Steering Problems of Volkswagen Tiguan - part 1

My vehicle is under safety recall NHTSA 26v590 (Volkswagen 48lg / 48vt). The steering rack mounting bolt can corrode and break, which can cause a loss of steering control. I was notified of this recall about a month ago. As of October 21, 2026, there is still no remedy available, and I am told owner letters may not go out until around November 10 — nearly two months after the recall was announced — with no date for when a repair will actually exist. This is my only vehicle, and I have to commute to work in it every day. On October 21, 2026, I contacted Volkswagen customer care and asked for a loaner or alternative transportation until the remedy is available. I was offered nothing — only told to keep driving the vehicle and wait. I do not think it is acceptable for owners to be told to keep driving a car with a known steering defect, with no repair available and no alternative transportation offered. I am asking NHTSA to press Volkswagen on the remedy timeline and on providing interim transportation for owners who have no other vehicle.

See all problems of the 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan 🔎.

My 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan repeatedly displays the warning: “travel assist currently not available. ” when this occurs, the vehicle beeps every few seconds, which is extremely distracting while driving. I have also noticed that when the travel assist failure occurs, there is a pulsating feedback/vibration when braking. This condition continues until the “travel assist currently not available” warning is resolved. Since I purchased the vehicle (purchased brand new in 2022), this issue has occurred every year. Volkswagen has previously had to replace the steering wheel each time the issue occurred (2 swaps performed in the last two years). The issue is now occurring again for the a third consecutive year, indicating that the underlying problem has not been permanently resolved. I am concerned that this is a recurring safety-related defect that Volkswagen has not adequately addressed. The repeated warning, constant beeping, and unusual braking feedback are distracting and unsafe while operating the vehicle. Volkswagen should identify and permanently correct the underlying cause rather than continuing to replace the steering wheel as a temporary solution. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate this recurring issue and determine whether a broader safety defect exists with the travel assist system in Volkswagen vehicles. Note: video evidence available but files are too large to attach here. Please contact for files.

See all problems of the 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan 🔎.

Intermittent lack of steering and steering wheel fell off luckily it happened while driving slow otherwise could have caused a major accident.

See all problems of the 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan 🔎.

Suspected electrical defect and potential fire hazard – 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan sel I am reporting a suspected electrical safety defect involving the sunroof wiring harness in my 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan sel. While my vehicle was parked, an attempt was made to replace a blown f23 fuse. Smoke began coming from the sunroof area and filled the cabin. Afterward, multiple warning lights illuminated, the vehicle displayed a “turn car off” warning, the door locks repeatedly cycled, the climate control stopped working, and the infotainment/navigation screen shut off and restarted. A mechanic subsequently determined that the sunroof wiring harness had melted and required replacement. I was informed that the wiring harness (part number 5na971648c) is unavailable and has been placed under Volkswagen’s “quality inspection” process due to suspected fire-hazard concerns. Volkswagen reportedly no longer supplies this harness separately, requiring replacement of the entire sunroof assembly, including the glass, even though the glass is not the source of the problem. The repair is estimated at $3,900 and requires extensive labor, including dashboard removal and a VIN-specific part from germany. My primary concern is safety, not cost. A wiring harness that melts and produces enough smoke to fill a vehicle’s cabin could potentially cause a fire, damage other electrical systems, or endanger occupants. I am concerned other owners may face the same hazard. I request that NHTSA investigate whether the sunroof wiring harness or associated electrical system in 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan vehicles presents a safety defect, review similar reports, and determine whether further investigation or corrective action is warranted.

A couple of weeks now my steering wheel has been locking while I’m driving, sadly I thought it was because I needed to get my car serviced. This morning my steering wheel locked out of nowhere as I was turning and I almost ended up in a head on collision with another car while my kids were in the car. Then my brother did some research and sent me NHTSA link talking about the recalls. This is absolutely dangerous and I need to get reimbursed or something for my SUV doing this. It’s dangerous and can possibly kill someone.

See all problems of the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan 🔎.

Ive had every now and then a steering wheel light come on then come off. Well today 9/1/26 I had lost all steering to my 2017 vw Tiguan. The electronic power steering has failed and I believe this is a safety issue that needs to be addressed. And push for a recall to be made on these vehicles.

Steering failure all of a sudden safety concern steering became very difficult the steering wheel became stiff and felt really unsafe. Red light for the steering turned on.

See all problems of the 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan 🔎.

See attached document for complaint.

See all problems of the 2024 Volkswagen Tiguan 🔎.

On multiple occasions, while actively steering, I have gotten a warning on the dash to take over steering. Within seconds, the car brakes hard. I am typically in interstate traffic when this occurs. This happens when using cruise control. Speed does not matter as it has happened at 40 mph, 70 mph, and in between these two.

The contact owns a 2014 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while reversing, the steering wheel became locked and failed to steer in the left or right direction. No warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact managed to temporarily unlock the steering wheel; however, after driving at approximately 65 mph, the steering wheel suddenly became difficult to steer. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it remained for further investigation. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 205,000.

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The vehicle is experiencing a persistent and severe manufacturing defect regarding its steering wheel geometry and vehicle alignment. While operating the vehicle under normal driving conditions, the steering wheel alignment is visibly off-center, failing to achieve proper tracking geometry. There is comprehensive photographic and video evidence documenting that the steering wheel and tracking alignment are fundamentally incorrect. To date, this vehicle has been brought to an authorized Volkswagen dealership service department for a total of eleven (11) separate service visits specifically targeting this exact defect. The dealership service department refuses to perform further corrective actions, insisting that the off-center geometry is "normal and within factory specifications" after test-driving two other lot vehicles. The dealership has explicitly stated they will not correct this defect without direct corporate intervention. Safety risk assessment: the manufacturer and dealership's failure to remedy the off-center steering wheel geometry and tracking alignment presents an ongoing safety hazard. Operating a vehicle with compromised steering geometry introduces unpredictable handling characteristics, accelerated or uneven tire wear, and an elevated risk of sudden component fatigue. The persistent alignment deviation forces the driver to constantly compensate to maintain a straight line of travel, increasing the risk of driver fatigue and unpredicted lane drifting at highway speeds. A vehicle that cannot maintain proper tracking geometry poses a clear and present danger to its occupants and surrounding traffic. Timeline of events & notice to manufacturer: both the local franchised dealership management and Volkswagen of America corporate regional management have been formally notified of this recurring defect through 11 documented service attempts. Following initial acknowledgments, the Volkswagen corporate regional representative has ceased all communications.

See all problems of the 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan 🔎.

My 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan intermittently displays the warning “travel assist currently not available” while driving. The warning is accompanied by an audible chime and has occurred repeatedly. The warning indicates that the vehicle’s travel assist system is unavailable. I am concerned because travel assist is associated with steering and lane-keeping assistance, and the warning occurs while the vehicle is being driven. Volkswagen has issued technical service bulletin 48-23-01 (transaction no. 2070207) addressing a “travel assist currently not available” condition involving the steering wheel hands-on detection system on certain Tiguan vehicles. The problem is intermittent and the vehicle is available for inspection. I am reporting this because the condition continues to occur and I believe it should be documented and evaluated as a potential safety-related defect.

I'm experiencing a persistent travel assistant is not available dash light and warning beep on a repeated basis. I have taken this into the vw dealer and the did a factory reset to address the problem and that did not resolve the issue. There is a know widespread problem with several 2022 models that can be found when searching the problem. Vw has issued a technical service bulletin to dealers (TSB 48-23-01) so they are aware of the problem. The warning is very distracting and often chimes multiple times in a row, last experience it went off approximately 20 times in one mile.

When driving down the highway, my power steering went out with zero warning or indicators leading up to it going out. Upon researching, this is a problem that many people have experienced with this make and model of vehicle.

See all problems of the 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan 🔎.

The travel assist warning displays frequently depending on where hands are positioned on steering wheel. Sound is a distraction while driving and hand placement can to unsafe to avoid the warning being triggered. I have had the steering wheel replaced due to the issue but now with the new steering wheel the problem is back.

We have had the steering wheel replaced twice in this vehicle since purchasing it brand new. This is not the 3rd steering wheel in the truck. From what we can tell this is extremely common with this vw. There is an issue with the wheel ring that causes the circuitry to "freak" out and cause the lane assist system/warning to come on/off repeatedly on the dash. It happens when you turn the wheel and flashes on the screen/auditable alerts multiple times. It is unsafe to drive as the warning happens for no rhyme or reason. Causing malfunction to the lane assist feature and is extremely distracting for the driver. Yes, the dealer has been able to replicate the issue. They have successfully replaced the steering wheel twice no (under warranty) there were no warnings prior to the issue happening. At which point the waring lights and audible alerts starting happening. This is clearly a recall issue for vw. Our concern is we are now on the 3rd steering wheel in a vehicle we bought brand new and it is now out of warranty. After the first wheel replacement there were no issues for approx. 1 year, then it happened again. There is a part that is degrading within the wheel and causing this to happen.

I have a 2022 Tiguan sel r-line with constant beeping of lane assist not available. The steering wheel was replaced before but now I'm no longer in warranty but the lane assist not available is still happening. There is a NHTSA technical service bulletin (TSB) 2070207/1 but it only applies for warranty coverage vehicles.

The "travel assist currently not available" chimes every 30 seconds or so sometimes back to back constantly which is incredibly distracting and annoying. It causes me to lose focus of the road every time it pops up on the screen behind my steering wheel.

This is a very common issue with the car and everytime I touch the steering wheel it says “travel assist not available”. But when it notify that message it makes a very loud noise. It is very distracting because everytime I move my hands or grab the wheel it will keep making the loud noise making it very hard to focus. This is a problem that Volkswagen knows about and wants the customer to pay over $1000 out of pocket to replace the whole steering wheel. There is no user error or way for the drive to cause this it is a faulty sensor in the wheel. In the end its makes it very hard to drive and focus when everytime I move my hand on my wheel the car makes a loud ringing noise.

Travel assist option is controlled by a sensor in the steering wheel. There is no way to disable it. When the sensor malfunctions, it plays an extremely loud and repetitive beep that cannot be disabled. It’s extremely distracting while I drive and happens every 30-45 seconds.

The contact owns a 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that twice while driving 50 mph, an unknown message was displayed, indicating that the vehicle was not detecting a passenger. The horn inadvertently beeped three times, and the vehicle stalled and lost steering and braking functionality. The vehicle was restarted each time. On the second occasion, the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was then towed to be diagnosed by the dealer, and the contact was informed that her hands might have been off the steering wheel, causing the vehicle to turn off. The vehicle was taken to another independent mechanic where it was determined that the steering wheel assembly needed to be replaced due to an electrical charge from skin to confirm that both hands were on the steering wheel. However, in the event that both hands were not on the steering wheel, the system would activate a fault code, and the vehicle might stall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 6,000.

I had a warning light for lane assist not working that would ding constantly. Dealer said known issue. Replaced steering wheel. Now I’m out of warranty at 59000 miles and it needs another steering wheel. They did not fix the issue. It is part of the airbag system and I’m worried about the lane assist which I can’t turn off might go haywire and make vehicle swerve itself into other cars.

In February 2026, my windshield was replaced by a third-party glass company after a crack. Shortly after, my vehicle’s driver assistance system began activating falsely — beeping, displaying warnings, and on a few occasions attempting to auto-correct the steering wheel while my hands were already on it. The ‘hands on wheel’ warning has displayed while I was actively holding the wheel. The glass company has serviced the vehicle four times since, including replacing the camera bracket, resetting the windshield seal, and installing a full oem windshield and bracket as recently as June 15, 2026. Camera recalibration has passed successfully each time. Despite this, the false activations have continued and worsened. On June 17, 2026, the system activated approximately 25 times during a single commute of about 30 minutes, including while braking and during slow-speed maneuvers such as parking. The vehicle’s steering wheel was replaced in January 2025 under a manufacturer technical service bulletin for an unrelated known defect and functioned without issue for over a year before this began. I am scheduling a dealership appointment to diagnose the cause. This is a safety concern because the system unpredictably intervenes with steering input and produces frequent distracting false alerts while driving.

This vehicle was purchased in 2021, while the vehicle was under warranty, we had issues with the travel assist 2 times. The vehicle was taken twice to the main vw dealership to fix the issue with the travel assist. Both times they change the entire steering mechanism and the vehicle worked fine after that. Recently, the car started having issues again with the travel assist but now it’s not under warranty anymore. The main issue it’s that it’s unstoppable noise and alerts while driving and it is very distracting and it’s unsafe. I have tried to contact the dealership regarding this issue however because the car is not under warranty anymore, the price is unreasonable. I do believe there has been always a main issue with the car since we purchased it in 2021. I would really like some help with this matter, thank you.

Lane keep assist will activate randomly and try to steer the car and vibrate the steering wheel like lane departure warning going off. Also the lane keep assist and emergency sos fault lights will randomly come on.

This first happened while I was driving. First, it started with a loud warning tone along with the notice on the console telling the travel assist is currently not available. It’ll be there for a few minutes and then it will go away. A couple of months later during the winter of December 2025- January 2026. It was constantly a problem. Every time I drove every 2 to 5 minutes it will give me the same loud beep along with the notice. It didn’t matter whether I was using the feature or not it kept constantly beeping. In the best of times it was very annoying and in the worst of times it just is so loud that it scares me. I tried so many things to fix it. I would often try to clean the cameras. And I couldn’t use the lane keeping assistance at all through all this. There is a feature I’ve been using extensively and I think it’s important for having helped me driving safely in the highway. In the end, it was so distracting I’m not having the lane keeping assistance that I was forced to go get it repaired. That’s when I understood that it was a widely reported issue.

My vehicle keeps losing power steering, often during operation.

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.

I was informed from the Volkswagen dealership of where I purchased the vehicle that there are malfunctions with the lane assist system and other driver assistance functions caused by a fault in the steering wheel. However, I was also told that Volkswagen no longer manufactures or provides a replacement steering wheel for my vehicle. This leaves me without a viable solution to restore the safety systems that are integral to the vehicle’s operation.

Steering wheel gets locked up while driving; power steering fails. The red steering light turns on. This is a problem that happens to several Tiguans. There were no prior symptoms prior to failure. This is extremely dangerous and difficult to deal with while driving, especially on the freeway. Please help.

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? steering rack and pinion, yes. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? there is no power steering and unable to make a quick turn to maneuver the car around a potential hazard in the road. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? yes, two independent service centers. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? no were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? just a power steering light when it failed.

I was driving the car and the steering wheel locked out of nowhere a red steering light came on the dashboard. I’ve never seen before.

We own a 2010 vw Tiguan and it has many problems, but the biggest one is that the steering wheel just randomly will turn off and loose all power steering, I believe these models use electric power steering (eps) system, which don't use like a traditional power steering hydraulic pump but uses electricity and maybe magnets. . . To induce the steering. The steering wheel is a big deal and should not just randomly stop working and there is tons of these models and others have have this problems, I seen people on youtube have the same problem with the 2017 models Tiguan and this part is consistently out of stock, because so many of them break. . This should be a nationwide recall and a major safety recall as well.

See all problems of the 2010 Volkswagen Tiguan 🔎.

My steering randomly stopped working. The power steering is electronic, so I can’t fix it.

Steering rack and pinion failed. Lost power steering while driving. Failed part is inside no way to change part without changing whole steering rack and pinion.