2021 Volkswagen Tiguan: True Cost, Problems & Verdict
132 NHTSA owner complaints · 5 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Reviewed by the MotorJury data desk · 2 sources · Last updated 2026-08-20
132 NHTSA owner complaints · 5 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Complaints per year on the road: 26.4
Verbatim reports filed with the United States safety regulator (NHTSA) by owners of this exact model year. Public record.
PCV value/oil leak is a known issue with this specific model of car. The repair I was quited was over $2700 when the car is just out of warranty. There was no oil light indication showing that the oil was low! I only checked everything out because I saw oil in the drive way. The car read zero oil on the dip stick. I added 4 quarts and finallt started to get into operating range. My wife drives this car and could have…
My Tiguan leaks and burns oil like crazy. Now it has 111k miles on it, but this has been an ongoing issue for the last five years since I've had it. I now have to put a quart of oil in every 100 miles. This is not the fault of me getting an oil change, this is a persistent problem caused by the manufacturing of the car. I have had the engine nearly seize up while driving on the freeway due to low oil from this issue.…
Electrical screen fail. Makes backup camera turn black and turns off while using. off and on repeatedly while in use. Very dangerous.
What the community is saying right now.
| Campaign | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 21V038000 | Seats | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan Long Wheelbase and Jetta vehicles. Bolts may be … |
| 22V226000 | Structure:Body | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Tiguan and 2018-2021 Tiguan long wheel base (LWB) vehicles. Due to… |
| 20V716000 | Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Ca | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas Cross Sport, Tiguan LWB, Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas… |
| 22V514000 | Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Ca | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Golf GTI, Jetta GLI, Jetta NF, Arteon FL, Tiguan LWB, 2022 Taos, Je… |
| 22V176000 | Suspension | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Tiguan, Taos, and 2021 Tiguan long wheel base (LWB) vehicles. A se… |
EPA combined 25 MPG · estimated annual fuel cost $2,450
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 Engine (46 complaints in our indexed sample).
Our data verdict is CAUTION with a reliability score of 52/100, computed from 132 NHTSA complaints and 5 recall campaigns. See the verdict card for the top reasons.
Yes — NHTSA lists 5 recall campaign(s) for the 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan, 0 of them touching fire, crash or stall risk, the most recent recorded 01/02/2021. 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.