2012 Volkswagen Tiguan
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 153 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 6th highest complaint count among 17 Tiguan model years with reports.
Of the 2012 reports, 10 involved a crash. 6 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Other or unspecifiedMay 16, 2018
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2016 Eos, 2012 Passat, 2012-2016 CC, 2015-2016 e-Golf, 2011-2015 Touareg, 2012-2015 and 2017 Tiguan, and 2011-2016 Golf and 2011-2013 GTI vehicles. Modifications made while the vehicles were in an internal evaluation period may cause the affected vehicles to not comply with all of the applicable regulatory requirements.
If the vehicles do not meet all regulatory requirements, there could be an increased risk of a crash, fire, or injury.
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will repair the vehicles to make them fully compliant or Volkswagen will repurchase them if necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 29, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.
Campaign 18V329000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, frontalAug 4, 2015
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Volkswagen CC, and Passat, 2010-2013 Eos, 2011-2014 Golf, GTI, Jetta, and Tiguan, and 2012-2014 Jetta Sportwagen vehicles. In the affected vehicles, debris may contaminate the air bag clock spring, a spiral wound, flat cable that keeps the air bag powered while the steering wheel is being turned. This contamination may tear the cable and result in a loss of electrical connection to the driver's frontal air bag.
A loss of electrical connection to the driver's frontal air bag will prevent the air bag from deploying in the event of a vehicle crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install a protective cover over the steering wheel clock spring if the air bag light is off. If the airbag light is on and the steering wheel clock spring requires replacement, dealers will install a new steering wheel clock spring. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on January 15, 2016. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987.
Campaign 15V483000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasolineJul 21, 2014
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2009-2014 Tiguan vehicles manufactured July 2007 to June 2014. When using winterized fuel, in certain conditions bubbles may form in the fuel system which could result in the vehicle stalling.
A vehicle stall increases the risk of a crash.
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will update the vehicle's software to increase the fuel pump pressure, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin August 19, 2014. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 24AV/2W.
Campaign 14V441000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: service brakes
11 reports, newest first. Show all
Electrical system, Air bags, Service brakes, Sep 27, 2023, crash
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.
Steering, Service brakes, Sep 10, 2019
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?
Service brakes, Aug 31, 2016
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.
Air bags, Service brakes, Engine, Mar 7, 2016
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.
Air bags, Service brakes, Nov 4, 2014, crash
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.
Fuel system, Gasoline, Service brakes, Engine, Jun 27, 2014
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. *TR
Steering, Service brakes, Engine, Apr 14, 2014
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. *JS
Service brakes, Sep 28, 2013
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. *TR
Exterior lighting, Electronic stability control (ESC), Service brakes, Oct 27, 2012
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. *TR
Engine and engine cooling, Power train, Service brakes, May 18, 2012
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. *TR
Service brakes, Hydraulic, Jan 25, 2012
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.