11 of the
214 complaints about the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan are about the
braking system — 5% of everything
reported for this model year.
Half of the failures with a mileage on record happened before
8,500 miles.
I made a report on 11/1/19 about issues with my vehicle due to a manufactures defect that the panoramic roof drains did not drain properly and water leaked throughout the vehicle. Please refer to ODI# 41277589 and Ref.# 238025. This is a known issue with these vehicles and should have been recalled by volkswagon. On September 18, 2023 my daughter got into an accident because the vehicle shut off and couldn't stop. Air bags never went off either. It has officially been determined that there was in fact an electrical short.
NHTSA complaint #11546885 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 112,000 milesJacksonville, FL
SERVICE BRAKES
INTERMITTENTLY POWER STEERING WOULD NOT ENGAGE WHEN THE CAR WAS STARTED. TURNED THE CAR OFF AFTER GETTING THE STEERING WHEEL TO LOCK AND POWER STEERING CAME BACK.. LATER NOTICED THE STEERING WAS LOOSE AND WOULD THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD OSCILLATE RAPIDLY. PROBLEM BECAME MORE FREQUENT OVER TWO WEEKS. TOOK TO DEALERSHIP AND THEY DIAGNOSED AS STEERING MODULE NEEDED REPROGRAMMING. PROBLEM RETURNED THE NEXT DAY AFTER BRAKE VACUUM PUMP WAS REPLACED FOR ~$500. REPAIR NOW DIAGNOSED AS REPLACE STEERING RACK AND WIRING MODULE. CAR HAS 112K MILES MOSTLY HIGHWAY DRIVING. NO OFF ROAD DRIVING. VW SAYS BEYOND WARRANTY NOT THEIR PROBLEM. $2200 TO REPAIR. SORRY BUT STEERING IS A FUNDAMENTAL ASPECT OF DRIVING A CAR. WILL MY CAR STILL BE SAFE TO DRIVE?
NHTSA complaint #11254455 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 35,000 milesWinnipeg, MO
SERVICE BRAKES
THE ELECTRONIC E-BRAKE APPEARS TO HAVE SHORTED OUT AND ENGAGED FROM MOISTURE AND I WAS UNABLE TO DISENGAGE THE BRAKE FOR NEARLY AN HOUR. THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY, HOWEVER WITH THE LOCATION OF THE EMERGENCY E-BRAKE BUTTON IN THE CENTER CONSOLE AND THE POTENTIAL IT CAN SHORT OUT OR BE ACCIDENTALLY PRESSED WHILE DRIVING THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SAFETY ISSUE.
NHTSA complaint #10899827 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 60 milesSeattle, WA
SERVICE BRAKES
MY CAR HAD TWO RECALLS AND I BROUGHT IT IN AS VW OF AMERICA RECOMMENDED AND I DID HAVE OIL CHANGE AT THE SAME TIME ON 2/19/2016. I WENT ON VACATION AND WHEN I CAME BACK I NOTICE THE VEHICLE DROVE ROUGHER THEN BEFORE THIS SERVICE. ON WEDNESDAY 03/02/2016, I WAS ON THE FREEWAY AND NOTICE MY CAR LOST BRAKE FUNCTION, I TRY USING EMERGENCY BRAKE AND TRY DOWN SHIFT NOTHING WORK. I FEEL BLESS THAT I MANAGE TO AVOID TWO CAR ACCIDENT AND IT WOULD OF BEEN MY FAULT. I MANAGE TO HIT THE CURB TO STOP THE VEHICLE. I SHIFT MY CAR TO PARK AND SHUT THE ENGINE RIGHT AWAY. LOTS OF ICONS INDICATOR WAS ON (AIRBAG, ABS, ENGINE...) AND I TOOK A VIDEO OF THE DASH. I THEN CALL MY INSURANCE HAD IT TOWED BACK TO THE DEALER SERVICE. NEXT MORNING I WAS TOLD THAT IT'S GOING TO COST ME $3K+ TO FIX ALL THE STUFF THEY TELLING ME THE FOUND AND CLAIM IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE RECALLS OR OIL CHANGED THEY DID, PRIOR TO SERVICE I HAD NO PROBLEM WITH MY VEHICLE. I HAVE CONTACTED VW AMERICA THEY SAID THEY WOULD LOOK INTO IT AND HAVE CALLED THEM A FEW TIME NOW AND NOTHING WORD ON WHAT THEY GOING TO DO ABOUT IT. I DON'T FEEL SAFE TO GET BACK IN MY VEHICLE AND ALSO NOT SURE THEY ENSURE MY VEHICLE IS SAFE TO OPERATE PLUS THEY ASKING FOR $3K+ TO ADDRESS SOMETHING CLEARING DEFECTIVE.
NHTSA complaint #10840392 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 6,000 milesDaten, OHCrash1 injured
SERVICE BRAKES
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH AND ATTEMPTING TO ENGAGE THE BRAKES, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO STOP. AS A RESULT, THE VEHICLE CONTINUED INTO AN INTERSECTION AND CRASHED HEAD ON INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED A CONCUSSION, INJURIES ON THE LEFT LEG, AND NECK PAIN, WHICH REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 6,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.
NHTSA complaint #10652459 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 3,500 milesDPO, AA
SERVICE BRAKES
THE BRAKES FIRST APPEARED TO BE SLUGGISH AS I WAS STOPPING FOR A LIGHT. ONCE THE CAR FINALLY STOPPED, THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER WARNING LIGHT BEGAN TO FLASH AND THE ENGINE DIED. I PUT THE CAR IN PARK, TURNED OFF THE IGNITION, THEN TURNED IT BACK ON, AND PUT THE CAR INTO DRIVE. THE ENGINE STARTED, BUT THE CAR SHUDDERED. IT DROVE LESS THAN A MILE BEFORE THE ENGINE DIED AGAIN. I WENT THROUGH THE SAME SEQUENCE IN ORDER TO RESTART THE CAR, BUT THE ENGINE KEPT DYING. IN ALL, IT DIED FIVE TIMES IN FIVE MILES, DYING FASTER AND SHUDDERING HARDER UPON RESTART. NOW, THIS CAR IS LIKE NEW. IT WAS BOUGHT BRAND NEW 2.5 YEARS AGO AND HAS LESS THAN 4000 MILES ON IT. IT HAD A CLEAN INSPECTION THREE MONTHS AGO, AND UP UNTIL TODAY NEVER SHOWED ANY MECHANICAL PROBLEMS. IT HAS BEEN IN NO COLLISIONS. THE PROBLEMS BEGAN SUDDENLY WITHOUT WARNING. AND NOW THE CAR BARELY FUNCTIONS. IF I HAD BEEN IN FAST-MOVING TRAFFIC, I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED.
NHTSA complaint #10606563 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 19,000 milesOrem, UT
SERVICE BRAKES
THE CAR ENGINE AND POWER HAS SHUT DOWN 5 TIMES WHILE DRIVING. FOUR TIMES ON SIDE STREETS AS WELL AS ONCE ON THE HIGHWAY. WHEN THIS OCCURS THE CAR MUST BE PLACED INTO PARK TO RESTART VEHICLE. THE CAR LOOSES ALL POWER EXCEPT RADIO STAYS ON. HIGHWAY INCIDENT THE BRAKES HAD TO BE PUMPED. WE HAVE TAKEN THE CAR INTO THE DEALERSHIP TO BE FIXED EACH TIME IT HAS HAPPENED. FIRST TIME WE WERE TOLD A COMPUTER UPDATE WAS NEEDED. SECOND TIME THE WIRING HARNESS AND THIS THIRD TIME THE FUEL PUMP. THERE ARE TIMES IT HAPPENED BEFORE WE WERE ABLE TO GET THE CAR INTO THE DEALERSHIP. SECOND TIME IT HAPPENED RIGHT AFTER I PULLED OUT OF THE DEALERSHIP.
NHTSA complaint #10579682 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 11,000 milesST Louis, MO
SERVICE BRAKES
THE REAR BRAKES SEEM TO BE DEFECTIVE IN DESIGN, THEY GRIND AND SCREECH WHEN THE VEHICLE IS CRAWLING ALONG, WE HAVE HAD THE DEALER REPLACE THEM AND THEY STILL DO IT AND VW SAYS THAT THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIX IT AND WE ARE WORRIED THAT AS IT GETS WORSE IT WILL AFFECT THE SAFETY OF THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER MENTIONED THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL REPORTS OF THIS BUT VW HAS DONE NOTHING TO FIX IT.
NHTSA complaint #10546030 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 28,700 milesEvergreen, CO
SERVICE BRAKES
FOR NO APPARENT REASON MANY INDICATOR LIGHTS SIGNAL AT THE SAME TIME INDICATING TIRE MONITORING SYSTEM NOT AVAILABLE, LICENSE PLATE LIGHT NOT WORKING, LEFT TURN SIGNAL NOT WORKING, BRAKES LIGHTS DO NOT LIGHT UP, ESC NOT FUNCTIONING. TRUNK ALSO WILL NOT UNLOCK. IT CAN BE RESET (I THINK, IT WORKED ON ONE EPISODE) BY MULTIPLE (10-15 TIMES STARTING AND RESTARTING CAR) AS THIS DEFAULT HAS ONLY HAPPENED A FEW TIMES AND I HAVE BEEN AWAY FROM HOME I AM UNSURE EXACTLY WHAT RESETS IT. STARTING AND RESTARTING THE VEHICLE THIS MANY TIMES CAN NOT BE GOOD FOR THE VEHICLE ENGINE ETC. THE VEHICLE SYSTEM DID THIS ERROR A FEW TIMES OVER A COUPLE OF DAYS, STOPPED THEN STARTING DOING IT AGAIN. VEHICLE DRIVES DIFFERENTLY WHEN THE ERROR OCCURS. IT STARTS OUT FROM A STOPPED POSITION AND THE VEHICLE FEELS MORE LIKE IT IS DRIVING WITH THE REAR TIRES AND FEELS LIKE IT IS SLIPPING. THESE DEFAULTS ARE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, HAD TO DRIVE HOME POST SNOW STORM WITH ALL OF THESE MALFUNCTIONS, NO BRAKE LIGHTS AND NO LEFT TURN SIGNAL AND NO ESC. VEHICLE ONLY HAS 28,700 MILES ON IT.
NHTSA complaint #10482412 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 680 milesWest Hollywood, CA
SERVICE BRAKES
WHILE SLOWLY ROLLING TO A STOP THE BRAKES LOCKED UP AND DID NOT ENGAGE. I HAD TO APPLY SEVERE FORCE TO THE BRAKE PEDAL. WHEN I APPLIED THE FORCE THE BRAKE PEDAL RESISTED AND POPPED BACK TWICE BEFORE THE VEHICLE FINALLY STOPPED. PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT I HAVE REPORTED TO VW AND TAKEN THE VEHICLE IN FOR ISSUES WITH THE TRANSMISSION AND THE ENGINE SHAKING. THE CAR WAS RETURNED TO ME 10 DAYS PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT. THE TWO MAY OR MAY NOT BE RELATED.
NHTSA complaint #10458932 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 100 milesBrownsville, TX
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH AND ATTEMPTING A RIGHT TURN, THE BRAKES EXHIBITED AN ABNORMAL NOISE WHEN DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 4,891.
NHTSA complaint #10445250 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.