2021 Volkswagen Tiguan
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 141 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 7th highest complaint count among 17 Tiguan model years with reports.
Of the 2021 reports, 2 involved a crash. 2 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Back over prevention, sensing system, cameraJul 20, 2022
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Golf GTI, Jetta GLI, Jetta NF, Arteon FL, Tiguan LWB, 2022 Taos, Jetta PA, Tiguan PA, 2021-2022 Atlas Cross Sport, and Atlas FL vehicles. The manufacturing process of the eMMC memory module in the infotainment system may cause the rearview camera image not to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
A rearview camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will update the infotainment software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 16, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91DV.
Campaign 22V514000 on NHTSA.gov
Structure, bodyApr 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.
An insufficiently attached spoiler may separate from the vehicle, becoming a road hazard and increasing the risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 22V226000 on NHTSA.gov
SuspensionMar 23, 2022
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Tiguan, Taos, and 2021 Tiguan long wheel base (LWB) vehicles. A second notice will be sent once remedy parts become available. The left or right rear suspension knuckles may corrode, crack, and break.
A broken rear suspension knuckle can cause a loss of stability, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace one or both rear suspension knuckles, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 13, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42L8.
Campaign 22V176000 on NHTSA.gov
SeatsFeb 1, 2021
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan Long Wheelbase and Jetta vehicles. Bolts may be missing from the front seat tracks.
The seat can move front and back without restriction if bolts are missing, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front seat tracks and, as necessary, install the bolts, free of charge. The recall began February 18, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 72L6.
Campaign 21V038000 on NHTSA.gov
Back over prevention, sensing system, cameraNov 18, 2020
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas Cross Sport, Tiguan LWB, Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas FL and Arteon vehicles. The rear view camera could malfunction during an ignition cycle, leading to a black screen or infotainment system freeze. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
A black or frozen rear view image reduces the driver's visibility when reversing, increasing the risk of a crash.
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will update the infotainment system software, free of charge. The recall began December 11, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91BB/91BC.
Campaign 20V716000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
141 reports, newest first.
Forward collision avoidance, Aug 15, 2022
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.
Structure, Aug 4, 2022
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
Equipment, Jul 27, 2022
The Infotainment system is horrible. It causes driving issues when it starts randomly playing music, freezes up and does not work.
Back over prevention, Jul 19, 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.
Other or unspecified, Jul 11, 2022
Sunroof exploded while I was driving down the highway. I was going 65-70 mph, no other vehicles around me.
Tires, Jun 2, 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 32,000. The VIN was not available.
Parking brake, Power train, Mar 10, 2022
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.
Vehicle speed control, Forward collision avoidance, Jan 14, 2022
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.
Electrical system, Structure, Fuel/propulsion system, Dec 3, 2021
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.
Vehicle speed control, Forward collision avoidance, Oct 17, 2021
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.
Forward collision avoidance, Back over prevention, Aug 18, 2021
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...
Forward collision avoidance, Aug 16, 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.
Other or unspecified, Aug 4, 2021
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
Structure, Jul 21, 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.
Forward collision avoidance, Jun 5, 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.
Structure, Mar 14, 2021
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.