Power Train Problems of Volkswagen Tiguan - part 2

The car stalls and lags out when accelerating and appears to slip gears (daily). The dealership stated this is normal for the car to do, but it’s very scary and nearly caused me to be rear ended. The car turns off at a stop light (unexpected ) and has to be restarted. I am experiencing jerking and sputtering of the vehicle when at a complete stop. First the car indicates the start/stop function is deactivated, then the car produces a message stating the engine speed max is 2500 rpm. Then the epc light comes on and/or the check engine light. I initially took my car in to the dealership for maintenance (standard) in October. I have since returned 2 more times due to the same issue. Upon starting the car tokay, the car started jerking and this time the check engine light came on and continued to blink. The car started rattling loudly and I turned off the engine for about 10 minutes, called the dealership and they advised me to pay to have it towed if the issue persists. This will be the 4th time in 2 months. Each time the diagnostic stated the issue caused by “sensors” and the warranty allowed this to be fixed at no cost. I am also expecting unexpected blackouts of the infotainment system which prevent me from using the rearview camera for when in reverse.

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2021 Volkswagen tijuan has an oil leak caused by a defective timing cover gasket, and or pcv component(s). If you do a simple google search, there are thousands of these vehicles experiencing the exact same issue, and numerous individuals are not happy. The warranty is 4 years or 50k miles, this problem occurred at 53k, very convenient for the dealers repairing these vehicles. This is absolutely a design flaw and should qualify for a recall. Please investigate and I am sure you will agree, thank you so much.

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The pvc valve failed on my two-year-old Volkswagen Tiguan at 60,000 miles. As a result, the upper timing gasket was blown, the oil pan went bad, along with several other issues relating to gaskets, seals and sensors, causing an oil leak. This problem was confirmed by my local Volkswagen dealership, and is costing me over $2,000 out-of-pocket. The check engine light was extremely inconsistent - coming on and then going off for days at a time. This is a safety concern. Unfortunately, through research, I have found that many other Tiguan owners are experiencing the same problems, but it does not seem Volkswagen is willing to issue a recall.

Pcv failure causing the timing cover to leak oil and causing the oil pan to crack. This is a known issue with vw tsi engines. This pcv is a major issue not only causing the damage above but others are having to replace the rear main seal and crank case because of this. It's now in the shop for the next week and I'm out of a vehicle for the next week. This is not the only problem I've had with this vehicle. The last problem I had was the housing unit of the overhead lights, sunroof controls and sos when hanging down and broke out of nowhere. The plastic melted and cracked. It was replaced but was not put back together properly. There are now gaps where it should be tightly sealed. The glove comparent arm is broken. There are wheel bearings issues too we are trying to pin point the issue. The hits keep coming and the car is just a money pit.

An issue occurs intermittently when accelerating from a stop/at low speeds. When pressing the gas pedal, there is approximately a 3-4 second delay before the engine kicks in. Theres is no acceleration during those 3-4 seconds and suddenly, the engine will jolt you forward. This presents a safety issue when pulling out on to a street and this vehicle will not move forward. There have been 2 instances where I have almost gotten hit/involved with road rage due to this issue.

Crankshaft vent valve clogged and failed, causing overpressurization and oil leaks. Caused the oil pan to crack and upper timing cover to leak per the inspection at Volkswagen. I was driving, going 63mph when it said max engine speed 3000rpm and a light that said epc started flashing along with the engine light. I turned off cruise control and began to go towards the shoulder and it shuddered and a large white plumb of smoke came out of it. It wouldn't speed up at all while I was getting over. I had it towed to my home. My husband noticed oil all over the bottom and back of my car. My dipstick had no oil on it at all. We towed it Tuesday morning to Volkswagen.

On 4/6/24 the steering wheel locked while driving the car . Causing the car to go off the road into a 40 ft ditch and hit a tree.

Rear view camera constantly faults, and fails to work, also accelerating issue, surges on take offs. Started in 2024, dealership will tell me they could not replicate, and deny issue.

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My Tiguan was towed on [xxx] to beyer Volkswagen [4017 valley pike, winchester, va 22602] for service to repair a sudden and unexpected vehicle failure.   on [xxx], I started the Tiguan and noticed a hard start. I drove the vehicle about 4 miles down the road and noticed a smell of gasoline when I stopped and opened the door. I immediately drove the car home at which point I noticed gasoline on the road and driveway, as well as a heavy persistent smell of gas. I moved the vehicle to the road and had it towed [$95 at my expense] to beyer vw for service. This failure rendered the vehicle undrivable and luckily was able to get it towed before it became engulfed in flames. [xxx], after getting the vehicle back for 1 week (dealership claiming repair fixed) the problem was not fixed and in fact gas spewed from the engine at a higher rate. Pictures attach showing about of gas which instantly dispelled at start and move from driveway to road. This is a critical vw problem that will result in fire. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The car was jerking due to a faulty transmission sensor. Vw instructed the dealership to clean and reinsert the old sensor, which they state is an appropriate first step. Several days later, the cleaned part failed and caused the car to jerk and stop responding while I was driving. This jerking caused the car behind me to come very close to rear-ending me. I am concerned that vw is putting old parts back in warrantied cars, which are already known to have jerking transmission problems, to run out of the warranty. With this policy, they are putting drivers, passengers, and other cars on the road in danger.

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I bought a 2016 vw Tiguan in 2019 from the Audi rockville dealership. Recently I had an oil leak issue that requires a substantial repair. I first took it to a certified vw mechanic, ourisman vw of rockville, and they diagnosed the issue to be a 4,109. 19 dollar repair. Following this, I took it to get a second look at an independent mechanic shop, wilniq auto body & mechanical repairs, and the mechanic came to the conclusion that the engine head gasket needs to be replaced and that it should be covered under the manufacturers power train warranty. Unfortunately my car is out of warranty by just 241 miles (warranty is up until 60,000 miles and my car is at 60,241). Based on what the mechanic saw while diagnosing the issue (the color and consistency of the leaked oil and where it was located), he alluded to this oil leak issue definitely starting prior to my car hitting 60,000 miles and that the other mechanics who worked on my car prior should have noticed this issue. They also mentioned that from what they can tell this issue has nothing to do with how I maintained the car but an issue with the car itself. I regularly maintained the car with all scheduled oil changes on time. The last three oil changes I had were at 51, 256 mi, 54,404 mi, and lastly at 58,075 mi (the recommendation is every 10,000 mi). When I brought all this up to a Volkswagen of America representative via chat they mentioned that because I brought the car to an independent shop the warranty would not be applicable anyway. My independent mechanic told me that this is not the case and in fact illegal. I bought this car in good faith with my hard earned money expecting it to be a durable and reliable product for years to come. Now I am getting hit with serious repairs at just over 60,000 miles and I do not trust that there won't be more in the future. Attached are documents, receipts, transcripts, other customer complaints similar to mine and the answers to the general guideline questions above.

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Received max rpm 4,000 warning while on long drive. Happened and had to restart car several times. Lost ability to accelerate. Also, when car was on cruise, started shaking.

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My Tiguan has had a jerky transmission issues since I purchased it brand new. Dealer says operation is normal. I have read several forums and website where people have stated similar issues for this vehicle. Extremely hesitant in first and second gear. Jerks around especially during first minute or two of driving. Have tried to let car idle to normal temperature and it still happens. It’s as if it won’t go into gear and freezes up /hesitates for a few seconds, then finally switches gears. Extremely unsafe when pulling out onto road. Transmission shifts hard and will sometimes slip when changing gears. Beware! this has been happening since being brand new. Transmission reset did not resolve.

On multiple occasions, while driving on the highway, subject vehicle displayed check engine light and epc light at random intervals and an alarm saying exceeded 4000 came on. Rpm's were not over 4000. Speed and acceleration severely limited making it dangerous to pull over on the highway in traffic. Had to pull car over and restart engine. This has happened numerous times. Also experienced shaking and skipping or missing of transmission. The car has also had the engine stall or stop when at red light or stopped forcing restart of engine.

The acceleration stalls and sometimes stops. Sometimes the car has to be put in park and restarted. This stalling or lack of acceleration happens at stop signs, stop lights when I am accelerating and it does not want to go. Which when turning into on coming traffic is very scary if I am not able to get up and go. I feel very unsafe operating the vehicle when this occurs. The acceleration stalling happens intermittently and not just when the car is from a cold start. The dealership said they are aware of this issue and are hoping for an update to fix the problem. Meanwhile I have to deal with the uncertainty and feeling unsafe.

Ongoing issues with hesitation when accelerating from a stop. The car will feel like it has no power when pushing on the accelerator it may then jerk into gear and accelerate quickly or what feels like jerking in-between gears.

August 11,2023 went to dealer for oil change and halodex fluid service at napleton vw of springfield, missouri. Two hours later on drive from springfield to dallas, texas outside pryor, oklahoma the following happened: in right hand lane on cruise at 72mph in 65mph, heard clunk in rear. Lost power and car began to slow down. Pulled over and halodex fluid was spewing from under car. Car would not go into gear and move. Had vehicle towed to closest vw dealer don thornton of tulsa, oklahoma. Was determined rear differential failed. Vw has not offered reason why a 2022 vw Tiguan sel r-line premium with 49,000 miles approximately had a powertrain failure. In August of last year (12 months ago) we owned a 2017 vw atlas sel that had the same issue after an oil change and halodex fluid service. A clunk was heard and grinding of gears. Vw of wichita, kansas bought the car from us and put us in the 2022 Tiguan.

Jittery acceleration. Intermittent accelerator hesitation from a stop. The car hesitates or bogs down which can be unpredictable when pulling into traffic. Sometimes the rpms surge during low speed without input from the gas peddle. I have had the car serviced twice since leased in July 2023. The dealership is fast to say they are all the same. There are no warning lamps for this issue and the dealership states no faults can be found with vdas or gff.

The first and most pressing issue is the throttle lag. From a dead stop (red light/stop sign) the car will not accelerate when the gas pedal is depressed. It lags for a few seconds before lurching forward. I fell like I'm a candidate to get rear-ended. Today, after driving through a heavy rain storm, the throttle lag caused the car to barely move. Like at all. Fortunately this happened as I was pulling into my driveway. The car simply just barely made it home. The second issue is the incessant warning lights and bells that go off because of a lane departure assist error. It will go off 30 times in row, and the not at all. It's really hit or miss. But when it happens its very distracting. The dealership says they're aware of the problem, and to fix it requires replacing the steering wheel. Which is on perpetual back order. I've discussed both issues with the dealer. They're aware of both issues. They said that there's nothing that can be done about the throttle lag issue as that's just how the transmission is tuned. And they're also aware of the electrical gremlin. Just waiting for the steering wheel to come in. . . . . .

The contact owns a 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle started jerking. The contact stated that the epc warning light illuminated, and a message was displayed on the instrument panel “engine speed - max 4,000 rpm”. The contact stated that when the message was displayed on the instrument panel, the vehicle would decelerate to 15 mph with the accelerator pedal depressed. The contact pulled over and turned off and restarted the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that she was informed by the dealer that the failure was a known issue and was due to a faulty transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.

So this is not related to a specific incident, more long term. The throttle response in this vehicle is downright dangerous. Many of times I feel like I am going to cause an accident. The throttle response is so laggy and jerky that off the line it seems to hesitate for almost 2 seconds. Light turns yellow? good luck, it will barely downshift and get moving before it turns red. Sometimes the response is good, sometimes it terrible. No predictability. Have to turn it to sport mode when I have to make a left turn into traffic just to get a jump start. There are numerous forums that have talked about the issue. I have even brought it up to the dealership with no fix recommended. I have driven so many cars in my day, not one like this. Thinking about selling the car back just to get something safer unless they come out with a fix for it.

Purchased new; problems began early in ownership and have recurred despite multiple dealer visits. At ~75,995 miles in July 2025, the vehicle developed a significant engine oil leak. Multiple inspections have found the engine oil level low due to leaks from cracks, and the dealer also verified excessive crankcase pressure from a faulty pcv system that forced oil past sealing surfaces. Parts replaced included the pcv/separator, upper timing cover, a related pipe, and the oil filler funnel; dtcs were cleared and the vehicle was returned as “operating to specifications. ” despite these repairs, the vehicle has an ongoing pattern of engine problems, including warning lights and loss of power/limp mode while driving. This creates a safety risk due to sudden power reduction and the possibility of engine damage from oil starvation and continued leakage. I have repair records documenting the July 2025 diagnosis and parts replaced, prior visits showing repeat engine/drivability issues, and notes reflecting low oil observed on multiple inspections. Volkswagen denied assistance and directed me to bbb auto line; I am refiling with bbb and reporting this safety concern to NHTSA. No crash or fire; safety risk is loss of power and oil leakage while in operation.

Malfunction with power delivery/transmission: I often experience inconsistent acceleration/power while driving at low speeds, the loss of power and jerks feel very similar to an engine misfire. Safety risk: this behavior is very dangerous as we instinctively push down gas pedal to overcome lack of power and it causes the car to rocket forward as too high throttle has been opened and one can easily lose control and crash. Occurance: I feel this loss/inconsistent power situation happens at cold start and once the car is warmed up it doesn't occur anymore. If I don't push the gas pedal the power delivery is very inconsistent and car will jerk which feels like like a misfire while slowly the power delivery smoothens out.

Happening within the first few weeks of purchase from new in November 2022. Delay and wildly inconsistent acceleration from a stop. This is most noticeable within the first 10 minutes of driving and is much worse when cold. Often, when accelerating from a stop, the vehicle does not move for several seconds; when the car does begin to move the acceleration is erratic and often results in wheel spin and a loss of control. We’ve nearly been t-boned on several occasions because the car’s acceleration is erratic. I’ve taken the vehicle to the dealer for service, they replicated the issue and said there is no fix. This is stated in the repair order which is attached. No warning or service lights. I do not feel this vehicle is safe for public roads. This issue is widely reported online and from speaking to the service department, widely know about. There should be a recall before someone gets killed. This vehicle has a fundamental safety issue.

Engine and transmission will bog down while driving, when restating the car 1 hour after a trip. In other words, many times after sitting for about an hour, when merging into traffic, the car will stop accelerating. If I pump the gas a couple of times the engine "catches" and off I go. Very dangerous when merging into traffic. No warning it's going to happen or not.

From a cold start even with warming up the car, I can only drive so many feet before the car begins to hesitate as I proceed. It is as if the transmission cannot respond to the petal. At 25k miles, it is persistently getting worse and will visibly hop as I proceed. Then the transmission will finally remember how to drive and it won’t do it again until it sits for awhile. I make a left turn from my road where the cars are going 55mph. It’s an accident waiting to happen. Furthermore, it is the same problem that Volkswagen has been having for the previous years. The dealership claims this is what they do. Also that it’s normal for my low oil light to come on in between oil changes!.

When engine is cold, the transmission hesitates/stutters and then slams into gear. After a couple of minutes of driving, the issue stops. Turning the auto start/stop off does not have an impact on the hesitation/stuttering. This is a safety issue. Dealership claims they cannot replicate and no issues on computer diagnostics. Issue has been on going since it was purchased.

When I turned the car on to leave work, the check engine and epc lights came on, the car went into "limp home" mode and a warning came on the dash saying "max speed 4000 rpms". Immediately, I could smell fuel, so I turned the vehicle off and exited. I noticed the ground under the car was wet. My husband came to check it out and the same thing happened. We saw that fuel was flooding out from underneath the engine. As he drove the vehicle to an adjacent lot to be able to be towed, fuel spewed out from underneath the engine. We had the vehicle towed to a vw dealership in grand rapids who was able to diagnose a broken fuel rail bolt inside the intake manifold after they had the same experience with a massive fuel leak. Per the service advisor, this was not the first time they've seen something like this. Given the extreme flow of fuel from the engine, I'd say I'm very lucky that this didn't happen while driving through town or at speed on the highway where a vehicle fire would be possible with fuel pouring out of the manifold onto the hot engine.

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My 2022 vw Tiguan 2. 0t has delayed acceleration, hesitation, and often bangs into gear at start up. This issue can easily cause an accident when merging into traffic due the lack of reliable acceleration. I have had the vehicle to the dealer and they have found no problem. However, when pressed about internet reports of such problems with the 8 speed transmission they do acknowledge they have heard similar reports. They note there are no repair solutions from vw.

A few years ago the turbo went at 88000 miles, a mechanic felt there should be a recall. Now the transmission needs to be replaced at 109000 miles. The transmission was on backorder because the appears to be many cars needing a rebuilt transmission. There is a recall for othewr vw models with the same transmission. I feel that my car should be included in this recall. It is a vw 2014 Tiguan with an automatic transmission. This car wasd purchased as a certified preowned vehicle from mohegan lake motors in NY in 2017. The transmission was ordered from vw in June and I am still waiting for it to arrive at the repair shop. Klaus garage in fishkill NY. The turbo was replaced at the dealer as was most maintenence.

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The transmission has frequent but not consistent issues in shifting, mainly after a cold start and within the first few minutes of driving. However, starting the engine and letting it warm up before driving has not completely resolved the issue. The issue is when trying to accelerate onto a main roadway, the power will drop off for a few seconds then engage again, and drop off for a few seconds, before stabilizing and providing consistent power. Since it is random when it happens, you are pulling into traffic and this happens, you are at risk of being hit by oncoming traffic since you cannot accelerate as you planned. It can also cause you to overcompensate and push on the gas harder, and when it engages you are accelerating harder and faster than you planned. I have contacted two Volkswagen dealers and they have told me that it is a learned transmission and resetting it may help (but this problem has been an issue since purchasing the vehicle), another told me to give it more time to warm up but if there are no warning lights on the dash they will not be able to fix anything or cover under warranty. It has not been inspected by the dealer because they say there is nothing to inspect without a warning light.

Vehicle hesitates badly after a cold start, sometime several times before it goes away. I'm afraid I'll get hit pulling into traffic if not able to accelerate. No warning lamp, checked for fault codes, none stored. Have tried several types of fuel as well as adding vw fuel treatment to resolve the issue. Nothing has worked so far. The issue happens every time I start the car cold.

I have owned the vehicle since October 2022, currently ~4,400 miles. During second week of ownership, backup camera was blank upon startup and placing vehicle into reverse. A system reboot solved the issue, but several reboots have been required in subsequent months. Common that audio doesn't initiate (from any source) as well. Second issue - cold-engine acceleration is borderline dangerous as the vehicle can seem to bog down then lurch with sudden acceleration. After engine warms, this does not occur. Third issue - during straight-line driving, car sometimes changes gears for no apparent reason - sometimes not smoothly. Downshifting can skip gears far too often. Final issue - safety sensors (collision warning) have activated at least twice since owning (6 months) for no reason - looks like 'red space invader' in center of dash and loud chime comes on as well.

Transmission shifts hard while going up and down. The traffic back assist will alert when not moving and when in a parking space and when nothing is around.

The contact owns a 2020 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated upon depression of the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and schumacher Volkswagen of west palm beach (3001 okeechobee blvd, west palm beach, FL 33409) and the contact was informed that the mechanics were unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.