KnownCarProblemsHome › Volkswagen › Tiguan › 2012
2012 Volkswagen Tiguan Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 153 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan, most often about the engine (34% of complaints, typically around 50,000 miles). It is 6th of 18 Tiguan model years by number of complaints and has 3 recalls.
Most common 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan problems
Engine
52 complaints · 34%Half of these problems showed up before 50,000 miles.
At around 50,000 miles I was told by my vw dealer and vwoa that my direct injection engine needed to have its intake valves cleaned due to carbon build up. And it would be labor intensive, as the manifold had to be removed and walnut shells needed to be sandblasted into the valves to remove the build up. The vehicle…
My car only has 50k miles on it. The coolant light comes on every month or so. When I check the coolant the lever is severely low. There must be a problem with a defective part on the vw Tiguan why this is happening. Can someone explain the issue here? Thanks.
Air bags
33 complaints · 22%Half of these problems showed up before 56,500 miles. Parts named most often: frontal, sensor.
Clock spring in steering column broke when turning steering wheel. As a result, airbag light has illuminated, indicating an airbag fault. Airbag error also indicated on the dashboard information screen. In addition, all steering wheel buttons have stopped working. Upon researching, this has been a known issue, and…
The contact owns a 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan. When the vehicle was started, the air bag warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer (ontario Volkswagen in ontario, ca) who stated that the recall repair was completed in 2016. The contact was referred to NHTSA. The manufacturer was made aware of the…
Electrical
23 complaints · 15%Half of these problems showed up before 51,000 miles.
On this july 4th holiday, the engine of our 2012 Tiguan (less than 52k miles, first owner) began to stutter on the freeway and the check engine light started to flash. This occurred at 70 MPH in the fast lane of a 6-lane freeway at a merge (I-85 at the merge with ga-400 southbound). Even as the vehicle dramatically…
The contact owns a 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the panoramic sun roof was defective and caused water to leak into the vehicle. As a result, certain electrical components were affected, such as the gear lights and vanity lights. Also, the push start engine button was defective. The contact had to…
Steering
21 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 77,000 miles.
The steering felt unusually loose while driving on a rainy day, then after parking the care for some 30 minutes and turning ti back on the red steering wheel indication was on and it was very hard to steer, the dealer scanned it and found no problems. After that it was turning on/off, it feels normal while driving the…
The contact owns a 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan. While driving approximately 10 MPH and making a turn, the air bag indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and the steering clock spring was replaced. The contact stated that the dealer confirmed that the clock spring was repaired per…
Other or unspecified
20 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 51,500 miles.
I heard a loud clicking sound when turning my steering wheel and since then my airbag light has been on and my horn does not work on my vehicle. I saw the recall for the clock wheel spring in 2015 and they claim it has been fixed, but I have since seen further investigation as to whether or not vw actually fixed the…
I was driving and the car began to stall and vibrate. I had to pull over and took the car in and the reported that the ignition coil was bad.
Fuel system
15 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 42,500 miles.
Car completely stalled multiple times while driving. Luckily this happened mostly while driving at low speeds, but happened once while pulling out in a busy intersection. I was told by the vw dealer that I would need a new fuel pump and fuel pump module. Being such a dangerous problem, I had these parts fixed for an…
The car can not accelerate past 45mph, stutters going up hill, had to be abandoned on the side of the round on a 10 hour trip. The car is 2 years old with less than 40,000 miles on it. Vw says that it is the high pressure fuel pump, which they inconsistently cover with their powertrain warranty depending how sketch…
Brakes
11 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 8,500 miles.
The rear brakes seem to be defective in design, they grind and screech when the vehicle is crawling along, we have had the dealer replace them and they still do it and vw says that they don't know how to fix it and we are worried that as it gets worse it will affect the safety of the vehicle. The dealer mentioned that…
The contact owns a 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan. While driving approximately 35 MPH and attempting to engage the brakes, the vehicle failed to stop. As a result, the vehicle continued into an intersection and crashed head on into another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained a concussion, injuries on…
Transmission
7 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 9,000 miles. Parts named most often: transfer case (4-wheel drive), driveline.
Engine stalled approaching stop-sign rear ended vehicle in front of US. This was the third time this has happened with a stalling issue not accident, seems to be at lower (under 30mph) speed often as you start to slow for a stop sign or stop light. It now has happened again yesterday exiting an automated car wash.…
On 5/3/12 @ 12,000 miles, I was slowing @ a yield (10mph) and my transfer case fell on my drive shaft breaking it and the heat shield. Vw fixed it and said it could have happened at factory because a piece was missing that caused the transfer bolts to back out of the case. I complained I wanted a new car and jill, the…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2012 Volkswagen Tiguan recalls
Other: unknown or other
Risk: If the vehicles do not meet all regulatory requirements, there could be an increased risk of a crash, fire, or injury.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will repair the vehicles to make them fully compliant or volkswagen will repurchase them if necessary, free of charge. The recall began november 29, 2018. Owners may contact volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.
Full defect summary
Volkswagen group of america, inc. (volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2016 eos, 2012 passat, 2012-2016 cc, 2015-2016 e-golf, 2011-2015 touareg, 2012-2015 and 2017 tiguan, and 2011-2016 golf and 2011-2013 gti vehicles. Modifications made while the vehicles were in an internal evaluation period may cause the affected vehicles to not comply with all of the applicable regulatory requirements.
Air bags: frontal
Risk: A loss of electrical connection to the driver's frontal air bag will prevent the air bag from deploying in the event of a vehicle crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install a protective cover over the steering wheel clock spring if the air bag light is off. If the airbag light is on and the steering wheel clock spring requires replacement, dealers will install a new steering wheel clock spring. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on january 15, 2016. Owners may contact volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987.
Full defect summary
Volkswagen group of america, inc. (volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 volkswagen cc, and passat, 2010-2013 eos, 2011-2014 golf, gti, jetta, and tiguan, and 2012-2014 jetta sportwagen vehicles. In the affected vehicles, debris may contaminate the air bag clock spring, a spiral wound, flat cable that keeps the air bag powered while the steering wheel is being turned. This contamination may tear the cable and result in a loss of electrical connection to the driver's frontal air bag.
Fuel system: fuel system, gasoline
Risk: A vehicle stall increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will update the vehicle's software to increase the fuel pump pressure, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin august 19, 2014. Owners may contact volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 24av/2w.
Full defect summary
Volkswagen group of america, inc. (volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2009-2014 tiguan vehicles manufactured july 2007 to june 2014. When using winterized fuel, in certain conditions bubbles may form in the fuel system which could result in the vehicle stalling.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Air bag clockspring failure
Summary
In august 2015, volkswagen group of america, inc. (volkswagen) launched safety recall 15v-483 to address the loss of the protection provided by the front driver air bag in several models due to the failure of the clockspring.debris entry into the steering wheel hub can result in contamination and ultimately failure of the clockspring in 2010-2014 model year (my) cc, passat, eos, golf, gti, tiguan, jetta and jetta sportwagen models.contamination of the clockspring can cause the ribbon cable to tear resulting in loss of the electrical connection to the front driver air bag and any steering wheel mounted controls.the loss of the electrical connection to the front driver air bag will result in i
Air bag clockspring failure
Summary
In august 2015, volkswagen group of america, inc. (volkswagen) launched safety recall 15v-483 to address the loss of the protection provided by the front driver air bag in several models due to the failure of the clockspring.debris entry into the steering wheel hub can result in contamination and ultimately failure of the clockspring in 2010-2014 model year (my) cc, passat, eos, golf, gti, tiguan, jetta and jetta sportwagen models.contamination of the clockspring can cause the ribbon cable to tear resulting in loss of the electrical connection to the front driver air bag and any steering wheel mounted controls.the loss of the electrical connection to the front driver air bag will result in i
Air bag clockspring failure
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened an investigation based on consumer allegations of steering wheel clock spring/steering column control module (sccm) failures in model year (my) 2012 volkswagen passat and cc models.the sccm is a module within the steering column that incorporates a spiral conductor (a ribbon cable) to electrically connect the steering wheel to the vehicle's electrical system while allowing for the turning of the steering wheel.complainants alleged that that the clock spring failed while driving and without warning.when the sccm fails electrically, an air bag warning light is illuminated on the dash of the vehicle.if a vehicle with a failed sccm were to be invo
Questions about the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan
- What are the most common problems with the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: engine (52 complaints, typically around 50,000 miles); air bags (33 complaints, typically around 56,500 miles); electrical (23 complaints, typically around 51,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan have?
- 3 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from May 16, 2018 (other). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2012 a bad year for the Volkswagen Tiguan?
- It is 6th of 18 Tiguan model years by number of complaints, with 153 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.