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2016 Volkswagen Tiguan Other Problems

15 owner-reported other complaints from NHTSA data

15
Complaints
2
Crashes
2
Fires
Feb 2018Nov 2016
Date Range

Data sourced from NHTSA public database. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified mechanic.

Owner Complaints (15)

criticalUNKNOWN OR OTHER
FireFiled: Feb 2026

Your 2016 VW Tiguan caught fire in your garage without any warning signs or check engine lights beforehand. The fire started under the front of the vehicle about 10 minutes after you parked it and spread rapidly, ultimately destroying your garage and extending into your home. This type of sudden fire typically involves the fuel system, engine bay wiring, or battery components that require professional inspection by the manufacturer.

NHTSA #: 11718115
criticalUNKNOWN OR OTHER
Filed: Jul 2024

Your car has stalled (died) while driving three times in two weeks at speeds between 25–40 mph, including on the freeway. When this happens, the gas pedal goes slack but the engine is still running; you have to shift to Park and restart the engine to get going again. The dealership has been unable to locate the cause and is attempting to diagnose it by driving the vehicle until the problem occurs. The issue may involve the fuel delivery system, ignition system, or engine control electronics and will require diagnostic testing to identify the root cause.

NHTSA #: 11603551
highUNKNOWN OR OTHER
Filed: Sep 2025

While driving at 50 mph on the highway, your sunroof suddenly exploded with a loud bang, causing air to rush into the cabin. This happened without any warning or apparent cause. The sunroof will need to be replaced and inspected to determine why it failed.

NHTSA #: 11689263
highUNKNOWN OR OTHER
Filed: Jul 2025

Your hood latch is unreliable — it sometimes appears to be closed but isn't actually secured, and other times it's visibly unlatched. This is a safety concern since your hood could pop open while driving. Even though there's a recall for this issue on your vehicle's year and model, your VIN wasn't included in it. The fix would likely involve replacing the hood latch mechanism with a corrected version.

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NHTSA #: 11672402
highUNKNOWN OR OTHER
Filed: Jul 2023

Water is leaking into your vehicle whenever it rains, accumulating on the floor board and causing mildew to develop inside. You suspect the panoramic sunroof may be the culprit, possibly due to shrunk drainage tubes, but multiple shops have been unable to locate the source of the leak. Identifying and fixing the leak source may require extensive disassembly of the vehicle, and if the drainage tubes have indeed shrunk, replacement or repair of the sunroof drainage system would be needed.

NHTSA #: 11532597
highUNKNOWN OR OTHER
Filed: Jun 2023

Your turbocharger failed at 39,000 miles, causing your check engine light to come on and making the vehicle unsafe to drive. An independent service center confirmed the turbocharger needs to be replaced for the car to run safely. You may want to have a mechanic inspect and replace the turbocharger.

NHTSA #: 11526973
mediumUNKNOWN OR OTHER
Filed: Sep 2022

Front portion of panoramic sunroof shattered-sounded like an explosion. Had the fabric sunscreen not been in place, vehicle occupants would have been severely cut by glass shards. The vehicle has not been inspected by dealer, repair facility, law enforcement or insurance. This happened in a rural part of Iowa and we chose to make it home (to beat incoming rain). There was no impact and no previous damage on this sunroof. Unit was in the closed position and no mechanical or physical defects visible. There were no warning lights and symptoms of the problem prior to failure.

NHTSA #: 11484936
mediumUNKNOWN OR OTHER
Crash / FireFiled: Apr 2021

WAS INVOLVED IN A COLLISION, REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE AT APPROXIMATELY 45MPH. THE ONLY INJURY SUSTAINED WAS A BROKEN HEEL BY THE DRIVER, ALL OTHER PARTY'S DID NOT RECEIVE MEDICAL TREATMENT AND ONLY COSMETIC DAMAGE TO THEIR VEHICLES. MOMENTS AFTER THE COLLISION, THE TIGUAN BURST INTO FLAMES. THE BRAKE PETAL HAD TRAPPED THE DRIVERS FOOT AND THE DOOR WAS JAMMED. FORTUNATELY THE OTHER PARTY WAS ABLE TO JERK THE DOOR UNTIL IT OPENED TO FREE THE DRIVER. THE TIGUAN WAS A TOTAL LOSS, BECOMING COMPLETELY ENGULFED IN FLAMES.

NHTSA #: 11412860
mediumUNKNOWN OR OTHER
Filed: Nov 2019

WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEED ON A STRAIGHTAWAY WITH NO OTHER VEHICLE WITHIN APPROXIMATELY A HALF MILE TO THE FRONT OR REAR AND ALSO WITH NO ONCOMING TRAFFIC IN THE OTHER LANE, MY SUNROOF LITERALLY EXPLODED. VISIBLE INSPECTION SHOWED THE CORNERS OF THE TEMPERED GLASS WERE ANGLED UPWARD INDICATING THAT THE GLASS BLEW OUTWARD AND NOT INWARD.

NHTSA #: 11280642
mediumUNKNOWN OR OTHER
CrashFiled: Sep 2019

CAR DOES NOT GIVE WARNING IF THE CAR IS NOT IN PARK SO IT ROLLED DOWN MY DRIVE INTIO THE STREET. HIT NEIGHBORS FENCE. THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY PARKED IN MY DRIVE THE ENGINE WAS OFFF. I REMOVE ITEMS THE CAR AND IT WAS NOT MOVING WENT INSIDE TO GET MY DOG CAME OUT AND MY CAR WAS ACCROSS THE STREET AND HAD TO HIT A FENCE. ALSO THE CAR SLIDES ON WET PAVEMENT. L

NHTSA #: 11254567
mediumUNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE
Filed: Oct 2018

I BOUGHT MY CAR JULY 6TH, 2018, GOT THE OIL CHANGED IN AUGUST 2018, AND EVERYTHING WAS FINE UNTIL OCTOBER 1,2018 WHEN THE EPC LIGHT CAME ON AND ABOUT 1MINUTE LATER THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I WAS TURNING ONTO MY STREET IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD WHEN IT HAPPENED AND IMMEDIATELY CALLED THE AUTO SHOP WHERE I'D RECENTLY GOTTEN MY OIL CHANGED. THEY TOLD ME TO BRING IT THE NEXT DAY BUT I LOOKED IN THE USERS MANUAL AND IT SAID TO DRIVE TO MY NEAREST DEALERSHIP. SO I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID TO BRING IT AT 8:15 ON OCTOBER 3RD. I TOOK IT AND DROPPED IT OFF. I CALLED BEFORE THEY CLOSED TO GET AN UPDATE ON THE DIAGNOSIS AND THEY TOLD ME THEY SUGGESTED A 100K MAINTENANCE SERVICE AND NEW BATTERY. THEY SAID THE BATTERY CAUSED THE SLOW START AND THEY CHECKED THE CODES AND IT SAID FAULT IN TIMING CORRELATION' WHICH WAS CAUSED BY LOW OIL PRESSURE AND THEY DIDN'T SEE OIL ON THE DIPSTICK. SO, I ASKED IF THE SUGGESTED MAINTENANCE WOULD FIX THE ISSUES AND IF THAT'S WHY THE SERVICE LIGHTS CAME ON AND SHE TOLD ME YES! I THEN WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP TO GET FINAL CLARIFICATION OF WHAT WAS GOING ON AND SHE TOLD ME AFTER THE MAINTENANCE EVERYTHING WAS FINE AND HE JUST NEEDED TO TEST DRIVE IT AND I COULD COME BACK IN AN HOUR. SO SHE CALLED AFTER AN HOUR AND SAID THEY FINISHED AND I COULD GET MY CAR. I PAID THEM AND SHE TOLD ME THERE WERE NO PROBLEMS AND I WOULD PROBABLY NEED REAR TIRES AND BRAKES AND AN OIL CHANGE AND THE 110K MILE SERVICE IN A YEAR OR 10K MILES- WHICHEVER COMES FIRST. I GOT IN THE CAR AND BEFORE I LEFT THE DEALERSHIP THE EPC LIGHT CAME ON. I GOT OUT, WENT BACK INSIDE AND TOLD HER AND SHE TOLD ME THEY NEEDED TO PULL IT BACK AROUND AND I LEFT WITH MY MOM AND SHE CALLED HOURS LATER AND SAID I NEEDED A TIMING CHAIN AND TENSIONER. I ASKED WHY THEY DIDN'T SEE THAT BEFORE AND SHE SAID THEY HADN'T LOOKED AT IT CLOSELY ENOUGH. THEN SAID SHE'LL CALL BACK TOMORROW

NHTSA #: 11133401
mediumUNKNOWN OR OTHER
Filed: Feb 2018

USED ONLY -20F WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID BUT FLUID STILL FROZE IN RESERVOIR EVEN THOUGH OUTSIDE TEMPERATURES DID NOT FALL BELOW 0 DEGREES F. DEALER INFORMED ME THAT THIS IS HAPPENING WITH NEWER VEHICLES HE THOUGHT DUE TO THINNER PLASTIC USED FOR RESERVOIR OR LACK OF RESERVOIR INSULATION. THIS BECOMES A NHTS ISSUE WHEN YOU'RE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE AT SPEED AND THE MIST FROM TRUCK TIRES HITS YOUR WINDSHIELD, YOU TRY TO USE YOUR WIPERS/FLUID TO WASH THE MUCK OFF BUT NO FLUID WILL SPRAY AND THE MUCK IS JUST SMEARED ACROSS YOUR WINDSHIELD MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE ANYTHING AND COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.

NHTSA #: 11066765
mediumUNKNOWN OR OTHER
Filed: Feb 2017

WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY DURING RUSH HOUR THE SUNROOF SPONTANESOUSLY SHATTERED. THE SUNROOF WAS CLOSED AND THE CLOTH SHIELD WAS TUCKED AWAY. IT SOUNDED LIKE A GUNSHOT AND DEAFENED MY EARS FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES. I THOUGHT SOMEONE FIRED A GUN OR A NEARBY CAR GOT INTO AN ACCIDENT SINCE I FELT NO IMPACT OTHER THAN SOUND. BECAUSE I WAS DRIVING I WAS EXTREMELY STARTLED WHEN I LOOKED UP AND SAW AN OPEN WINDOW AND GLASS HAD FALLEN ALL OVER ME. IT HAD HAPPENED SO QUICKLY. I TRIED TO PULL OVER IN THE NEAREST EXIT AND WHILE GETTING OUT OF THE CAR AND MANEUVERING OUT, HAD CUT MYSELF SEVERAL TIMES.

NHTSA #: 10957453
mediumUNKNOWN OR OTHER
Filed: Nov 2016

AFTER GETTING IN TO THE DRIVERS SEAT ON 11/24/2016 I SHUT THE DOOR AND THE WINDOW SHATTERED ONTO ME.THERE WAS PREVIOUSLY NOTHING WRONG WITH THE WINDOW. THE CAR WAS STATIONARY AND WAS PARKED ON A CITY STREET. I DO NOT HAVE AN INVOICE YET BECAUSE I DROPPED OFF MY CAR TODAY TO THE DEALERSHIP.

NHTSA #: 10927905
mediumUNKNOWN OR OTHER
Filed: Nov 2016

REAR DOOR THE REAR DOOR (LEFT) HAS A DEFECT. SINCE NEW IT HASN'T BEEN FIXED PROPERLY. LAST WEEK IT OPENED BY ITSELF WHILE RIDING OVER 45 MPH. WHEN IT HAPPENED THE DOOR INDICATOR WASN'T ON. NO INDICATION TO ME. EXCEPT FOR MY DAUGHTER SCREAMINGS. MY DAUGHTER WAS SITTING NEXT TO THE DEFECTIVE DOOR WHEN IT HAPPENED. IT WAS SERVICED AT THE DELEARSHIP FOR THAT DOOR BUT IT STAYED THE SAME. IT DOESN'T CLOSE COMPLETELY.

NHTSA #: 10927699

Other 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan Issues