Volkswagen Tiguan owners have reported 43 seat belt related problems since 1996. Table 1 shows the 1 most common seat belt problems. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's seat belt (43 problems). For details of each of the problem category, use the links in the table.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Seat Belt problems |
Feb 2026 my airbag light came on few days ago, now my horn doesn't work, and the functions on the steering wheel don't work, like being able to reset tire pressure and check functions for the car, the phone, the radio/cd information. Jan 2025 my seat belt (driver ) lock is broken ,to attach the seat belt in place. . I have to just keep it clicked in, and put it over my shoulder (over a yr now) also , as of Aug 2025, my car keeps having issues of stalling/ bucking, even though my mechanic has changed the points/plugs twice now. And the overheat light comes on now, off and on. . Sometimes clears up once the car is shut off and then turned back on. . Some times has to sit for a while, then clears up I see no recall on my car VIN #, for these issues??? how can that be possible???.
The driver-side seat belt buckle is getting stuck and does not release the seat belt when the release button is pressed.
My [xxx] daughter was a front seat passenger in her friend‘s car the 2017 Tiguan when the driver swerved to avoid another car and struck a pole. The damage was primarily on the front passenger side of the car. My daughter hit the windshield. It was broken in two places and she sustained several other injuries. The airbags never deployed. The car was totaled. I’m interested in knowing whether or not it can be determined if the airbags should have deployed and did not, and if the seatbelt worked properly or not, and whether or not you’ve had other complaints about this make and model. My daughter has sustained a concussion and has been out of work since he accident thank you. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).
Jan 2025 my seat belt (driver ) lock is broken ,to attach the seat belt in place. . I have to just keep it clicked in, and put it over my shoulder (over a yr now).
Please see attached documents.
The panoramic sunroof continually leaks into the rear c-pillar. Each time it rains the seat belts become saturated with rain water. I am of the opinion this will cause more rapid deterioration of the seat belts than usual. Additionally, water ponds in the rear floor boards and is a mold hazard. The last rain, the rear seat also became saturated and our baby's carseat got wet. Vw claims there is no defect in the sunroof.
Passenger seatbelt alarm indicates that the seat is occupied when there is only a phone sitting in the seat. This continues until the phone is removed, I have done some testing and this is due to the usb port in the cubby hole for the audio system. If there is a cable plugged into the usb port the light comes on indicating to fasten the passenger seatbelt with a bag of chips in the seat. If I unplug the usb cable the alert goes off. This is very distracting when using the cable for navigation maps creating a false alarm.
Front passenger seat belt, when its in use the system activate the alarm and don't recognize that seat belt is in use.
Seatbelt is not functioning adequately. The seatbelt itself that’s contained in the column near the door is not retracting or staying taught when in use. It’s very loose and something inside is rattling when ejected, and it has to be manually assisted to retract.
The seatbelt had some imperfection either in production of the seatbelt from Volkswagen's supplier or the buckle (original vw buckle) has rough spots that have caused the edge of the seatbelt to fray and appears to be getting worse and in my opinion compromises the integrity of the seatbelt and therefore safety. Vw refuses to cover the parts repair under their bumper to bumper warranty.
Seven months after I purchased this vehicle as new the driver side rear seatbelt buckle is not working which is preventing that passenger to put the seatbelt on, it keeps coming out. I called the local dealership, findley henderson volkwagen, and the earliest appointment is a week from today, which means I can't have anyone sitting there. Any car after seven months shouldn't have this kind of safety problem. Maybe it's a design issue.
Sunroof drains are not draining correctly causing vehicle to flood when there is precipitation, flooring is wet/molded, seat belts have mold on them, unpleasant smell, and condensation collects on the windows. Also causing water marks/stains on vehicles exterior body.
Volkswagen has a national shortage on clock springs and they are going out left and right on everyone's vehicle. I have a number of friends that once again have taken issue against vw who are more than willing to allow their customers to drive their defective vehicles. The clock spring causes the horn to malfunction and not sound. Also the passenger side airbag is also no longer operable. Driving a vehicle in this condition is a hazard and vw corporation has once again passed the buck. Imagine how many young persons are driving around without the maturity enough to realize the precarious situation they are in? my dealership showed me a thick stack of customers all waiting for the same part. Additionally, how can my vehicle pass inspection which is now due without the basic safety features working as described? action needs to be taken now.
1. Seat belt in middle row. Seat belt will not retract. 2. Electric system. Driver door contact switch, car still running, electric brake, drive window will not roll up, passenger window on left side will not roll up, driver door will not unlock.
I was involved in a collision where I hit another vehicle with the front passenger side. The air bags did not deploy on mine, and the seat belt did not lock into place causing me to hit the steering wheel. The police verified this upon inspection immediately after the accident happened. I have spoken with Volkswagen many times about the transmission lagging and requiring excessive acceleration. Because of the lag I have almost been hit many times, as well as almost hit others due to the increase in speed after the lag.
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the audible passenger’s side seat belt alarm would randomly activate and the seat belt warning light would illuminate even though there was no front seat passenger seated in the vehicle. The seat belt was then connected in order to deactivate the alarm. The contact indicated that the failure was intermittent. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 46,000.
Driver's side rear seat belt, being used with high-back child booster car seat (graco),locked up with child in the car seat. The seat belt would not release and got tighter as the child tried to release it. Adults could not release the belt or remove child from the car seat. The seatbelt had to be cut to remove the child. The car seat has been in use in various other vehicles (Honda, Ford, Subaru and Audi) without incident.
The contact's daughter owns a 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20v724000 (seat belts) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. A dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Seatbelt light comes on and dings even when seatbelts are locked in. My car has 5500 miles on it. I'm scared my seatbelts won't work in an accident. The light continues to come on and I'm scared to drive my car. Is this a software issue or seatbelt connection?.
Seatbelts are wet and moisture is building up in the car after heavy rain while sunroof and all doors closed and car is parked. Possibly a sunroof draining issue. Seatbelts mainly affected are in the rear, particularly rear-passenger - but front belts affected also. Water also observed in rear door wells and on front driver's window post (left of windshield). Seatbelts smell damp and are so wet that they are uncomfortable to wear and would leave water on clothes,.
Leaking from panoramic moonroof,water coming from pipe draine tubes and dripping into back into seatbelts compartment that freeze seatbelts during cold weather and I can not pull seatbelts out to buckle up. Also at the same time water coming into trunk making area where wiring sistem going through all wet . Vw dealer fixed it once by and it happend second time again. My car is in the shop now and this problem will just keep going on in my opinion forever until car eventually die because of water going onto wiring .
The turbo blew causing the car to stop in the middle of traffic. The blown turbo caused metal to go into my fuel system and oil. The air bag sensors are faulty. They cannot sense someone in the seats. The car had to be towed to a auto shop. Due to the blown turbo, it will cost $5,500 to fix.
I am having several problems with my Tiguan. The passenger seat detection sensor is very sensitive. I can place my phone or something very light on the seat and my car automatically starts to chime and the passenger airbag is turned on. This could be a safety hazard in the accident if no passenger is present. The other issue I have with this car is the acceleration is inconsistent. Sometimes I can hit the accelerator and the car flies, other times, the car stutters and has some lag.
Fasten seatbelt chimes /indicator on display, no passenger on seat. What makes it go off is when I place my iphone on the seat. Both indicators will stay on until I take my phone off the seat. This has happened several times, today is the latest. This malfunction makes me real nervous, I never seen a vehicle with this problem. Please let me know what the next step is.
Passenger seatbelt locks up unnecessarily. The seatbelt locks up on the passenger without being engaged by any other source or action. Entire vehicle shuts off while driving. . . No electrical, power steering, accelerator n etc. All the interior lights flicker and flash and the gauge needles swing back and forth from minimum to maximum positions.
Since November 2018 of this year the seat belt on the driver's side does not feel right it seems loose and the light illuminates red and comes on randomly and chimes. The seat belts looks and feels cheaply made. It has only gotten worse since the airbag module was replaced by dealership. Dealership says the looseness of the belt is normal. They claim when they drive it the red symbol never comes on or chimes. It is never picked up as a code on the vw car net or on their machine. What am I supposed to do? I want these seat belts to be replaced. It only comes on when the car is in motion and driving the car. The dealership says nothing is wrong. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Tl the contact owns a 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the seat belt indicator flashed and a chime was heard even when the driver's seat belt was secured. Flow Volkswagen of charlottesville (1313 richmond rd, charlottesville, va 22911, (434) 296-4147) was notified several times, but was unable to replicate the failure. The vehicle was currently at the dealer being diagnosed. In addition, there was a delay in providing the part concerning an unknown recall for the ambient lighting. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA action numbers: ea18005 (seat belts) and pe18001 (seat belts); however, the failure was related. The manufacturer was notified of the seat belt failures. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 60.
There is a rattle coming from lower b pillar rattle coming from driver seat belt retractor, overhead console, wood trim on both front doors, both tweeter speaker grills, both rear cup holders, also found rear deck lid clips not clipped in all the way driver rear access panel ratting along with both rear stop light access panels.
There was no crash or physical damage to my vehicle, airbag system is malfunctioning. For about a week now, "error: airbag" message is shown up on dashboard and the airbag light has turned on. In addition to that, even I buckled up, when I make a right turn seat belt alarm is beeping and seat belt light has turned on while I am driving. I am concerning about this serious safety issue. I am driving my car everyday with potential threat of accident without airbags being deployed.
It's a slight ticking. The rattle happens over the smallest bump.
I purchased a 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan sel on Saturday, 02/10/2018. Two days later on 02/12/18 on my commute to work I began hearing a "popping" noise from the b-pilars on both the driver's and passenger's side pilars. As if though something was loose inside there. I made an appointment to take the vehicle back to the dealer the following Saturday, 02/17/2018 and when I went in for the appointment the service representative informed me they would not be able to look at my vehicle until the following Monday. I asked him if they could provide me with a loaner so that I could leave my car there and he informed me that he could not make that decision. I looked for my sales agent and he was able to provide me a loaner (2018 Tiguan se). I received a call from the service rep on Wednesday, 02/21/18 telling me that my vehicle was ready for pick up. I went to pick it up and they informed me they had changed out a defective seat belt height adjuster on driver side. I took the car for a ride and it still made the noise. So I did not accept it. They loaned me a different car (2018 passat r) and was told they would work on my vehicle. They called me again on Saturday, 02/24/18 to tell me my car was ready. When I went to the dealer on Monday, 02/26/18 (I was out of town on Saturday), they told me they had changed the seat belt seat adjuster for the passenger side too. I took it for a ride and the noise was still there on both sides. Again, I did not take possession of my car. They told me they would have to dismantle the headliner to get a better grasp of the problem. I was called again on Friday, 03/02/18 to inform me that they were going to have to bring a specialist from vw (in approximately 2 weeks from 03/02/18) to diagnose the problem before taking more invasive actions. They loaned me a third car (2018 vw Tiguan sel) and no concrete answer on my vehicle.
Rattle noise coming from left b-pillar above seatbelt constantly. Near left ear of driver. . Told dealer about the noise while on a test drive before purchase, he advised us to bring the car in for service. We took the car in on our second day of ownership and dealer dismissed the issue saying they couldn't hear the noise. I did a quick internet search and turned up numerous complaints and NHTSA cases for this same issue. I'd like to either have the vehicle repaired or return the vehicle to the dealer for a refund.
We bought a vw Tiguan 4 motion sel 2018 with panoramic sunroof, on Jan 20,2018. From the same night we took the car out of the dealership we heard a rattling noise in the b pillar constantly. Starting from Jan 26, 2018 the car has been to the vw service station twice already (still there), in total of over 3 weeks. I heard from the service team there were three other vw cars with the same problem so the qa team came down to service station to look at all cases. Qa team checked it multiple times. Remedies I heard from them involved "trimming" and ordering new parts. Nothing is fixed and the words I am hearing from service is that there is no hope to ever get fixed. Contacted vw customer service directly today, they had no record of these issues for my car. So disappointing that over 6 weeks of our time is wasted with an issue that seems to exist in 2018 models since last year, and no transparency. I believe the issue is structural problem when car is in normal condition moving and additional concern is the noise coming from location of side airbags, I have a big concern over the vw safety and operation of the airbags in this situation, when vw can not even address the problem with the noise.
The driver sider seatbelt does not retract. For example, if I look over my shoulder to check divers in other lanes my seat belt will loosen and when I turn back around to face forward the belt does not automatically tighten. I worry this belt is defective and have never experienced this in another car. I routinely need to tighten my seatbelt while driving. I am concerned that if I were to get into an accident in this vehicle the seatbelt will not keep me safe. This has been an ongoing issue since I purchased the car in mid-December 2017.
The contact owns a 2014 Volkswagen Tiguan. While driving approximately 35 mph and making a left turn, a noise was heard coming from the steering wheel and the air bag warning indicator illuminated. The contact also stated that the controls located on the steering wheel for the cruise control, bluetooth, and horn failed to operate. In addition, the contact was unable to use the rear middle seat because the seat belt failed to extend. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not under warranty. No further assistance was offered. The approximate failure mileage was 51,000.
In our 2012 vw Tiguan sel, the driver side shoulder seat belt would remain and/or engage in a locked position incorrectly. This would create a very dangerous and stressful situation for us. It would prevent us from being able to strap in (which is also a law in our state). We would pull on the driver side seat belt and it would lock�maybe getting a few inches of slack and clearly not enough to strap yourself in. The vehicle could either be on or off when this occurs. In addition, if you were able to finagle the seat belt out, slowly and patiently while it continually locks and gaining enough slack to strap yourself in after multiple attempts, it could incorrectly lock while you are driving preventing you from moving your torso around to properly check blind spots, mirrors, etc. Our situation quickly got worse to the point where we couldn't even get enough slack to strap ourselves in and were forced to drive without a seat belt. We had no choice but to get this fixed and payed the dealership over $600. We waited several days for the �faulty pin mechanism/assembly� and part to arrive at the dealership because they said it's not a common part they keep in stock as it's not something they typically have to fix. This is correct, a seat belt assembly/design should never fail! I've visited forums online and read about other 2012 vw Tiguan owners with the same issue. Please recall this to avoid anyone from getting seriously hurt.
When the vehicle is stationary, and the ambient air is approximately 65f, or higher the drivers side seat belt will not release/extend not allowing the driver to fasten the seat belt. I have tried with the vehicle in park, reverse, neutral, with and without the e break on, and moving forward but the belt will not extend, after extensive tries it will extend a short distance at a time until I can finally fasten it. This condition happens with much less severity and frequency when the air is cooler.
After taking car to vw dealer I received these repair estimates: air bag control module needs to be replaced. . . Seat belt assembly 655 recommend replacing right seat belt. . . . Crankcase breather hose recommend replacing breather valve. Was parked and idle was fluctuating abnormally. . . Air bag light came on for no apparent reason and seatbelt works fine.
I have had to have the seatbelt replaced twice in the last month on my new vw Tiguan. The female connector that the tongue of the belt fits into has broken apart twice, requiring an entire replacement of the belt. This work was covered under warranty. The first time it broke when the loop of my pocket book caught on it. The second time it broke, all I did was move the driver's seat back in order to get out.
Drivers side seat belt occasionally will not retract down to buckle driver in. If it does work it does not allow for any movement to look behind or in mirrors. Did not get problem fixed to costly.
The contact owns a 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the seat belt would not extend far enough to latch until after several attempts. The contact also stated that once latched the seat belt would not allow him to lean forward limiting his view of the side mirrors and windows. The failure recurred on several occasions while the vehicle was started as well as when the key was not in the ignition. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
Dangerous seatbelt design! the origin of the "lap" part of the seat belt is behind the seat, so the belt rides up onto my belly when I move seat forward to reach the pedals. Also the vertical portion of belt sits on my neck right over the carotid artery. For a 5'3' 110 pound person, the seatbelt will likely cause organ ruptures and possibly slice my neck during an accident! suggest the anchor of the "lap" part is built on the side of the seat so the belt will always cross over the thighs regardless of seat position, and suggest the vertical part is allowed more adjustability. The current design of the seatbelt is too dangerous for smaller people!.