Complaint volume
273 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2018 Volkswagen Tiguan Complaints
273 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan, grouped by component category.
273 Total complaints
5 Crash reports
3 Fire reports
6 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are engine, structure, unknown or other. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 5 crash reports, 3 fire reports, 6 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 140 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 13,275 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to engine, structure, unknown or other?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2018 Volkswagen Tiguan
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan complaints?
5 Crash
3 Fire
6 Injury
0 Fatality
9 Towed
2 Medical attention
What are the most common 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan complaint categories?
ENGINE 23
STRUCTURE 21
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 21
POWER TRAIN 13
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 11
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 11
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 9
SERVICE BRAKES 9
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 8
273 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2023 | STRUCTURE | There is an excessive amount of water leaking into the passenger compartment and also the cargo area The result is that considerable mold growing on the carpeting of the entire car The dealer has ordered repair parts but the parts are on back order leaving me to drive the vehicle while it has mold I have been advised if I remove the molded carpeting I will invalidate the warranty Very dangerous as occupying this vehicle results in inhaling mold | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 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 | Crash: No Fire: No | 92,000 |
| Jul 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES | Solo prendieron la luz | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | EPC electronic power control light is on and indicates speed of 40 mph | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Engine keeps failing and dings while driving non-stop. Causes the vehicle to think there is another vehicle near me and activates the emergency braking in the middle of the highway almost causing me to crash. I have taken the vehicle to dealer and told it is fixed about 8 times now | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 5 | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | fuel injector wire hardness failed , very costly to fix | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | SEAT BELTS | Seatbelt is not functioning adequately. The seatbelt itself that’s contained in the column near the door is not retracting or staying taught when in use. It’s very loose and something inside is rattling when ejected, and it has to be manually assisted to retract. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 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 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | ENGINE | Engine failure at 72,614 miles. Volkswagen refusing to assist. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE | The front passenger door locking system does not function properly. The door intermittently is unable to be unlocked or opened from the outside and must manually be opened from the inside. The door also intermittently doesn't lock. This is a safety concern for thieves. If in immediate danger, ie. accident, no one is able to open the passenger door to access the person. No indication lights appear on the vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The dealership for my vehicle is over 70 miles away. My battery died and I went and replaced it. When I did all sorts of lights came on in my car, my power steering wouldn’t work, my cruise control wouldn’t work, and my AC wouldn’t work. I took it to the dealership to see what was going on with it. It turns out my battery was placed backwards in my car and when that happened it fried the fuse for my entire system, it broke my AC unit, it broke my alternator, and messed up my electrical system. Yes I do believe there is a risk to my safety with this issue. I could not turn my car when I drove it. I was told by service representative that this has been happening a lot more often with people who are just trying to change the battery. The only time the vehicle was inspected was by the service department at the dealership. No they’re weren’t any problems prior to failure and they appeared after the battery was placed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | The light of the roof inside. Mainly problem of a lot of cars ! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | ENGINE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | POWER TRAIN | Sporadic lack of acceleration when coming from a stop. When depressing Excelerator car sometimes stalls to accelerate. I feel that when this issue occurs it makes my car unsafe to drive. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | LANE DEPARTURE | Blind spot assist warning shows up from time to time even when there is no vehicle near me. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Micro switch in driver door module I believe is the cause. I cannot open the door even when hitting the unlock button on the keys or inside the vehicle. All other doors will unlock and open fine but not the driver door. Safety issue comes that if I were to be in an accident, unconscious, people would be unable to get my door open even if unlocking it on the passenger side. Currently, I have to go through the passenger door and pull the inside handle to open the door. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | At 48k miles, fuel efficiency began to significantly drop. At next start up, engine would not turn over and EPC light came on. I waited 30 minutes, unlocked the steering wheel and was able to start the vehicle and EPC light turned off. I took it into Volkswagen dealership to have it looked over and they could not duplicate the issue nor find cause for lower fuel efficiency. The issue with fuel persisted intermittently. Then at 57k, while driving long distance, I noticed what seemed like misfiring when accelerating above 65 mph. There were no noises, no warning lights, and fuel efficiency seemed about the same. I continued driving and about 6 hours into my drive, EPC light came on, RPM's shot up to 4,000 and car began violently shaking while losing significant power and dropped down to 30 mph. I was in the left lane when it occurred and had to quickly move over to the right lane. The car then could not exceed 40 mph with the pedal held to the floor. I turned on my hazards while I continued driving an additional 30 miles to the nearest Volkswagen dealership. Because of how heavy the traffic was and the high speeds of the travelers, it put myself and my passengers at risk from not being able to accelerate, along with the other drivers having to either brake hard or quickly change lanes to avoid my car. At the Volkswagen dealership, diagnosis found code p0204 cylinder 4 injector. They confirmed 4th cylinder misfiring and replaced the fuel injector harness. Since that repair, my car has been shaking at idol, when initially taking off, and if I turn of the start/stop function. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | SUSPENSION | Car has 50k miles on it. Around 35k miles I started hearing noises in the suspension. Took it in and my tires are wearing uneven and bubbling. Mechanic told me my shocks are bad. I know there was a recall on some 2018 tiguans for poor welding of shocks. Not sure if there is a bigger problem affecting more tiguans. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The Blind Spot warning, forward collision warning and parking collision warning suddenly stopped working even though they showed that the features were enabled in the car's dashboard settings. Fortunately, I realized this and took it to the dealer for repairs. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | LANE DEPARTURE | The blind spot warning of the car has again stopped working. I had a similar issue in 2020 and that was repaired by VW Dealer. This is again an issue and is a safety risk. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | 91,000 |