Complaint volume
185 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
185 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan, grouped by component category.
185 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 electrical system, unknown or other, engine. 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 electrical system, unknown or other, engine?
- 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
6 Towed
2 Medical attention
What are the most common 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan complaint categories?
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 22
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 21
ENGINE 13
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 13
SERVICE BRAKES 10
POWER TRAIN 8
SUSPENSION 6
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 4
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 4
185 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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,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 | 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 | 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 |
| Jun 2022 | ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) | While attempting to accelerate on major highways (55-75 mph), suddenly orange "EPC" light along with orange triangle with ! appears on dashboard. Vehicle immediately begins losing speed, unable to keep up with traffic speed - capped at around 39 mph. Notification on touchscreen display, select "Vehicle Status", "1 message" next to the another identical orange triangle with !. Touched the messages to find orange ! and meter symbol, left of "Engine speed maximum 3000 rpm." Immediately drive to dealership, when I turned off the engine and parked the car to talk to a service center representative, it wiped the error from the vehicle completely. No EPC light, no message, and no data storage for the error that occurred. The dealership told me they were unable to re-create the issue, and sent me on my way. A few months later, the same issue had repeated 3-4 times, I took it to the same dealership, still unable to recreate issue. Now 2 full years have passed, warranty is expired, I bring it in having had the issue dozens of times (and documented with timestamped images), and the same dealership is claiming that the issue is the engine harness. This is extremely unsafe for other drivers, passengers, myself and my passengers. I have been fortunate enough to not have had any vehicles too close behind me when this failure occurs. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the right hydraulic arm of the hatchback was corroded and upon closing the trunk manually, the right hydraulic arm detached and hit her on the right side of the head and shoulder. A bystander approached the contact to check on her. The contact then sought medical assistance. The contact was informed that she had sustained a severe concussion. The contact continued to undergo pain and physical therapy. The contact was later diagnosed with oxepedo myalgia and tumor on the right shoulder. Additionally, the contact was informed that she needed a surgical procedure for shoulder replacements. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was repaired. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer who inspected the vehicle and informed the contact that there was no proof of the incident. The contact stated that the failure occurred 14 days after the dealer had sold her the vehicle brand new. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. | Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: 1 Medical attention | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled with several unknown warning lights illuminated. Since the initial failure, the failure occurred intermittently and the vehicle would restart soon after failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer however, the mechanic was unable to diagnose or duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 4,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 4,000 |
| Mar 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My Tiguan is doing the same thing as the Atlas. I have been told by the Dealer and the Vw representative that did a physical inspection of my vehicle. That the issues are the same. I was doing 70 mph on the highway all the dash lights went on and then the breaks engage bring my vehicle to a complete stop. This was in March of 2021. Vehicle was taken straight to dealer I was told then what was happening. And was told the issed was resolved. Then in January 2022 the vehicle did the same thing once at a low speed, and again that same morning going 30 mph, were the truck behind us did everything he could to avoid hitting the vehicle as my vehicle came to a complete stop. I was the front car and thankfully the truck behind me was the only other vehicle on the road. I pulled in to a parking lot, I attempted to back up and the vehicle would not go in to reverse. I had to have my vehicle towed to the dealership where has sat since January. They have not been able to repair the unit. As they are waiting for a wire harness for the door. Vw corporate has been notified and is not been helpful at this point. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEAT BELTS | 1. Seat belt in middle row. Seat belt will not retract. 2.electric system. Driver door contact switch, car still running, electric brake, drive window will not roll up, passenger window on left side will not roll up, driver door will not unlock. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Driving on clear road with sunny skies when vehicle break system warning light came on and vehicle suddenly and without warning began breaking. The sudden breaking of the vehicle with no reason or cause surprised me and put me in a dangerous position that could have resulted in an accident. Luckily the vehicle behind me was far enough behind where it was able to break without rear ending me. There was no warning that the vehicle had sense something on the road (none which were visible to me) before slamming the breaks. I will be reporting this to the dealer, but it has occurred twice before and I’ve always been told they don’t see any issues on there side, only been told to write down time, road conditions and location where it occurred so they could look into the system next time. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | AIR BAGS | Passenger and driver air bag lights have come on 3 times (not working). Huge safety concern | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving 25mph with no vehicles or other obstructions ahead, the vehicle forward collision warning audibly warned of an imminent crash, displayed a visible indicator on the dashboard screen, and applied strong braking force for about 2 seconds as I had been accelerating slightly. There were vehicles directly behind mine which may have collided with me if I had stopped suddenly. There was no risk of a frontal collision. This occurred as the vehicle was driving on a standard asphalt road and approached a red brick style crosswalk (there were no pedestrians). This has not been reproduced or inspected by law enforcement, a dealer, or others. There was no warning prior to this event. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | Automatic start/stop feature malfunctioned while vehicle was at a complete stop in a left hand turn lane at the front of an intersection. Caused major traffic jam because vehicle would not restart. No warning signals were given prior to failure, car engine simply turned completely off and dashboard message then read to "manually restart engine". Attempted to do so but it did not work. After that, I randomly started turning the car off and on, switching from park to drive in whatever order to try to get the engine to restart since manually restarting the "normal" way did not seem to work. While the car was not restarting, the yellow engine light did appear, I am not sure exactly when. No one's safety was at risk in this particular instance, however it could have been depending on when this problem occurs. It has happened twice prior to this incident but both times occurred in a parking lot, not in open traffic. Eventually, after about 5 minutes the car did restart and I was able to resume driving. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by anyone for this particular issue and therefore not reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield washer fluid lost without using it. Have to add a gallon of the windshield washer fluid every 4 months. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | We bought a new 2019 tiguan for my 16 year old daughter. At just over 5 thousand miles, she was driving the car home from school when all the electric power was lost. The engine kept running, but she lost all the lights, headlights, break lights, radio, ac, speedometer, etc. Basically everything stopped working except the engine. Obviously this was a safety concern for me because she's 16 and didn't have headlight, or break lights, or a speedometer, just to name a few. Volkswagen dealership in mckinney, TX, began diagnosing the issue. They changed the battery and said the car was fixed. Unfortunately, as my now 17 year old daughter was driving, the car all the sudden lost all power again. The danger is that the car starts and performs perfectly at first, but will shutdown everything but the engine while she's driving! So this is the 2nd time this has happened. The car went back to the dealership and they a "software update", and claimed that corrected the problem eventhough I suspect they dint truly believe they fixed it. So my daughter starts her car and drives down the road with no problems, until, for the individual time, she loses power while driving over 50 mph. So the car is at the dealership for a 3rd time. The car has just over 5 thousand miles on it. Volkswagen keeps claiming they've corrected the problem, and keeps returning an unsafe vehicle to my daughter. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | AIR BAGS | I was involved in a collision where I hit another vehicle with the front passenger side. The air bags did not deploy on mine, and the seat belt did not lock into place causing me to hit the steering wheel. The police verified this upon inspection immediately after the accident happened. I have spoken with Volkswagen many times about the transmission lagging and requiring excessive acceleration. Because of the lag I have almost been hit many times, as well as almost hit others due to the increase in speed after the lag. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Front assist goes off for no reason engaging the brakes. Dealership told me to turn it off and fill out reports if it continues to happen. Filled out reports with photos and returned after having my vehicle for over a month they state that the front assist engaging for no reason is normal operation. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2021 | STRUCTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | DOOR LATCH MALFUNCTIONS REQUIRED MULTIPLE VISITS TO MECHANIC TO DIAGNOSE. LOCKED AND UNLOCKED RANDOMLY. AS IN WOULD LOCK ME OUT OR IN THE VEHICLE REQUIRING I USE AN ALTERNATE DOOR (NOT DRIVER DOOR) TO EXIT MY VEHICLE. EMERGENCY BREAK ASSIST ENGAGES IN GUTTERS AND DRIVEWAYS. ESSENTIALLY ANYTHING THAT ISN'T FLAT TERRAIN MAY RESULT IN THE TIGUAN SLAMMING ON THE BREAKS FOR YOU COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP. EVEN WHEN APPROACHING DIPS, GUTTERS, DRIVEWAYS OR DIFFERENT INCLINES YOU HAVE A VERY LIKELY CHANCE OF THE EMERGENCY SYSTEM ENGAGING BREAKS. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2021 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | THIS IS A SECOND COMPLAINT ABOUT THE HEADLIGHTS ON MY VEHICLE. THE LOW BEAMS DO NOT ILLUMINATE THE ROADWAY SAFELY. I COMPLAINED TO THE MANUFACTURER WHO REFERRED ME TO THE DEALER. WHO STATED THAT THERE IS NO ADJUSTMENT THAT CAN BE MADE. PER THE DEALERS DESCRIPTION THE VEHICLE ONLY UTILIZES ONE BULB FOR HIGH AND LOW BEAMS. THERE IS A SHIELD THAT COMES DOWN TO CREATE THE LOW BEAMS. WITH THAT BEING SAID, IN THE LOW BEAM POSITION THE SHIELD CREATES DISTINCT LINE THAT ONLY ILLUMINATES A SHORT DISTANCE OF ROAD IN FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. THIS ALSO CREATES A WALL OF DARKNESS BEYOND THAT. NO DIFFUSION OF LIGHT JUST GOING INTO THE DARKNESS BLIND. THIS TO ME IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION.. | Crash: No Fire: No | 100 |
| Apr 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE WOULD BLOW HOT AIR. THE CONTACT HAD TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO HARPER VOLKSWAGEN (9901 KINGSTON PIKE, KNOXVILLE, TN 37922) WHERE THE TECHNICIAN INSPECTED THE A/C UNIT AND FOUND NO FAULT WITH THE SYSTEM. AS THE FAILURE CONTINUED, THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALER WHERE SHE WAS INSTRUCTED TO PURCHASE A THERMOMETER AND KEEP TRACK OF THE TEMPERATURE READINGS INSIDE THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE WHERE SHE WAS INFORMED THAT THEY STOOD BEHIND THE DIAGNOSTIC OF THE MECHANIC AND OFFERED NO FURTHER ASSISTANCE. THE CONTACT ALSO SENT AN EMAIL TO THE MANUFACTURER DOCUMENTING THAT THE TEMPERATURE READING INSIDE THE VEHICLE WAS ABOVE NORMAL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 2,742.*DT*DT*DT THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THE AIR FROM THE VENT REACHED 180 DEGREES. | Crash: No Fire: No | 2,742 |