CarComplaints.com Notes: VW gave the Tiguan a facelift with new headlights, a fancier grille, and improved performance. Unfortunately they didn't address what gave most 2010 owners headaches --- engine problems.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
43,159 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
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 clock spring is broken in my 2011 VW Tiguan at 114,000 miles. Therefore, the driver airbag on the steering wheel does not work. Therefore, there is a safety issue if one drives the car. The problem is not fixed because there are no parts to fix it. Apparently there is a chip in the clock spring and there are no chips available to manufacture replacement springs. I was told that the part has been on back order since October 2021. I was told that the part may be available in July 2022, but there are no guarantees. Until a replacement part is available, the vehicle is potentially unsafe to drive.
The lights on the car start flasing, when you turn of the car, every light on the dash board & the sterring wheel have a noise sound like the clock ring has some dust in side.
F16 fuse box melting and fuse burnt but not tripped in hood. All exterior lights were lost while driving and was almost rear ended at high speeds on highway.
When doing a full turn my steering wheel started clicking and then my airbag light illuminated. I also lost all steering wheel controls and horn. After doing some research, I found out it was a clock spring. Volkswagen has had many models affected by this even my 2011 year Tiguan but when volkwagen pulls up my VIN, they are claiming it is not part of the recall which is very frustrationg.
- Cortland, OH, USA
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VW has recognized a defected part in the steering wheel clock spring. We took our vehicle to have the repair, dealership said that the previous owner had the vehicle repaired and a dust cover was put on 7/20/16. Well the dust cover has broke and the air bag light is on and horn is not working. Service department said it wasn't covered because of previous fix, mind you they said dust cover and not a new part. We called VW and they will not honor the repair for the defected part. The part was never replaced, just a band aid put on the problem. VW said they only had to honor their repair for 1 year. How is this possible when they never really replaced the part"???" the dust cover they previously put on snapped when I was turning into a parking spot, airbag light immediately came on. The part cost $348.08 and $170 in labor.
Defective fuse link in wiring harness melted together rather than separating causing very high voltage damaging the cpu and ignition coils causing piston misfiring and possibility of engine fire. I have retained the defective part. Mechanic reports both fuse links connecting to two coils are melted and 30,000 volt power bridged these links to damage the other electrical components. Repair was over $2700. Fire was avoided by taking vehicle out of service but severely melted links and high voltage feeding back into electrical system caused very high potential of electrical fire in vicinity of fuel sources. VW notice to mechanics about problem has been issued but no recall.
The contact owns a 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan. While driving approximately 10 mph, the air bag warning indicator illuminated and the horn failed to sound. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the screw, control unit, and cup needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage and VIN were unknown.
The contact owns a 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan. While driving 45 mph, the power steering warning indicator illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the electrical system failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 68,000.
We have a 2011 Tiguan and the steering wheel clock spring has failed (per the VW dealer), initiating the airbag monitoring indicator light to illuminate. Also, due to the clock spring failure, the horn, the airbag, and all electronic controls on the steering wheel do not work. This is the same reason as for an active recall involving 420,000 Volkswagen, but this VIN is not included in that recall. There were no accidents with the vehicle, and nothing done to have caused this failure. The vehicle was stationary when the airbag warning light came on.
Car stalled driving on highway speed, luckily no accident occurred it's very common failure of ignition coil on almost all VW models, failure will cause your car to be inoperable. VW didn't issue a recall or at least notify owners of VW cars to change their defective ignition coils.
My vehicle had the steering wheel clock spring replaced at the dealership in Feb 2016 under the recall. May 14 2016 I was turning left at a stoplight when there was a grinding noise and my airbag light came on and my steering wheel controls and horn stopped working. I believe the clock spring has gone bad and needs to be replaced again. Mileage: 87,000
Vehicle just over 45K and was told the clock spring shorted with no real reason as to why this would happen so early in the vehicle life. The impact of the failure from what I can visually tell is that I have no horn, the electronic console does not function and all buttons on the steering wheel do not work. The console also displays an airbag error, which the dealer cannot confirm if this impacts my actual airbag system. I'm told the over $750+ to service. Given the potential safety impact of this device, I find it ridiculous that one, it shorted, and two, the cost and the dealership / VW corporate unwilling to address the concern, other than to say I am out of warranty. Its very dangerous not knowing if the clock spring impacts the air bag system in my vehicle, let alone not having a functioning horn.
Vehicle just under 45K and was told the clockspring shorted with no real reason as to why this would happen so early in the vehicle life. The impact of the failure from what I can visually tell is that I have no horn, the electronic console does not function and all buttons on the steering wheel do not work. The console also displays an airbag error, which the dealer cannot confirm if this impacts my actual airbag system. I'm told the part costs $290 plus $400 in labor costs. Given the potential safety impact of this device, I find it ridiculous that one it shorted, two the price in labor to replace and the dealership / VW corporate unwilling to address the concern, other than to say I am out of warranty. This was a real problem with other models in the VW line up, including a huge recall for Chrysler. I really think someone should look into this issue and determine if there is a recall that should be done here. Very dangerous not knowing if the clockspring impacts the air bag system in my vehicle, let alone not having a functioning horn.
Last week my wife told me that she could smell an electrical short and feel a burning sensation coming from her VW driver"S seat while she had her seat warmer on. I immediately had her take it in to the local VW dealership service center for diagnosis. This issue is a fire hazard and safety issue as we could not drive the car for fear that the short in the electrical system could cause a failure of the power assisted systems while in motion rendering the car unmanageable in traffic. Additionally, we could not drive the car because the burning pain transmitted through the driver?S seat to my wife?S flesh was painful enough to potentially distract her full attention from driving. Because of the potential fire hazard and safety failure"S we must insist that VW take full responsibility for the repair of our vehicle and reimburse us promptly for our costs and expenses.
We bought 2011 VW Tiguan SE in May 2011, and this notorious ignition-coil issue happened twice to us already. Below is the timeline & details. On 4/19/2014, we finished the last manufacturer-covered-service at a dealership (3 years/36K miles), and we were told our car is in very good condition. On 5/15/2014, the car's engine light came on and the car cannot increase its speed. On 5/16/2014, the staff of the same dealership as above checked the car & told us #1 & #2 ignition coils were dead. After they replaced them, the issue has gone. On 9/13/2014, we finished the recall service for the car regarding to the fuel bubbles issue. According to the staff of the same dealership as above, the software related to the issue has been corrected, and everything else checked was ok. On 9/15/2014, the car's engine light came on and the car cannot increase its speed again! it behaved exactly the same way as it did in May. We have to tow the car to the same dealership as above. On 9/16/2014, the staff of the dealership checked the car & told us #4 ignition coil was dead. I asked them to replace both #3 and #4 ignition coils this time. After they replaced them, the issue has gone. I also asked the staff, "is it normal to have this ignition coil so often for a 3 year old car" how frequently we have to replace the ignition coil? I don't want my wife and baby stuck in traffic like this time.". however, no answer or suggestion was given since the staff claimed he's not a mechanics. This time, we have to pay for the towing service, parts, and the labor cost (1.5 hours"!). the staff suggested us to save the receipt for future just in case there would be a recall related to this issue. I searched the VW ignition coil issue online and found this website and other resources to file the complaints. Then I realized this notorious ignition coil issue has been there for a while with VW cars.
We bought 2011 VW Tiguan SE in May 2011, and this notorious ignition-coil issue happened twice to us already. Below is the timeline & details. On 4/19/2014, we finished the last manufacturer-covered-service at a dealership (3 years/36K miles), and we were told our car is in very good condition. On 5/15/2014, the car's engine light came on and the car cannot increase its speed. On 5/16/2014, the staff of the same dealership as above checked the car & told us #1 & #2 ignition coils were dead. After they replaced them, the issue has gone. On 9/13/2014, we finished the recall service for the car regarding to the fuel bubbles issue. According to the staff of the same dealership as above, the software related to the issue has been corrected, and everything else checked was ok. On 9/15/2014, the car's engine light came on and the car cannot increase its speed again! it behaved exactly the same way as it did in May. We have to tow the car to the same dealership as above. On 9/16/2014, the staff of the dealership checked the car & told us #4 ignition coil was dead. I asked them to replace both #3 and #4 ignition coils this time. After they replaced them, the issue has gone. I also asked the staff, "is it normal to have this ignition coil so often for a 3 year old car" how frequently we have to replace the ignition coil? I don't want my wife and baby stuck in traffic like this time.". however, no answer or suggestion was given since the staff claimed he's not a mechanics. This time, we have to pay for the towing service, parts, and the labor cost (1.5 hours"!). the staff suggested us to save the receipt for future just in case there would be a recall related to this issue. I searched the VW ignition coil issue online and found this website and other resources to file the complaints. Then I realized this notorious ignition coil issue has been there for a while with VW cars.
Twice while driving, the car has shut off. Once when leaving a parking lot. Once on the interstate in traffick, going under 20 mph. The dealership replaced the J519 module.
Vehicle rapidly decelerated from 50 miles per hour to approximately 30 miles per hour. Check engine and epc warning lights illuminated. Engine ran rough and acceleration above 35 miles per hour was not possible. Volkswagen dealership replaced all four ignition coils. Volkswagen later agreed to reimburse cost of the ignition coils but refused reimbursement for related labor charges stating no outstanding recall in effect for the ignition coils.
We had a partial loss of exterior lighting on our 2011 VW Tiguan at roughly 61,000 miles. We lost passenger side headlight, rear driver side blinker, front passenger blinker, reverse lights, and tag lights. We tried to replace the bulbs but bulbs were fine. I also checked all fuses and all were ok none were blown. We then took the car to an import specialist since the car was no longer under warranty. They found a circuit under the fusebox that overheated and melted. They replaced the circuit and the lighting was restored, however they said that it would most likely happen again. The replaced circuit only lasted about three weeks and now we have lost the same exterior lighting as before. We contacted VW service and they said based on our VIN # there was no recall for our vehicle.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lakewood, CO, USA