What 160 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan Limited

A FUSE HAS MELTED (NOT BURNED OUT IN THE TYPICAL MANNER), AND MELTED PART OF THE FUSE BLOCK. THIS CAUSED ALL OF THE LIGHTS ON THE VEHICLE TO MALFUNCTION. HEADLIGHTS ON ONE SIDE, ONE TURN SIGNAL, BULBS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE TAILLIGHT ASSEMBLIES (BOTH SIDES), ONE BACKUP LIGHT AND THE THIRD BRAKE LIGHT. ALL APPEARED TO BE BURNED OUT. UPON REPLACEMENT OF THE FUSE, ALL WORKED PROPERLY. FROM RESEARCHING THE INTERNET, WE FOUND NUMEROUS WEBSITES AND FORUMS WHERE THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING ON THESE VEHICLES FROM 2009-2013, USUALLY AROUND 40-50,000 MILES. THE LOSS OF THESE LIGHTS CAN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT OR FIRE TO THE VEHICLE DUE TO THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM GETTING SO HOT AS TO MELT THE WAY IT DID. IT HAS BEEN STATED THAT VW OF AMERICA HAS REFUSED TO CORRECT THESE PROBLEMS...UPDATED 09-18-13 *BF THE FUSE WAS REPLACED TO GET ALL OF THE LIGHTS WORKING PROPERLY AGAIN.

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THE PARKING BRAKE SETS ITSELF WHENEVER THE VEHICLE IS IN PARK. ALSO, WHEN YOU DEPRESS THE BRAKES AND COME TO A STOP, IT WILL NOT ROLL FORWARD OR MOVE UNTIL THE GAS IS PRESSED. THE NECESSITY OF PRESSING THE GAS TO MOVE AT ALL IS ALSO THE CASE IN REVERSE. *TR

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INTERMITTENT FAILURE OF RIGHT HEADLIGHT AND TURN SIGNAL. VW DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSED AS MELTED FUSE BOX. FUSE BOX REPLACED AND ISSUE RESOLVED. *TR

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I STARTED RECEIVING WARNING LIGHTS THAT THERE WERE BURNED OUT BULBS AROUND THE CAR. IT STARTED WITH THE RIGHT FRONT HIGH BEAM, THEN LOW BEAM. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT FOR THE SAME DAY AS THERE WAS A SAFETY CONCERN WITH AN OUT HEADLIGHT. ON MY WAY TO THE DEALERSHIP THE WARNING LIGHT WENT OFF AND I WENT HOME. BY THE END OF THE NEXT DAY AND I STARTED TO RECEIVING THE SAME WARNING, RIGHT FRONT HIGH AND LOW BEAM. THE WARNING WOULD GO AWAY IF I CYCLED THE LIGHTS ON AND OFF AND THE HIGH AND LOW BEAM WOULD COME BACK ON. I SCHEDULED ANOTHER APPOINTMENT WITH VW TO HAVE THEM CHECK THINGS OUT AND WAS TOLD THAT IT COULD BE A PROBLEM THAT THEY HAD FIXED THE WEEK BEFORE ON THE SAME CAR, A MELTED FUSE BOX RELAY. ON MY WAY TO THE DEALER, ALL OF MY BRAKE LIGHTS AND TURN SIGNALS WENT OUT AND SURE ENOUGH IT WAS THE MELTED RELAY. VW REFUSED TO STAND BEHIND THE REPAIR AND SAID THEY WOULD CONTACT ME IF THERE WAS A RECALL. *TR UPDATED 9/19/13 *CN UPDATED 09/27/2013 *JS

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ALL THE EXTERIOR LIGHTING WAS INTERMITTENTLY NOT WORKING. TURNING ON HEADLAMPS AND TURNING ON BRIGHT LIGHTS WOULD OFTEN FIX THE PROBLEM - HEADLIGHTS, BLINKERS AND FOG LAMPS WOULD WORK AGAIN. WHEN THIS WOULD NOT WORK MORE OFTEN THAN NOT TURNING THE CAR OFF AND STARTING IT AGAIN WOULD RESOLVE THE ISSUE. DEALERSHIP INITIALLY REPLACED A CONTROL MODULE IN JANUARY OF 2013. PROBLEM WENT AWAY FOR A WHILE. WHEN THE PROBLEM CAME BACK TODAY, THE DEALERSHIP STATED THEY HAD NOW HAD MULTIPLE INSTANCES OF THIS PROBLEM AND SUSPECTED A MELTED FUSE BLOCK IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. DEALER GAVE ME THE FAILED PART AND REPLACED IT WITH ANOTHER, PERHAPS A REDESIGNED PART AS THE PART NUMBER IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT. THE 30A FUSE WHICH CONTROLS THE HEADLAMPS IS OBVIOUSLY MELTED AT THE BLOCK. VEHICLE IS COVERED UNDER AN EXTENDED WARRANTY WITH A $100.00 DEDUCTIBLE. SPOKE WITH VW OF AMERICA AND ASKED IF THEY WOULD COVER MY COSTS FOR REPLACEMENT AS DEALER CLAIMED THAT THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE INSTANCES OF THIS ISSUE AND SEARCHING THE INTERNET FOR THIS ISSUE ALSO RESULTS IN REPORTS OF MANY OTHERS HAVING A SIMILAR PROBLEM WITH THE FUSE BLOCK IN THIS VEHICLE. VW OF AMERICA POLITELY DENIED THIS REQUEST. SUGGEST THAT YOU PURSUE THE ISSUE AND SUGGEST TO VW OF AMERICA THAT THEY ISSUE A RECALL FOR THIS COMPONENT WHICH IS FAILING AND, AS IT IS AN ELECTRICAL COMPONENT, MIGHT CAUSE AN UNDER THE HOOD FIRE. *TR UPDATED 09/17/13*LJ THE EXTERIOR LIGHTING FAILED SIMULTANEOUSLY.

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WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT NIGHT, MULTIPLE INDICATOR LIGHTS BEGAN FLASHING IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER: CHECK FRONT RIGHT LOW BEAM, CHECK FRONT RIGHT FOG LIGHT, CHECK REAR LEFT SIDE LIGHT, CHECK LEFT FRONT SIDE LIGHT, NUMBER PLATE CHECK LICENSE PLATE LIGHTING, CHECK THIRD BRAKE LIGHT, CHECK REAR LEFT BRAKE LIGHT, CHECK FRONT RIGHT TURN SIGNAL, AND CHECK REAR RIGHT SIDE LIGHT. I PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY TO EXAMINE THE CAR. ONLY ONE HEAD-LIGHT AND ONE TAIL-LIGHT WAS WORKING. ALL OTHER LIGHTS WERE OUT. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON TWICE WITHOUT ANY CHANGE IN THE LIGHTS. I DROVE THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT RIGHT AWAY; HOWEVER THEY WERE CLOSING. THE TECHNICIAN SAID THE PROBLEM WAS KNOWN TO BE THE RESULT OF A DEFECTIVE FUSE BOX AND REQUESTED THAT I RETURN IN THE MORNING. I'VE REPORTED SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH THE ELECTRICAL/LIGHTING SINCE PURCHASING THE VEHICLE NEW; HOWEVER THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME I'VE EXPERIENCED A COMPLETE FAILURE OF THE LIGHTING SYSTEM AND THE FIRST TIME I'VE BEEN TOLD THERE IS A DEFECTIVE FUSE BOX. *TR *UPDATED 09-18-13 *BF UPDATED 9/27/2013 *JS

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I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY WITHIN THE LIMITED SPEED. THE STEERING WHEEL WAS SUDDENLY OUT OF MY CONTROL. THE CAR MOVED LEFT AND RIGHT, BUT I COULDN'T CONTROL IT. I HIT THE BRAKE AND EVENTUALLY STOPPED BY HIT THE GUARDRAIL AFTER TURNING 180 DEGREE ON THE HIGHWAY. THE STEERING WHEEL LIGHT WAS ON BUT DISAPPEARED AFTERWARDS. THIS WAS A REALLY SCARING EXPERIENCE. I COULD BE KILLED. AFTER COMPLAINING THE STEERING WHEEL PROBLEM TO VOLKSWAGEN, SINCE THE STEERING WHEEL LIGHT (ORANGE) DISAPPEARED, THE CUSTOMER REPRESENTATIVE SAID IT WAS ME WHOM CAUSED THE ACCIDENT. I WAS FURIOUS AND INSISTED ON THE ISSUE BY SUGGESTING TO RUN A THOROUGH CHECK. I WAITED FOR MORE THAN TWO WEEKS BEFORE I GOT A REPORT FROM VW TECHNICIAN. I WAS EXPECTING A THOROUGH DIAGNOSTIC TEST ON THE CAR'S STEERING SYSTEM, BUT I ONLY GOT A SHORT PAGE SAYING ABOUT THE CAR WAS DRIVABLE AND APPARENTLY NOTHING WRONG, EXCEPT A NOISE ( LIKE BEARING NOISE) WHEN TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL LEFT OR RIGHT. VW DIDN'T EVEN DO ANY COMPUTER TESTS OR ANY DETAILED TESTS ON THE CAR. THE NOISE PRODUCED BY THE STEERING WHEEL WAS ONCE AGAIN CONFIRMED THAT SOMETHING WRONG WITH STEERING. FINALLY, VW CONFIRMED THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE STEERING AND NEEDED TO CHANGE THE STEERING SYSTEM; HOWEVER, VW SAID I CAUSED THE PROBLEM. THIS IS COMPLETELY NONSENSE. FIRST, VW SAID THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE STEERING SYSTEM; HOWEVER, LATER BECAUSE OF THE OBVIOUS NOISE, NOW IT ADMITTED THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG AND SAID TO NEED TO CHANGE THE WHOLE STEERING SYSTEM. SINCE THERE WAS ONLY A SLIGHT DAMAGE AT THE LEFT BUMPER AT THE DRIVER'S SIDE, AND IT DIDN'T DAMAGE THE STEERING SYSTEM INSIDE; THUS, IT MUST BE THE MALFUNCTION OF STEERING THAT CAUSED THE ACCIDENT. HOWEVER, THE WAY VOLKSWAGEN DEALT WITH MY COMPLAINT WAS HORRIBLE. VW TRIED TO PUSH ALL THE RESPONSIBILITY ON ME AND OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T SEE THE WHOLE THING FROM MY SIDE. *TR

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SPORADIC, COMPLETE BRAKE FAILURE. BRAKES FAIL TO CATCH, PETAL DEPRESSED TO THE FLOOR DOES NOT INITIATE ANY BRAKING. ONCE BRAKES ARE COMPLETELY RELEASED AND PUSHED AGAIN BRAKES FINALLY CATCH. THIS ISSUE OCCURS AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS, SOMETIMES RIGHT AFTER CAR IS STARTED, OTHER TIMES AFTER IT HAS BEEN RUNNING A WHILE. HAS OCCURRED 5-7 TIMES IN THE LAST YEAR. VW TECHNICIANS CANNOT REPRODUCE, SO WILL NOT DO ANYTHING TO FIX. LUCKY THERE HAS BEEN ENOUGH STOPPING DISTANCE IN THE PREVIOUS INSTANCES TO PUS THE BRAKES TWICE, BUT THIS PRESENTS A SAFETY HAZARD TO THOSE IN THE TIGUAN AND SURROUNDING CARS. *TR

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THE CRUISE CONTROL SPEED SETTING, UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, WILL INCREASE WHEN THE DECREASE SPEED BUTTON IS PRESSED. MORE SPECIFICALLY, WHEN REDUCING THE CRUISE CONTROL SPEED USING THE TOGGLE SWITCH AT THE END OF TURN SIGNAL STEM ON THE LEFT OF THE STEERING COLUMN, THE CRUISE SPEED WILL INCREASE BACK TO THE ORIGINAL SPEED IF THERE IS ANY HESITATION IN RESETTING THE SPEED. FOR EXAMPLE, IF THE SPEED IS SET AT 55 AND THE TOGGLE SWITCH IS PRESSED 5 TIMES TO SLOW THE CAR AND RESET THE SPEED TO 50, IF THERE IS A HESITATION OF A SECOND OR TWO AND THEN TOGGLE AGAIN TO SET THE SPEED AT 49, THE CRUISE WILL RESET TO 55 AND THE CAR WILL BEGIN ACCELERATING BACK TO THE ORIGINAL SPEED. THIS OCCURS EVEN THOUGH THE ONLY BUTTON PRESSED IS THE REDUCE SPEED BUTTON. THIS OCCURS AT ANY SPEED SETTING (THIS CONDITION OCCURRED 100% OF THE TIMES TESTED AT SPEEDS RANGING FROM 40 TO 70 MPH) AND UNDER ANY CONDITIONS (UPHILL, DOWN HILL, AND FLAT DRIVING) - SET THE SPEED LOWER, HESITATE, AND THEN REDUCE THE SPEED FURTHER - CAUSES THE CRUISE TO RESET BACK TO THE ORIGINAL SPEED AND THE CAR TO ACCELERATE UNEXPECTEDLY. HOPE THIS IS CLEAR - EMAIL OR CALL IF THIS REQUIRES FURTHER EXPLANATION. *TR

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2011 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN. CONSUMER STATES MALFUNCTION OF ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE *TGW THE CONSUMER WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT 50 MPH. MOMENTS BEFORE, COFFEE FROM AN OVER-FILLED CUP HAD SPILLED INTO THE RECESSED AREA WHERE THE ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE SWITCH WAS LOCATED. WHEN THE CONSUMER REACHED FOR SOME NAPKINS, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY CAME TO A SCREAMING HALT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LANE. THE ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING, BUT THE BRAKES WOULD NOT RELEASE. THE CONSUMER THEN PULLED THE PARKING BRAKE SWITCH; AFTER A NUMBER OF PULLS, IT FINALLY RELEASED THE BRAKES AND THE CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO DRIVE TO THE SHOULDER. THE CONSUMER STATED THE OWNERS MANUAL CLEARLY STATED THAT WHEN THE ELECTRONIC PARKING SWITCH LEVER IS ENGAGED WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION, EMERGENCY BRAKING WILL OCCUR. BUT, ONLY AS LONG AS THE SWITCH IS BEING PULLED, OR UNTIL THE ACCELERATOR IS PRESSED. IF THE SWITCH IS RELEASED OR THE ACCELERATOR IS PRESSED, EMERGENCY BRAKING SHOULD IMMEDIATELY CEASE. THE CONSUMER STATED THAT DID NOT HAPPEN IN THIS INCIDENT. HE HAD BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL AND THE SWITCH WAS NOT PUSHED AND WAS ATTEMPTING TO GET OUT OF THE LANE. THE CONSUMER WAS PUSHING THE ACCELERATOR, THUS SATISFYING BOTH REQUIREMENTS FOR CEASING EMERGENCY BRAKING. THE VEHICLE WAS BUCKING BACK AND FORTH; THE VEHICLE WAS CLEARLY IN FIRST GEAR, UT THE CAR WAS NOT RELEASING THE BRAKES. THE CONSUMER BELIEVED THE SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONED, PERHAPS AS A RESULT OF THE SPILLED COFFEE. A FEW DAYS LATER, THE YELLOW PARKING BRAKE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE DASH, BUT DID NOT APPEAR AGAIN THE NEXT TIME THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED. *JB

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