2016 Volkswagen Tiguan: True Cost, Problems & Verdict
96 NHTSA owner complaints · 2 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Reviewed by the MotorJury data desk · 2 sources · Last updated 2026-08-20
96 NHTSA owner complaints · 2 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Complaints per year on the road: 9.6
Verbatim reports filed with the United States safety regulator (NHTSA) by owners of this exact model year. Public record.
UNKNOWN INCIDENT. I had a 2016 VW Tiguan with just over 80k miles (approximately 80,200 mi). On 1/6/2026 about 10 min after driving home from the gym, I heard a small explosion from the garage where my car was parked. The garage was filled with smoke and large flames were visible from under the front end of the vehicle. We called 911 and tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher but it continued to re-ignite. The…
The contact's friend owns a 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power steering assist failed with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and a diagnostic test was performed. The diagnostic test showed that the vehicle and determined that the steering rack, wheel speed sensors, and engine cooling fans needed to be replaced. The con…
I’ll be driving for 2-10 minutes and power steering cuts out. Wheel will jerk a little and alarm will sound with the alert light remaining red through remainder of drive. Sometimes it will not work at all while driving, but I’ve found the it usually works for the first few minutes until I speed up a little more.
What the community is saying right now.
| Campaign | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 19V535000 | Air Bags: Air Bag/Restraint Control Modu | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Tiguan and CC vehicles. The air bag Electronic Control Unit (… |
| 16V464000 | Latches/Locks/Linkages | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2016 CC vehicles manufactured January 12, 2016, to February 3, 2016, Gol… |
EPA combined 23 MPG · estimated annual fuel cost $3,300
Re-priced automatically from your country's retail fuel, electricity and parts indices — change country in the bar at the top. Estimates; see methodology.
The most-reported issue in NHTSA complaint data is Air Bags (37 complaints in our indexed sample).
Our data verdict is BUY with a reliability score of 77/100, computed from 96 NHTSA complaints and 2 recall campaigns. See the verdict card for the top reasons.
Yes — NHTSA lists 2 recall campaign(s) for the 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan, 1 of them touching fire, crash or stall risk, the most recent recorded 17/07/2019. Check this car's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy.
Fuel, maintenance band and depreciation — computed from public data in 10 seconds.
Open the true-cost calculatorComplaints & recalls: NHTSA ·
Fuel economy: EPA fueleconomy.gov ·
Scoring: our published methodology.
Maintenance bands are industry-average estimates (AAA Your Driving Costs, CarMD index) — labeled estimates, not measurements.
Last updated: 2026-08-20.