2022 Volkswagen Tiguan Reliability Report

Excess oil consumption dominates this mixed category, with low-oil lights, exhaust smoke, and dealers calling the burn rate normal after consumption tests. Interior trim also fails. The overhead sunroof control panel peels loose and dangles, blocking the mirror, and one report says it fell and struck the driver. Other reports cover sunroof glass shattering with no impact, repeat Travel Assist warnings, an SOS call feature that keeps dropping out, sudden loss of acceleration at stops, and air conditioning failure. One crash report involves a cyclist hurt by a collapsing hood panel.

A faulty steering wheel triggers repeated "Travel Assist currently not available" warnings, sometimes 10 or more chimes in one drive, and disables lane assist and adaptive cruise. Dealers usually confirm the cause and order a new steering wheel. Replacements are often on long backorder with no arrival date, and one owner was told the part is no longer made. Some reports describe lane assist switching on and off and the steering jolting or pulling. A crack spreading near the steering wheel logo, requiring a new airbag cover, also appears.

Windshields crack on their own while the car sits parked, with no chip or impact point. Some cracks run across most of the glass. Replacement windshields are frequently on national backorder, leaving drivers with impaired vision for weeks. Sunroof glass also shatters into the cabin without impact, causing minor cuts in one case. Automatic wipers switch on with no rain and cannot be turned off, and one case persisted after a steering wheel replacement. Random Travel Assist and collision warnings come up alongside the wiper fault.

Throttle response lags from a stop. The car creeps forward, loses power for 3 to 4 seconds, then surges, which is especially dangerous during left turns across traffic. The lag is worse when cold and often appears in the first miles of ownership. Dealers frequently find nothing wrong or point to software. One report cites failed spark plugs and ignition coils at 49,000 miles, causing stuttering. In one crash report, the car veered left into the median while on cruise control and was totaled.

Automatic emergency braking engages with nothing ahead and brings the car to an abrupt stop. One report describes a passenger thrown forward and hurt, and another describes a following car nearly rear-ending the vehicle on a highway. Forward collision warnings also trigger for no reason. The remaining complaints repeat the Travel Assist fault, with warning lights flashing and loud chimes sounding every few seconds at any speed. Dealers have dismissed at least one report of phantom braking.

Travel Assist drops out and comes back repeatedly while driving, with a loud chime each time, sometimes 10 times in a minute. Dealers often find no error code, and one car went in 5 times without a fix. Because the fault is intermittent, shops struggle to reproduce it. One report describes Lane Keep Assist misreading lane markings and steering toward traffic, plus the brakes engaging for a shadow. A steering wheel replacement fixed that case.

Only two complaints are on file. In one crash, the vehicle hit a stone wall and rolled onto its side. Every airbag deployed except the driver's front airbag, and the driver suffered a bruised sternum. No fault warning had appeared beforehand. In the other report, the airbag warning light and a chime come on with the passenger seat empty, at about 20,000 miles. Neither report includes a dealer diagnosis, so the cause is unknown.