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2013 Volkswagen Tiguan Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 139 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan, most often about the air bags (45% of complaints, typically around 57,000 miles). It is 9th of 18 Tiguan model years by number of complaints and has 3 recalls.
Most common 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan problems
Air bags
63 complaints · 45%Half of these problems showed up before 57,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal.
Clockspring in the steering column has failed causing air bag light to come on and on one instance the blinkers did not work. A minor cracking first was heard in vehicle during turning. Eventually a turn was made and the airbag light came on and no controls on the steering wheel worked.
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the air bag warning indicator illuminated and the steering wheel features became inoperable. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and did not assist. The contact stated that the…
Electrical
35 complaints · 25%Half of these problems showed up before 58,000 miles. Parts named most often: horn.
Clockspring in the steering column has failed causing air bag light to come on and on one instance the blinkers did not work. A minor cracking first was heard in vehicle during turning. Eventually a turn was made and the airbag light came on and no controls on the steering wheel worked.
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the air bag warning indicator illuminated and the steering wheel features became inoperable. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and did not assist. The contact stated that the…
Engine
29 complaints · 21%Half of these problems showed up before 32,500 miles.
When you are attempting to stop the car, the car stops completely. Everything shuts down. Need to place the car in park and restart car. The car restarts. However, the shutdown can happen more than once during the same trip each time the car stops. The check engine light comes on and then will go off. This started…
Mileage: 38,000 miles. Date: 9/5/2016. Upon engine startup first thing in the morning I noticed a momentary rattling noise which I recognized as timing chain noise. (I'm a certified auto mechanic.) the noise went away in about one second which is typical for a hydraulic timing chain tensioner. I researched the net and…
Steering
27 complaints · 19%Half of these problems showed up before 62,000 miles.
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle shook and vibrated. As the contact attempted to make a turn, the steering lost power and the steering wheel and air bag warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer (palmetto 57 Volkswagen…
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan. While driving approximately 70 MPH, there was a clicking sound that came from the steering wheel. All of the controls on the steering wheel failed to work, including the horn, and the air bag warning indicator illuminated. The contact pulled over and powered the vehicle off…
Fuel system
18 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 17,500 miles.
After turning motor on, and backing up, the car is unresponsive when shifted into drive,. On 4 occasions now I have had to restart the car and try again. The accelerator seems progressively unresponsive. Yesterday, the car stayed in gear, and on long enough for me to pull into traffic and then died. I had to restart…
When you are attempting to stop the car, the car stops completely. Everything shuts down. Need to place the car in park and restart car. The car restarts. However, the shutdown can happen more than once during the same trip each time the car stops. The check engine light comes on and then will go off. This started…
Other or unspecified
16 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 48,000 miles.
In 2015 there was a recall for clock springs in the 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan which I own and other of their vehicles. My previous owner got it replaced then and I bought the car in 2016. I heard a clicking noise and then my airbag light came on and the controls on the steering wheels stopped working and my horn stopped…
An airbag error message went on while my wife was driving in june 2018. She noticed that the after the airbag error cane on that the controls on the steering wheel and the horn stopped working as well. We took the vehicle to dirito brothers vw for servicing and they said the clock spring failed and needed to replaced.…
Brakes
7 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 5,500 miles.
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact heard a chime sound coming from the vehicle and the ABS warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 5,500. Updated 10/29/14 the consumer stated the vehicle was…
I am a state trooper who investigated a crash. The vehicle in question was involved in the crash. The vehicle that caused the crash was a 2013 vw Tiguan. This vehicle has an electrically actuated parking brake. The switch, very similar to a power window switch, is located between the front seats adjacent to the cup…
Transmission
6 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 24,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
Vehicle sporadically unresponsive in traffic while in any forward drive selection of automatic transmission. Particularly hazardous while changing lanes in freeway traffic. I push on the accelerator to change lanes and nothing happens...the car just coasts...meanwhile traffic is coming at me at 70mph. I have keep…
My first issue with a check engine light came on 1 month into my 3+ year lease with under 1,000 miles on the car. I was told it was fine to drive, as they couldn't fit me in for service with a loaner for 2 wks!! The light eventually went off in 2 days without an issue. However, it happened again at 5k miles. The check…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2013 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 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan
- What are the most common problems with the 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (63 complaints, typically around 57,000 miles); electrical (35 complaints, typically around 58,000 miles); engine (29 complaints, typically around 32,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2013 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 2013 a bad year for the Volkswagen Tiguan?
- It is 9th of 18 Tiguan model years by number of complaints, with 139 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.