This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated the vehicle failed to start after repeated attempts. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who stated the engine failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
Coolant pump went out Jan 25 2015. I had purchased car used from a non VW dealer but took to it to a VW dealer to repair. They replaced for $750. I researched further on carfax and found the pump had been replaced already by another VW dealership within the previous 12 months. I contacted VW and had to fight with them to cover my repair when it should have been part of the warranty with previous repair. They did refund my money. It is now 2 months later, 3/25/2015 and I am again experiencing a coolant leak.
The coil, the fuel pump and the rear seal are defective. They are covered for repair under an extended warranty. The issue is that this is the 3rd engine failure this year, another in the past. If you google 2009 Tiguan rear seal, you will find many many VW owners experiencing this same issue at this early and early mileage on this vehicle. There is an apparent manufacturers defect that is being overlooked.
I brought my Tiguan in due to an engine leak and to have an engine diagnostic. They indicated the main rear main seal was leaking. 700 plus dollars. Repaired the seal the leak stopped but the low engine pressure light would not go off. The then indicated that the tensioner arm was bad and that needed to be replaced. I received a call the next day that the tensioner was bad but the tensioner chain had walked off the rocker arm and that the engine needs to be replaced. I called multiple times to Volkswagen customer care multiple times and they responded that they cant help with anything. I have researched the tensioner arm through google and found pages and pages of blogs with people that have experienced the same issue with the tensioner arm failing resulting in engine failure.
At slower speeds, idle, coming to a stop and accelerating the engine sputters causing a hazardous situation. This is a result of the failure of the timing chain tensioner. VW has created improved replacement parts but has not informed any customers. Also the VW Tiguan owners manual claims that the tensioner is lifetime and need no maintenance. Eventually the sprocket wheels become so worn that the chain jumps and destroys the pistons/header/engine. Failure usually happens above the 60,000 mile powertrain limited warranty. VW America is aware of the issue but claims "like any component on any vehicle, it's still possible for it to fail". they know this is a serious hazard, they have a fix and they do not inform customers.
- Parma, OH, USA
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The epc light came on many times between 2011 and 2014 and the electronic throttle kicked out of cruise control. Miller VW checked the car July 2011, did not have a solution and cleared the codes. I asked our local mechanic about it in July 2013 who identified that there was a tsb for the throttle body wiring harness. We continued to observe the intermittent epc fault response but experienced no problems. The first major incident occurred 28 June 2014 entering I-89 North when entering traffic the epc and engine fault lights came on and the engine lost all power just as we entered the travel lane. The car went into limp mode and would go no faster than 35 mph I switched off the engine while traveling which reset the throttle fault allowing us to continue traveling. This is a short ramp and there is no shoulder at the end of the ramp. I made an appointment for the car at walker VW to repair the car on 2 July. The service department was unable to make the repairs that day as they did not have all of the required parts on hand. On 22 July my wife was preparing to enter I-91 from route 5 South via a left turn on ramp when the epc and engine fault lights came on and the engine went into limp mode just as she was preparing to turn into the on ramp. A tractor trailer was rapidly overtaking her in that lane in a driving rain and the car would not exceed 20 mph. She turned on the flashers and the overtaking trucker veered into the right lane avoiding collision. I then made an appointment with our local car repair shop and trusted mechanic at kingdom imports. They ordered the parts and installed the replacement wiring iaw the tsb on 29 July 2014. Even after ordering two complete sets of parts VW did not include the shrink tape required to stabilize the wiring. VW has chosen the worst solution and should issue a recall and install a purpose built wiring harness.
I drive a 2009 VW Tiguan 2.0 automatic front wheel drive about 63000 miles situation #1: $782.67 intake manifold (covered under VW warranty extension) de carb fuel pressure sensor pvc valve pressens separator situation #2: $903.20 rear main seal filter oil change after car returned: Issues with power windows, cd player, and sun roof during inspection for above at shop- car over heated while on a test drive issue # 3: about $1000- haven't yet given go ahead cd player may be from 'playing burned cds... see best buy to fix.... sunroof- may be tracking issue- see after market sunroof person to fix... water pump are any of these causing the others" can I hold the mechanics responsible for any of this? is this normal for a car this age/ mileage?" help!!!!
The cam timing tensioner failed when tried to start the engine. Check the problem online and find out a couple of same issue in Volkswagen vehicles. The car is over 5-year warranty but still in 60K miles warranty. Volkswagen of the United States doesn't want to give any financial assistance. Just after 5 years of new car warranty the car got this critical issue in engine, I think this would be an essential design defect from VW.
My 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan suffered a timing chain malfunction approximately 40,000 miles below its manufacturer recommended replacement date. This incident resulted in catastrophic mechanical failure (bent valves).
For a week, there was a rattling sound when I started my car that usually stopped after a few seconds of running. On 04/05/14, I heard the rattling sound the entire time when driving. When I stopped, my vehicle cutoff and would not restart. The vehicle was towed to repair shop where the mechanic told me there was no compression in the engine. He later explained the timing chain tensioner broke which caused valves in the engine to bend. Researching the internet, I noticed the same exact diagnosis was given to several other consumers of the same year, make and model. Some of whom had the misfortune of having their vehicles cutoff on the highway.
Engine was leaking oil onto ground in several locations near the front of the vehicle. No check engine light or any other warning system indicated a problem. Took vehicle in for service and found the rear main seal was the cause for the leak. Rear main seal was replaced and test drive indicated that this was the primary leak source. Subsequently, two other minor leaks were found and repaired to the oil return line O-ring and the engine vacuum pump gasket respectively.
Rear main seal failed due to manufacturer defect causing oil to leak on to hot engine. Every 2.0 tsi engine in Tiguan, cc, gti, jetta and eos experiences the same failure at around the same mileage. The rear main seal is not a wearing part and should last for the life of a vehicle if well designed. This forum thread shows many owners with the same issue at around the same mileage. forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?6907215-rear-main-seal-failure-at-80K-miles-due-to-PCV-defect-on-2-0-tsi&P=85203838#post85203838 the cost of the repair was $1,500 and vwoa refuses to admit it is a design defect or help pay for the repair.
PCV valve is defective and tears on 100 percent of all Tiguans. This over pressurizes the crankcase causing a loud noise as pressurized air passes over the front and rear main seal damaging the seals. Exsessive oil leaks from the rear main seal onto the catalytic converter causing in many cases, a fire.
I had just started going up the hill I tried to accelerate the car. It started shaking and did not want to go any faster. In the mean while the engine light was flashing. After that the car was running fine as long I did not accelerated it. I took it to the dealer and found out that one of the coil was not working properly and causing lack of power. I had just picked up the car from the dealer 5 days ago because of the safety recall about the fuse and the fuse panel. They changed the fuse and the fuse panel and gave me a paper work saying that my car checked out good. And this happens! I got done the 60K check up 5 months ago and 3 weeks after that the auxiliary fan got broken. I bought the car 9 months ago and I have already spent over a thousand dollar on it. I am really frustrated with VW Tiguan!
Today is the 17th of December and for the 2nd time in 4 months the coolant light has gone off in the car. The first time it happened was towards the end of August (I just purchased the vehicle a few weeks earlier). When taken to the dealer service department the problem was the water pump went bad. After the mechanic said it was still cover under warranty they replaced it. Today the coolant light went off again, same issue has before. After checking the car fax the first time it happened, this is the 5th water pump replaced in the car in 2 years. Today calling the dealership, the person at the dealership has said there are quite few Tiguans that have come in with the same issue the last few weeks. Researching the issue online there are indications that this is a problematic issue that has not been addressed by Volkswagen. The warranty for the part only covers a year and 12000 miles.
Driving on the hwy, check engine light came on and epc light, engine starts to run very rough, took it to the dealer, they said it is a coil, replaced it, a week later the same thing happened again on the hwy doing 70 with family, took it to the dealer, they said all the other 3 coils went bad at the same time!!!!!! I am really afraid to take this car for a long trip, the other issue : the fuse melted causing the license brake light harness and trunk opening to fail twice.
Taking off after getting fuel car start to idle rough when slowing down. Drove directly to dealership less than a mile where the car barely made it into the service area and check engine light came on. Timing chain broke and blew engine. Vehicle has been perfectly maintained by dealer. It appears to be a recurring problem based on internet research. Fortunately, I was not driving on the interstate as normal at that time of day.
Over the last three months: First-check engine and epc lights on and engine performance low. Second-fuel rail/system pressure too low. Third-battery light came on and vehicle did not have normal power (battery brand new oct12). Fourth-headlights went out multiple time over a two week period (bulbs brand new apr13). Car is with VW now for melted fuse and melted fuse box. Updated 09/17/13 the consumer stated there were multiple electrical system dtcs. The fuse burnt at the connection and both relays due to an overheated condition.
Vehicle completely stopped while I was driving on the freeway. I was in the far left lane, and the engine failed and I was not able to move to the right shoulder. I put my hazards on and called for assistance. While on the phone it was clear that I was not in a safe position, so myself and my passenger exited the vehicle when there was a break in traffic. We were able to get across to the right side of the road, behind a guardrail. While on the phone with 911 someone slammed into the back of my car, causing extensive damage to both vehicles. Luckily no one was injured, and no other cars were affected. Both vehicles were inoperable and had to be towed from the scene. I was told by the Volkswagen dealership that an engine coil broke off, and backfed into the harness, causing the engine to fail. In addition, I had just been to the dealer for an oil change that morning, and had driven 8 miles when the incident happened. The dealer says there is no relationship, and that engine parts failed. I am concerned that there is a defect with this part, as I have very low mileage on the vehicle. This incident put me in an extremely unsafe situation, and I want to report this in order to find out if this is a defective piece, so that this does not happen to anyone else.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Wharton, NJ, USA