Volkswagen Tiguan

Owners filed 2,339 complaints across 18 model years of the Volkswagen Tiguan. The 2018 drew the most (288).

Model years18
Complaints2,339
Recalls65
Fires26
Deaths1

Which Volkswagen Tiguan years should you avoid?

Going by 2,339 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the Volkswagen Tiguan years to avoid are 2018.

  • 2018288 complaints, 2.0× a typical Tiguan year, most often about the engine.

Better bets: among years old enough for a low count to mean something, the 2014 drew the fewest complaints without an unusual share of serious ones.

Too new to judge: 2025 and 2026. Complaints take a few years to arrive, so a new model year looks better than it is.

How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →

Every Volkswagen Tiguan model year compared

Complaints per year
YearComplaintsRelative volumeRecallsFiresCrashesMost reportedStatus
2026Too new38
01—EngineRoutine
2025Too new57
3—1Electrical SystemRoutine
202477
243Electrical SystemRoutine
202372
1—1EngineRoutine
2022274
513EngineAbove average
2021144
5—2EngineRoutine
2020141
3—5Unknown or OtherRoutine
2019196
516Electrical SystemRoutine
2018Avoid288
1435EngineDo not drive
201776
4—6Air BagsFatalities reported
201697
224Air BagsRoutine
201562
411Air BagsRoutine
201484
3—2Air BagsRoutine
2013140
312Air BagsRoutine
2012153
3—10EngineRoutine
2011162
324EngineRoutine
2010110
245EngineRoutine
2009168
365EngineRoutine

Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.