2025 Volkswagen Tiguan Owner Complaints

Sunroofs suddenly exploding

7/18/2025

My wife purchased herself a new 2025 Volkswagen Tiguen on June 20, 2025. On July 20, 2025 she hit a deer. The car sustained significant front end damage. Being that we live 45 minutes from the dealership we brought it to our local body shop, Petrella Bros. The damage total was over $13,000.00. Petrella Bros. has been trying to get new parts for this vehicle for almost a month and has been told that Volkswagen has not made extra parts for their new cars yet. Today I personally spent an hour on the phone with the dealership as well as over 3 hours with Volkswagen corporate who both also told me they cannot currently get the parts and have no idea when they would be available. Our body shop expressed that when a new model comes out the manufacturer is obligated to have a surplus of replacement parts on hand for this very reason. On top of all this our insurance company has done their due diligence and gave us a rental car as well as extended it but after 7 more days we will need to pay out of pocket. Also my wife is making a fairly large monthly payment and still paying insurance for an Toyota Corolla rental car. It's disheartening when the dealership and manufacturer cannot stand behind their product.

8/22/2025

To whom it may concern: I wish to report what a believe is a defect in the new Tiguan which is causing the engine to overheat. The check engine light came on the day after we purchased the vehicle. This was due to a part of the lower shutter in the front of the car breaking off, which prohibited the shutter from opening and shutting. It could not cool the engine and thus the engine started to overheat. We are not entirely sure what caused the piece to break, the mechanic said it was likely a rock. We did not get into an accident and in fact had only driven the car once. So I wanted to make this report in case someone else had a similar issue as if this piece is prone to breaking, it could potentially cause other more serious issues.

7/3/2025

I was at a complete stop at the red light, vehicle began shaking and shut down. Gears would not work therefore I was not able to put it in neutral to at least push out of the road. The vehicle then began cranking on and off on its own, without me pushing start/stop engine. This was completely unexpected as the truck is one week old, had a full tank of gas and it was especially dangerous to have shut down on a busy highway. Also when reversing the vehicle makes a weird click noise.

12/13/2025

To whom it may concern: I wish to report what a believe is a defect in the new Tiguan which is causing the engine to overheat. The check engine light came on the day after we purchased the vehicle. This was due to a part of the lower shutter in the front of the car breaking off, which prohibited the shutter from opening and shutting. It could not cool the engine and thus the engine started to overheat. We are not entirely sure what caused the piece to break, the mechanic said it was likely a rock. We did not get into an accident and in fact had only driven the car once. So I wanted to make this report in case someone else had a similar issue as if this piece is prone to breaking, it could potentially cause other more serious issues.

7/3/2025

I bought this car, a 2025 Tiguan 4MOTION, on 10/25/2025. On 11/26, when I used the car, I noticed that the covers of the front doors are made of leather and padded, while the rear doors are made of hard, non-flexible plastic. In the event of a side impact, the rear passengers could suffer bodily injuries from being hit by a surface. VW agreed to replace the car, but I had to cover the difference in value between one car and the other. The new car is an Atlas Cross Sport.

11/2/2025

I purchased Tiguan SE on July 2, 2025 and 6 days later with about 200 miles on vehicle, check engine light appeared with message ‘fuel system error.’ I was very disappointed that such a new vehicle reported an error on a critical system. Dealership had trouble identifying source of light and advice of VW technical advice was advised to replace entire fuel tank. This clearly sounds like a manufacture defect and I would like to know if other Tiguan owners have experienced similar issues. Given that VW has a history of defrauding consumers over diesel fuel systems, could this be another fuel problem. So far, upon contacting manufacturer they have brushed aside concerns stating it’s covered warranty and not acknowledging diminution of value that such an early defect could have on the resale/economic value of this car.

7/15/2025

I was at a complete stop at the red light, vehicle began shaking and shut down. Gears would not work therefore I was not able to put it in neutral to at least push out of the road. The vehicle then began cranking on and off on its own, without me pushing start/stop engine. This was completely unexpected as the truck is one week old, had a full tank of gas and it was especially dangerous to have shut down on a busy highway. Also when reversing the vehicle makes a weird click noise.

12/13/2025

Started noticing issues within first week of purchase. Cruise control will not increase nor decrease speed when set. Steering wheel controls will not advance or decrease speed. Intermittent problem. First service dealer could not replicate. Second service dealer contacted VW assist and was advised to replace steering wheel buttons. Did not fix problem. Third service VW assist advised to replace clock spring and wiring harness. Part still on back order almost a month later. Meanwhile, vehicle now rapidly decreases or advances speed on own while cruise control is set. Adaptive control function is off and not source of issue. I feel this is software related issue as I have also had malfunction of infotainment radio system. Another reason I feel software issue is due to vehicle back up safety braking activates and throws vehicle into park when nothing is behind me.

11/9/2025

I was at a complete stop at the red light, vehicle began shaking and shut down. Gears would not work therefore I was not able to put it in neutral to at least push out of the road. The vehicle then began cranking on and off on its own, without me pushing start/stop engine. This was completely unexpected as the truck is one week old, had a full tank of gas and it was especially dangerous to have shut down on a busy highway. Also when reversing the vehicle makes a weird click noise.

12/13/2025

The automatic emergency braking feature comes on when it shouldn’t; but it instead, throws me into park and puts on the emergency brake. The date 6/28/25 is just the first time it happened. Its happened multiples times (upward of 15), and I’ve physically had the car for less than 3 months (it’s been in the shop for just under a month, total). It’s very jarring when it happens and is so dangerous and happens so often, I don’t even want to drive it. The front assist fault light has been illuminated and turns off when I restart the car. Other directional (sides and rear) fault lights have also illuminated on the dash, just to turn off right after. They appear randomly or usually after it happens. The dealership has replicated the issue and currently has my car. No warning lights are currently illuminated. But I do have pictures of them. Luckily, it hasn’t caused an accident YET. But I am very wary about braking because it’s a common occurrence at this point. I don’t have a repair invoice as my car is still currently in the shop.

9/12/2025

The automatic emergency braking feature comes on when it shouldn’t; but it instead, throws me into park and puts on the emergency brake. The date 6/28/25 is just the first time it happened. Its happened multiples times (upward of 15), and I’ve physically had the car for less than 3 months (it’s been in the shop for just under a month, total). It’s very jarring when it happens and is so dangerous and happens so often, I don’t even want to drive it. The front assist fault light has been illuminated and turns off when I restart the car. Other directional (sides and rear) fault lights have also illuminated on the dash, just to turn off right after. They appear randomly or usually after it happens. The dealership has replicated the issue and currently has my car. No warning lights are currently illuminated. But I do have pictures of them. Luckily, it hasn’t caused an accident YET. But I am very wary about braking because it’s a common occurrence at this point. I don’t have a repair invoice as my car is still currently in the shop.

9/12/2025

Started noticing issues within first week of purchase. Cruise control will not increase nor decrease speed when set. Steering wheel controls will not advance or decrease speed. Intermittent problem. First service dealer could not replicate. Second service dealer contacted VW assist and was advised to replace steering wheel buttons. Did not fix problem. Third service VW assist advised to replace clock spring and wiring harness. Part still on back order almost a month later. Meanwhile, vehicle now rapidly decreases or advances speed on own while cruise control is set. Adaptive control function is off and not source of issue. I feel this is software related issue as I have also had malfunction of infotainment radio system. Another reason I feel software issue is due to vehicle back up safety braking activates and throws vehicle into park when nothing is behind me.

11/9/2025