10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
10,510 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.

2018 Volkswagen Tiguan engine problems

engine problem

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2018 Volkswagen Tiguan Owner Comments (Page 1 of 4)

problem #74

Jan 192024

Tiguan

  • 44,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle started to lose motive power, with an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated there were several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to exit the highway however, the vehicle failed to accelerate above 20 MPH. The contact drove back to the residence, shifted into park(P) and turned off the vehicle. The contact not driven the vehicle since parking the vehicle. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000.

- El Monte, CA, USA

problem #73

Nov 082023

Tiguan

  • miles
On multiple occasions, while driving on the highway, subject vehicle displayed check engine light and EPC light at random intervals and an alarm saying exceeded 4000 came on. RPM's were not over 4000. Speed and acceleration severely limited making it dangerous to pull over on the highway in traffic. Had to pull car over and restart engine. This has happened numerous times. Also experienced shaking and skipping or missing of transmission. The car has also had the engine stall or stop when at red light or stopped forcing restart of engine.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #72

Dec 152023

Tiguan

  • miles
Received Max RPM 4,000 warning while on long drive. Happened and had to restart car several times. Lost ability to accelerate. Also, when car was on cruise, started shaking

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

problem #71

Aug 122023

Tiguan

  • 140,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that after coming to a complete stop at a traffic light, the vehicle lost motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Metairie, LA, USA

problem #70

Aug 222023

Tiguan

  • miles
EPC electronic power control light is on and indicates speed of 40 mph, transmission light on, car aggressively vibrating.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #69

Jul 202023

Tiguan

  • 92,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle started jerking. The contact stated that the EPC warning light illuminated, and a message was displayed on the instrument panel -??Engine Speed - Max 4,000 RPM-??. The contact stated that when the message was displayed on the instrument panel, the vehicle would decelerate to 15 MPH with the accelerator pedal depressed. The contact pulled over and turned off and restarted the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that she was informed by the dealer that the failure was a known issue and was due to a faulty transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000

- Fall River, MA, USA

problem #68

Dec 202022

Tiguan

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When I first purchased my vehicle the epc came on multiple times and I had to take it back to the dealership. Fast forward last week when I was going home on the eway same issues car wouldn-??t accelerate the car was idled at the speed of 40mph it wouldn-??t go any faster for a few minutes then it took off out of no where. Also when I was taking my kids to school I was making a left turn and lost control of my vehicle because it was idled and took off out of no where. That-??s not safe for me my kids or any passengers traveling with me. It-??s also not safe for other drivers or pedestrians. Very scary moment took my vehicle in that same day to be told it was battery issues. They claimed because the epc light wasn-??t on it-??s harder to diagnose to get another battery and to keep the car overnight to see if that works if not further diagnose the car. I picked my vehicle up had my battery inspected by a different service provider and was told the battery was just fine. I keep reaching out to the location I got the vehicle from their not correcting the issue and corporate just told me to go to another dealership and gave a im sorry about your frustration comment. Clearly the car has a defect always had one since day one when it was supposed to be a cpo vehicle in the first place. And I had issues the same week I purchased the vehicle. Also haven-??t had my car a year and I-??m having all kind of issues

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #67

Dec 062022

Tiguan

  • miles
I was travelling on highway, 55 miles speed, all of sudden voice came from engine and car lost power and came to 10 miles and accelerator was not working it gave me message on dash bord that RPM High. i moved the car towards edge of the road and shut it. after 5 minutes i started again and went to work. However its gave me same problem while i was coming home.my car has only 20000. miles and no other issue. its dangerous when car is moving with the flow of traffic and loose power and does not move.

- Plainview, NY, USA

problem #66

Nov 142022

Tiguan

  • miles
Engine failure at 72,614 miles. Volkswagen refusing to assist.

- Snow Hill, MD, USA

problem #65

Jul 292022

Tiguan

  • miles
I took the vehicle in to the local dealership for an oil change and after the oil change was completed, I drove about 10 miles before the engine seemed to lose power an misfile. The "Check Engine" light started flashing before it turned solid. I called the dealership and they asked me to bring the vehicle back. After scanning the vehicle OBD information, per the dealership invoice, it returned the following codes: 1. P0343001 (Camshaft Pos. Sensor Circ. High Input) 2. P0300001 (Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected) Eventually, they contacted VW and were asked to drain the oil, in which they found metal particles. VW then requested them to tear down the engine at which they noticed "excessive amounts of metal on bottom of oil pan". Upon reporting back to VW, dealership was asked to replace "long block with turbo assembly due to metal contamination". My understanding is that the entire engine has been replaced along with the turbocharger. Car was at dealership for 59 days total.

- Katy, TX, USA

problem #64

Jul 312022

Tiguan

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving down the highway, my car completely shut off and shut down while going 45mph. Due to everything shutting off, there were no brake lights, hazards, blinkers, etc that I was able to use to warn other drivers of what was happening, therefore I was almost hit multiple times. It turned back on, then back off while driving, 4 more times until the final time when it would not turn back on or turn over at all, I had to pull off the road and it wouldn-??t turn back on again. At this time I got the battery tested and it was bad. I bought the new battery and the new battery didn-??t change anything. It still was doing the same thing, not turning on at all. Not even trying to turn over to turn on. I had my vehicle towed to the Volkswagen dealership in Ocala on college road. While at this shop, they have told me that the NEW battery is what has cause the issues, which is incorrect as the issues began BEFORE I got a new battery. They are also saying that because I got a new battery that they will not cover the repairs under my warranty. I had to get in a new battery for my safety after almost being hit on the highway due to the electronics or other issues being faulty in the car.

- Beverly Hills , FL, USA

problem #63

Jul 032022

Tiguan

  • miles
The first time this problem occurred was in April right after a routine maintenance check. The car was idling in a parking lot when the engine started to vibrate and a warning was displayed that said "Max Engine Speed 4000 RPM". The car was turned off and then back on. The warning did show up on the display, but the "check engine" light was lit. The car was driven back home, and after that drive the check engine light was not lit anymore. To be safe the car was taken to the dealer. The dealer was not able to replicate the issue. Later, in July, the max engine speed and EPC warnings were displayed on the screen in the middle of a trip. At this time there was also a loss of acceleration power. The driver pulled over, stopped the car, and then restarted it. When the car restarted the warning lights were no longer on so the driver completed the trip. In the manual it says that the car can still be operated if the EPC warning light is on, but that it should be taken to a dealer. This led the driver to believe that it was safe to complete the trip and take the car to their home dealership after the holiday. The following day, the EPC warning light and the max engine speed warning both appeared in the middle of a drive. The driver was driving up a hill on a backroad with no possible pull off. The driver had to stop the car in the middle of a road directly after a blind turn. The driver restarted the car and was able to drive about 10 yards before the warning came on again and the engine cut out. The driver repeated turning the car off and then back on multiple times to be able to safely get the car up the hill and to an area where a pull-off was available. Luckily, no other cars were coming at the time the car was stalled. It was a very unsafe location! The car is currently in the process of being towed to the dealer to be worked on. This seems like a very serious safety concern that is affecting other Tiguan owners too.

- Telluride, CO, USA

problem #62

May 282022

Tiguan

  • miles
Car has multiple malfunctions. Has had noisy valvetrain, lack of power upon acceleration, has sputtered with a load on engine especially uphill. Car shut off completely while at 60 mph and nearly caused a catastrophic collision with my whole family in the car. Car presents substantial safety risk. Multiple codes/warnings have flashed up on the display screen(Evap, Trans, fuel inj, etc). Transmission went into "emergency mode" after being started up today, then went away after restarted. Car has been to dealership but issues were not properly addressed/ignored. VW of America is well aware of issues with these cars but ignores the consumers needs and puts consumers at great safety risk by doing so. This vehicle has both engine and transmission issues as well as odd electrical anomalies.

- Bluffton, SC, USA

problem #61

Nov 112021

Tiguan

  • 91,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the EPC warning light illuminated, causing the vehicle to go into limp mode. The vehicle decelerated to approximately 20 MPH. The contact pulled over and assessed the vehicle; however, did not physically see any issues with the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted and she proceeded to drive however, the vehicle failed to exceed 27 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the injectors needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 91,000.

- Newport News, VA, USA

problem #60

Jun 012019

Tiguan

  • miles
This vehicle has significant, but intermittent issues with acceleration; it seems mostly when the AC is on or it is cold out (below 40). Vehicle will hesitate, or entirely not respond, to the gas pedal. When this occurs, acceleration is even less predictable (and slower) than a diesel truck. When it does not occur, the acceleration was zippy and fast. Unfortunately, this erratic lag is extremely dangerous - especially when attempting to merge on the highway. I can step on the gas repeatedly and nothing happens, but then the car will accelerate in a manner which feels out of control. Driving in "sport" mode seems to prevent this, so I am inclined to think there is an issue with how the vehicle has been programmed - versus a mechanical issue with the engine. I know some "Eco" modes tend to make cars less responsive to acceleration (in order to save fuel) but this is extreme.

- Denver, CO, USA

problem #59

Jan 012019

Tiguan

  • miles
During the life of a 48 month lease, the EPC and emissions control module failed four times, placing the vehicle out of service for at least 40-days total. When these components failed, a message popped up stating there was a 4000 RPM max. The ability to accelerate was immediately lost, and actually the vehicle not let me exceed 2000 RPMs. I had to pull over and restart the engine in order to continue my journey. This was extremely hazardous.

- Denver, CO, USA

problem #58

Oct 122021

Tiguan

  • miles
Like many other people who have complained, the same EPC engine light turning on after the engine stalls while driving. This has happened multiple times while driving on the highway while going 65mph+. The max speed 4000 rpm message comes on the dashboard. The car does not accelerate and pulling over is necessary in order to shut off the car and restart the engine. This is incredibly dangerous and the car-??s speed cannot be controlled.

- Bedford Hills, NY, USA

problem #57

Oct 032021

Tiguan

  • miles
Epc light came on and engine started to stall

- Middletown , NY, USA

problem #56

Jun 012020

Tiguan

  • miles
We have same issue with our 2018 Tiguan as many other people out there. After our first oil change we had engine oil light came on. Did not reported to dealer till after second oil change. They checked for possible leaks and put us on oil consumption test for little over 600 miles. They couldn't find anything and told us to keep eye on it. We are on 3rd oil light so, they now put us on second oil consumption test. I owned many VW including 2019 jetta we bought for my son and never had any issues with burning oil. I read many complaints and issues about burning oil on VW engines, so I reached out to someone that I know and specialized in european cars. I asked my friend and multiple mechanics and they told me that this is not normal and that it will get worse were it will burn more oil. I was also informed that VW knows that they have issues with these engines, something with bad cylinder seals and they cannot figure it out for last 12 years how to fix it and would not admit it. I guess this doesn't happens with every car, but when it happens they tell customers that is normal. This is bs and someone needs to do something about it. No one from service department have not told me anything so far and I hope after second oil consumption test that they do not come to me a say it. That would be bad. We have service report when we brought a car for first time we reported this issue and there is nothing stating that this is normal for engine to consume( burn) oil. If this is a normal with their engines they should inform and educate their customers when they are buying this car to keep eye on oil and keep adding after certain miles. Not every car has this issue, it is case by case and that is what tells me that this is not normal. We were thinking to keep this car but now after what I learned will never get another VW. Please help..

- Casselberry, FL, USA

problem #55

May 152020

Tiguan

  • 14,500 miles
Bought a brand new 2018 VW Tiguan (sel premium R-line). Besides some seemingly inconsistent hesitation when taking off from start, the car has a great ride, the steering is german and like no other. The adaptive cruise control saves me so much stress on my 40 minutes drive into work. Sound great right? well, it was, until....I got my first oil changed on time, like I should, then at ~14,500 miles in May 2020, my low oil level light came on. I checked that there were no visible oil leaks in the driveway or under the car, there weren't. I called the dealer to confirm I wasn't nuts and that my oil was changed ~4,000 miles ago. They said I should add oil, that it's normal for Volkswagen's to burn through a lot of oil. So I asked what type of oil was used in the car so I could buy the same type. This was very alarming that I was adding oil to a care with only ~14,500 miles. I thought, okay, maybe they didn't actually change my oil, maybe it's a fluke. So I added the oil and the low oil level light turned off, so I proceeded driving it as normal. Now, I've been working from home due to covid-19 so I've been driving very minimally. I put ~1000 miles on the car since added oil and the low oil light came on again on 8/28/2020. I parked the car and called and made a service appointment at the dealership. I didn't drive it all all over the weekend, then took it in on 8/31/2020. The service guy checking me in told me "VW considers it acceptable for their cars to burn through a quart of oil every 1,000 miles." You have to be kidding me. This car doesn't even have 16,000 miles on it yet. This is not okay and not normal. So here I sit on 9/2/2020. The dealership still has my Tiguan and are running what they say is a new series of tests to check what could be causing the car to burn oil. I'll provide an update as soon as I speak with them.

- Lynchburg, VA, USA

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