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What 16 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Volkswagen Touareg

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (16)Crash / fire / injury (2)Engine (4)Fuel system (4)Steering (3)Fuel System, Diesel (2)Airbags (1)Electrical system (1)Speed control (1)Transmission & drivetrain (1)

1 of 16 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · clear filters

Jun 14, 2020Transmission & drivetrainEngineFuel system

THIS HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES, AT LOW SPEEDS, CAR GOES INTO LIMP HOME MODE RANDOMLY AND CREAKS ALONG AT 8 MILES AN HOUR, MOST RECENTLY LOST BRAKING POWER AND MESSAGE COMES UP "HYBRID ERROR, PULL OVER IN A SAFE LOCATION." THEN WHEN YOU TURN IT OFF AND ON AGAIN IT WORKS FINE. THIS IS NOT HELPFUL AS THERE IS NO INFORMATION FOR THE MECHANIC TO GO BY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. WE HAVE REPLACED THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER, BOTH FUEL PUMPS AND PRE-FUEL PUMP MECHANISMS AND STILL THE ODD ERROR MESSAGE LACK OF CAR RUNNING. I AM THINKING ABOUT USING IT AS A PLANTER IN MY YARD, CURRENTLY IS IT LIVING WITH THE MECHANIC WAITING TO BEHAVE BADLY AGAIN, SO HE CAN TRY AND THE PROBLEM, BUT NOT DRIVEABLE BY AN ORDINARY CITIZEN. IT HAS HAPPENED, WHILE SLOWING DOWN, WHILE TURNING, ALL AT LOW SPEEDS, BUT THAT DOESN'T REALLY HELP MUCH. I STILL CAN'T DRIVE IT. IT HAS 138K ON A HYBRID ENGINE. IT WAS REAR-ENDED AND REPAIRED ABOUT 3 YEARS AGO, BUT IT RAN FINE AFTER THAT FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS. THIS IS A MYSTERY PROBLEM.

NHTSA ODI 11328777

Working with the data? Download all 16 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 25, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2011 Volkswagen Touareg verdict →