An alert stating that the vehicle is in motion was heard. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, and was able to continue to drive; however, the failure reoccurred while driving on the highway. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer. The dealer informed the contact that they were unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provide no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 7,000.

3/10/2022

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan equipped with Continental Tires, Tire Line: ProContact TX, Tire Size: 235/50/R19, DOT Number: A384WD2D. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the TPMS warning illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer where the fault code was reset; however, the mechanic there was no failure found. The contact stated that on another occasion while driving 70 MPH, the rear passenger’s side tire experienced a blowout. The contact stated that the TPMS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle was towed to a tire shop and had the rear passenger side replaced with a used tire. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer however, the mechanic found no failure with the vehicle. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 3,200. The VIN was not available.

6/2/2022

The backup camera freezes and stops working. The car has to be turned off and back on again for it to work. The dealer informed me it was not a safety issue and I should use my mirrors. This is absolutely a safety issue.

7/19/2022

The Infotainment system is horrible. It causes driving issues when it starts randomly playing music, freezes up and does not work.

7/27/2022

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the air bag control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to contact the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 13,000.

10/3/2022

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the sunroof shattered. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 7,000.

3/20/2023

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 - 20 MPH the "Stop and Start Failure" message was displayed. The contact restarted the vehicle and the "Fault Electronic Brake" and "Driver Door Switch Failure" messages became displayed. The contact pulled to the side of the road and opened then closed the front driver’s side door and restarted the vehicle. The contact repeated the process three times however, the messages remained displayed. The contact continued to drive the vehicle at approximately 15 - 20 MPH and the parking brake suddenly activated. Once the parking brake had independently released the contact was able to get to the side of the road and turned off and restarted the vehicle several times. The failure had started occurring more frequently. The contact stated that several other unknown messages were displayed. The dealer had been informed of the failure however, the vehicle had not been taken to the dealer. The vehicle had not been diagnosed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 20,000.

1/29/2024

On 4/6/24 the steering wheel locked while driving the car . Causing the car to go off the road into a 40 ft ditch and hit a tree

4/18/2024

on the 3rd windshield in less than 1 year... the smallest impact breaks the windshield. There is a major problem with fragile windshields in the VW line.

7/5/2024

The suspension components inclusive of struts and knuckles corroded and cracked causing the suspension to collapse in the front and rear of the vehicle. Luckily the suspension didn't collapse while driving and has not resulted in any injuries. The dealership (Gunther VW in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) inspected and replaced the front suspension but left the rear suspension untouched after certifying the integrity. 2 weeks later, the rear suspension collapsed.

11/11/2024