Complaint volume
176 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
2019 Volkswagen Tiguan Complaints
176 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan, grouped by component category.
176 Total complaints
6 Crash reports
1 Fire reports
5 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 unknown or other, electrical system, forward collision avoidance. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 6 crash reports, 1 fire report, 5 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 63 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 11,386 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to unknown or other, electrical system, forward collision avoidance?
- 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 2019 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.
2019 Volkswagen Tiguan
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan complaints?
6 Crash
1 Fire
5 Injury
0 Fatality
5 Towed
2 Medical attention
What are the most common 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan complaint categories?
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 20
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 19
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 13
ENGINE 12
SERVICE BRAKES 10
POWER TRAIN 7
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5
SUSPENSION 5
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 4
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 4
176 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Panoramic sunroof shattered. Looks like it bubbled upwards and exploded. No rock. No defect. Car was parked in my driveway with no trees or rocks or anything around. Motion security cameras don’t have anyone coming on my driveway. This looks like my sunroof popped. So weird. I cut my hand on the glass. | Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: 1 | Unknown |
| May 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Several times now, at outside temp above 90F, drive short distance and all electrical shuts. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | SEAT BELTS | Passenger seatbelt alarm indicates that the seat is occupied when there is only a phone sitting in the seat. This continues until the phone is removed, I have done some testing and this is due to the USB port in the cubby hole for the audio system. If there is a cable plugged into the USB port the light comes on indicating to fasten the passenger seatbelt with a bag of chips in the seat. If I unplug the USB cable the alert goes off. This is very distracting when using the cable for navigation maps creating a false alarm. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | When pulling out of a driveway with slight decline automation braking engages without warning and stops the car. Almost was hit by a car since my car stopped in the road while making the turn. Almost rear ended another time while pulling out of a parking lot. Brake engaged without warning but luckily the car behind me stopped before hitting me. There was not another car in front of me either time so no reason to brake. I took the car to the dealer after first incident and they said nothing was wrong with it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I put my groceries in the passenger side of my car and walked around to my driver's door. I touched the button on the door handle to unlock the door and it didn't work. I tried the key fob and it also did not work. I tried another key fob and it still did not work. I had to end up calling the dealership and they told me how to take off the door handle cover to use the manual key, which was difficult to pry off, and also scratched the car. This seems like it could be a safety issue. This could have easily been a mother putting her child in a car seat and walking around to get in the vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | SEAT BELTS | The seatbelt had some imperfection either in production of the seatbelt from Volkswagen's supplier or the buckle (original VW buckle) has rough spots that have caused the edge of the seatbelt to fray and appears to be getting worse and in my opinion compromises the integrity of the seatbelt and therefore safety. VW refuses to cover the parts repair under their bumper to bumper warranty. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Bought the car to Puente Hills Volkswagen on March 15, 2023 to perform the TPMS Software recall. When I picked up my car, they told me that my car battery needed to replaced and that the TPMS Software update has been performed. I declined to have the battery replaced due to the high cost. But I had battery tested after and there was no issue found. Car has been starting fine without any issues since on the same battery. Then, I continued to get a Recall Alert from VW on 4/13/2023. Checked on their site as well on NHTSA, and it shows my recall is still not repaired. Contacted back Puente Hills Volkswagen on 4/13/2023 and left a message to my service provider. Haven't received a call as of 4/19/2023, so I called again and was able to speak to my service advisor. He then said it was because I didn't have my battery replaced that they didn't perform the recall repair even though he told me he did on 4/13/2023 (printed workorder he gave me also shows they performed the TPMS Software update). In the end, he told me that I need to replace my battery first for them to perform the recall repair even though there is clearly no issue with my battery. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I brought my vehicle to the dealership for its PA inspection and to address a recall that I had specifically listed in my appointment request and also discussed with the staff in person. However, upon checking the nhtsa.org website, I discovered that the recall is still outstanding. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | SUSPENSION | Daughter was driving at roughly 20 miles an hour when right front suspension collapsed causing her to lose control and striking a parked vehicle. Lower part of strut that connects to drive shaft was sheared in half causing complete loss of steering. The tire was pushed back against the the fender well which in my estimation caused tire to blow. Parts are available for inspection. A tire blow out at that speed should not cause strut to break and impact on parked car was minimal. Failed component has not been inspected by anyone. There was no warning of any issue. I did complain to dealer of slight suspension noise while turning but they could not find any issues. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | AIR BAGS | I had a tire blowout on the highway and caused my airbags to go off without having impact on my vehicle. The airbags going off was extremely dangerous and could of caused serious harm to me or someone else by possibly crashing into another vehicle. I luckily managed to keep my car in control with minimal damage to the body. The dealer inspected and other than replacing tire and alignments is the 10,000 charge for airbags and seatbelt fixing. There were no warnings by the vehicle before incident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Door switch notice pops up on the dashboard display. It comes on and off randomly. Took to mechanic, he said it has to do something with the door driver side door wire mesh | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | SEAT BELTS,STRUCTURE,SEATS | Sunroof drains are not draining correctly causing vehicle to flood when there is precipitation, flooring is wet/molded, seat belts have mold on them, unpleasant smell, and condensation collects on the windows. Also causing water marks/stains on vehicles exterior body. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | Error code: "Driver door contact switch". When this comes on randomly I can't unlock or lock my doors. I have had to climb out of my car through the passenger side door after parking because the driver's side won't unlock. Fault: "Auto parking break" When this comes on I can't turn on or off the parking brake. Sometimes when I'm driving and there is a bump or a change in surface level the parking break comes on. My car stops all of a sudden and cars behind me swerve not to hit me. I have noticed that the issues can go as fast as they come on. They only really happen in cold weather. Last year (2022) was the first year that things happened. I took my car in to see what Volkswagen could do. They said that because the error codes weren't running then they couldn't diagnose the issue. They also said that they have never heard of this before. However, when the error codes are on it's unsafe to drive the car. I have read that other Volkswagens have this issue. The link below is one example. https://knightlawgroup.com/volkswagen-tiguan-wiring-harness-automatic-braking-problems/ | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | POWER TRAIN | It has already recall for other model but not ‘Tiguan’ Recall code is ‘37M2’ Please do recall and save us from danger. Please. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | ENGINE | My problem does not involve a crash but involves frequent DELAYED ACCELERATION in warm and cold weather, due to Drive-by-Wire technology or software. My VW service department does not acknowledge the problem and considers this delayed acceleration as turbo lag! Really, turbo lag at idle and no forward movement! Example sitting in parking lot at idle, auto trans in D drive. I stopped to let out my wife of car and I depressed accelerator pedal and nothing happened for six second delay, the motor continued at idle, 1000 rpm, than after approx., full six seconds (i was counting) then car raced off and I had to brake. This issue occurs from full stop warm or cold and from idle to 1800 rpm and up to 25mph and from first week of ownership beginning in October 2019. This had been reported up to eight times and only serviced by the selling VW dealership. The internet is full of remarks from VW owners of multiple VW models with same 4 cylinder turbo and many other European and Japanese manufacturers. I suggest these cars with 4 cylinder and turbo be investigated. I previously owned a 2016 GMC Terrain with drive by wire that never in three years displayed this similar issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I came to a stop light, and the car would not accelerate when I took my foot off the break and pushed the gas pedal. The lights remained on. I had to turn off the car and restart it. Additionally, the car has been leaking. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING | While driving at night the cars IP displayed a warning "ignition system shutdown please check your start system", the Instrument panel and information display then went dark with no symbiology speed, revs or turn signals. The head lights and tail lights shut off and cabin fan and side windows stopped working. The engine continued to run so I was able to safely exit the highway but was a stressful and dangerous moment. When the vehicle was taken for repair VW service says issue was caused by a malfunctioning battery which was replaced at my cost with an OEM part. this has not fixed the issue though and I am attempting to get a new appointment for service. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The battery was jump started and the vehicle restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to two independent mechanics who tested the battery and determined that the battery did not need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 40,000 |
| Oct 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Rooftop leakage , consistent with rain and snow and 2/3 inches of water sitting on the right side passenger floor and that side is wet for a long time and sometimes mold was formed. Car is now smelling bad. We never crossed our mind about blaming the roof leak but drivers blaming each other for leaving the window a jar or kids spilling water bottles in the car. Now the car was parked in the driveway sitting tight and right. And today, checked the car to move, saw 2/3 inches of water from last week rain with storm IAN. So the problem of manufacturing fault has been with us since we bought it in 2019. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On 3 different occasions, the emergency braking system has automatically activated with no pending accident or obstruction present. The car has been to the dealer for inspection and there is an open work order on it with no solution given. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | From a stop at an intersection, the initial depressing of the accelerator produced no throttle response and then suddenly the car lurched forward. This resulted in rear ending the care in front at the intersection. The collision avoidance did not stop the car before contacting the car in front. Even after the accident the car continued to respond in the same way until it was placed on the two truck. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | POWER TRAIN | Hi, My 2019 VW Tiguan, has the warning sign that ‘Only exit vehicle in P position.Please service vehicle’ But I found out it has recall for other vw cars for same issue but not tiguan. NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 19V615 VW ACTION CODE 37M2, 37L5 At dealer, they will charge for diagnosing for $280 because it has not recalled. It should be recalled. Thank you. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION | At a random time with nothing in the way the rear and front collision auto braking will engage. The last time this happen the vehicle was halfway into the street when it came to a sudden stop. Both forward and backward. I have a video of this happening. The local dealership says this a normal. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,LANE DEPARTURE | Blind spot indicator went out dealer replaced under warranty (passenger side) warranty expired a few thousand miles later and now the driver side is faulty. Vehicle has a rough idle and oil leaks. Dealer will not diagnose problem and now that car is out of warranty they wont do anything unless paid for. Car has rough idle and miscellaneous oil leaks occasionally almost stalling. Independent shop ran a diagnostic and shows one cylinder misfiring and want to inspect pcv as most the time these fail on VW | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | SEAT BELTS | The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the audible passenger’s side seat belt alarm would randomly activate and the seat belt warning light would illuminate even though there was no front seat passenger seated in the vehicle. The seat belt was then connected in order to deactivate the alarm. The contact indicated that the failure was intermittent. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 46,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 46,000 |