Timing Tensioner problems of the 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan

Belt tensioner noise /morning startup rough idle and misfiring.

Tensioner and crank shaft sprocket failure. I believe there are some class action lawsuits on this and am expecting it to go to recall.

When attempting to start my car, it would not 'catch' and start running. I took it to the local Volkswagen shop and was told that the timing chain tensioner failed. The result was a slipped timing chain that rendered the engine useless. I will need a whole new engine. I understand now that this is a common problem with this make and model of engine from Volkswagen. The car currently has 82,000+ miles and in my humble opinion, is too early for this type of failure.

Car was driven home with no engine noise or smoking and parked by the storm drainage. No signs or anything prior that the car needed servicing. About 5 minutes later went outside to move the car up from the drainage about 5 feet to in front of the center of the house in front of the door. Opened car door and placed key in to turn the engine on. Engine just turned but would not ignite or come on. On 12/26/17 contacted the dealer and stated the issue. Quick thought was the fuel pump or module went out. Had the vehicle towed to the dealer. After diagnosis and research. Found out the engine had "jumped timing" or tensioner had crashed the engine. Car has 63k miles and now to fix it will cost 7000. 00. Dealer stated with a 10% discount the cost will be lowered 6,1000. 00 plus taxes. Total rip off the car has a warranty of 36k when purchased but now has past the mileage timeframe but the (tensioner) is not to go out or have problems until the vehicle reaches around 120k .

Timing chain tensioner failed causing complete engine destruction. 67,000 miles. Vw north America said they are aware of the complaints and lawsuits about the tensioner but since the warranty is only for 60,000 miles they were not going to cover it. $8,000 repair bill from the dealer.

On August 15, 2017 I attempted to start my vehicle after sitting in my driveway for 24 hrs. The engine would not turn over. The vehicle was towed to my local dealership for diagnosis. The mechanic diagnosed catastrophic internal top-end damage due to a failed timing chain tensioner. Quoted $6,600. 00 to repair. Volkswagen has refused to pay for the repair. Vehicle has 64,000 miles and all factory recommended services have been completed at the dealership(s). Vw does not recommend any service or inspection be done to the timing chain tensioner or affiliated components at or even near the mileage that my vehicle has recorded. Due to the number of complaints registered, lawsuits filed and vw,s acknowledgement of this problem I believe this not to be an isolated event. There appears to be a systemic problem with the tensioner that vw is aware of yet refuses to properly address or provide remedy.

I purchased my Tiguan three years ago as a certified preowned car. It was working great until a few days ago I went to go start it while it was in my driveway and it wouldn't start. I had it towed to first a mechanic where I was told that the valves were bent and no compression was in any of my cylinders. I had it towed to the dealer where they confirmed that my timing chain tensioner had failed causing massive engine damage. No warnings. No indicators. But a bill for over $6,000 which Volkswagen has only told me to "keep receipts and proof should they issue a recall in the future. " vw is ignoring a massive fault in their engines that makes their tensioners fail unexpectedly and prematurely and ruin engines without the driver needing to have move the vehicle and they're doing nothing to warn consumers of this issue.

Check engine light appeared 09/11/16. Vehicle was stationary at the time the light engaged. Dropped off at dealer who informed me that the tensioner had failed and the following had to be replaced: tensioner, timing case, sealent, gasket, bracket, valve, and rail needed to be replaced. He stated that the problem was caught early enough that upon inspection of the engine they found no damage to the engine. There is no maintenance schedule in the manual for the tensioner. He also stated that due to the tensioner failing, the timing chain was skipping links which would have lead to engine failure. There were no dash board messages indicating why the check engine light was triggered. Please see enclosed invoice as attached.

My Tiguan only running 50k miles broke down in the middle of the highway. The engine light went on and the car stopped accelerating. When I towed it to the mechanic, I was told the timing chain tensioner and crankshaft sensor were bad. The timing chain tensioner defect caused complete engine failure. I now do not have an engine. After looking into this issue and talking to some lawyers all over the us, it seems like many people with vw Tiguans (2. 0l engines) have this issue and there are a few class action law suits in the us regarding this matter. I spoke to vw of America and they said there was no recall issued, although they are aware of this defect. Vw dealership now tells me the estimated cost to repair the engine and timing chain tensioner is around $10,000. If the timing chain tensioner was not defective, my engine would have never failed. I showed them proof of oil changes over the last 3 years in which were all done in a timely manner. I am now fighting with vw of America about this issue. There should be a recall on these vehicles. My car immediately broke down on the highway and I was very lucky that no one crashed into me. This is a very dangerous problem.

The contact owns a 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan. While driving various speeds, the check engine warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. Shortly after, the vehicle failed to accelerate any further. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the crankshaft sensor and timing chain tensioner failed and needed to be replaced. While the vehicle was at the dealer, the technician had the vehicle running with the timing chain tensioner failure, which caused the engine to fail. The engine would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

The contact owns a 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan. While driving 30 mph, the vehicle shook and the check engine light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine failed due to the timing change tensioner and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 69,000.

The car had an extreme misfire at idle and very rough running. I took the car for an inspection at the vw dealership. They told me the problem was that the chain had stretch because they were unable get an stable timing. After dissembling the opening up the house covering the timing chain they informed me that the cam screen had come loose and liking caused the chain to stretch. Vw told me it would be wise to have the cam replaced in case the screen caused any damage it to it as well. After the repair was completed I asked them directly if the tensioner had failed and they then admitted that the engine failure was the result of bad tensioner not a stretched chain. The vw manager told me he was aware of the tbs on the tensioner failures. The manager choose to make up an unbelievable story to cover the true problem. The chain was not stretched and there was no damage to the cam shaft. I directly complain to vw and they told me in a letter the "tsbs don't indicate trends among our vehicles, as they are issued to out dealerships for instructional purposes only. " this is a carefully constructed statement to obfuscate the truth. Initial failure occurred on the highway at 65 mph. The mileage was 77300. The failure on this engine appears to have spared damage to the valve but a more serious failure could have shut down the car in the middle of a 4 lane highway.

The car had an extreme misfire at idle and very rough running. I took the car for an inspection at the vw dealership. They told me the problem was that the chain had stretched because they were unable get a stable timing. After dissembling and opening up the house covering the timing chain they informed me that the cam screen had come loose and liking caused the chain to stretch. Vw told me it would be wise to have the cam replaced in case the screen caused any damage it to it as well. After the repair was completed I asked them directly if the tensioner had failed and they then admitted that the engine failure was the result of bad tensioner not a stretched chain. The vw manager told me he was aware of the tbs on the tensioner failures. The manager choose to make up an unbelievable story to cover the true problem. The chain was not stretched and there was no damage to the cam shaft. I directly complain to vw and they told me in a letter the "tsbs don't indicate trends among our vehicles, as they are issued to out dealerships for instructional purposes only. " this is a carefully constructed statement to obfuscate the truth. Initial failure occurred on the highway at 65 mph. The mileage was 77300. The failure on this engine appears to have spared damage to the valve but a more serious failure could have shut down the car in the middle of a 4 lane highway.

Timing chain tensioner failure at 70,000 miles. Suffered a catastrophic engine failure when the timing chain jumped time. The tensioner failure is a known and confirmed issue since 2012.

Common failed timing chain tensioner on many vw's tsi engines , caused complete engine damage and costly repair, luckly no injuries happened vw refused to repair even though car was still under warranty when damage occurred .

Timing chain tensioner failed causing the timing to jump destroying the engine.