96 owner complaints filed with the United States safety regulator · top issue: Air Bags · verdict BUY 77/100
“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”NHTSA complaint, 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan owner
“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”NHTSA complaint, 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan owner
“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.”NHTSA complaint, 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan owner
| Reported | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 17/07/2019 | Air Bags: Air Bag/Restraint Control Module SAFETY | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Tiguan and CC vehicles. The air bag Electronic Control Unit (ECU) may have a defective power supply capacitor that can result in air bag deac |
| 24/06/2016 | Latches/Locks/Linkages | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2016 CC vehicles manufactured January 12, 2016, to February 3, 2016, Golf R and Tiguan vehicles manufactured November 25, 2015, to January 28, 2016, and |
On the federal record it scores 77/100: 96 owner complaints (9.6 per year on the road) and 2 recall campaigns, 1 touching safety-critical systems.
The most-reported component in NHTSA complaints is Air Bags, with 37 of 115 categorised reports.
The 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan scored 77/100 on the federal record.