Home · 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan Ltd · Complaints

What 59 owners told NHTSA about the 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan Ltd

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 (59)Crash / fire / injury (1)Engine (20)Electrical system (10)Driver assistance (7)Transmission & drivetrain (7)Fuel system (6)Brakes (4)Speed control (4)Visibility & wipers (3)Backup camera & sensors (2)Airbags (1)

Newest first · 59 complaints · page 3 of 3

Jul 22, 2023Speed control

The gas pedal sporadically does not respond (though the car will still roll at idle speed). I learned of this issue first while attempting an unprotected left turn to exit a parking lot with cars approaching me quickly and the car not able to respond to the gas pedal. It almost caused a large crash. The lack of response seems to only happen when starting from a complete stop. The Volkswagen dealership, service manager, and the cashiers all said they’ve received numerous complaints or experienced themselves but no one knows how to fix it. I was just told “be safe.”

NHTSA ODI 11533864

Jul 21, 2023Engine

The vehical when engine is cold. Has delays and lags. I didn't think much of it when I first bought it, I assumed the computer was trying to learn. Well car has 12000 miles on it and still does it I've been to the dealer several times. They have told me this is normal?. Until I went to a different dealer. Service Manger states the vehical has a software problem and none repairable at the time ( I have paperwork to prove it) I tried to lemon the car out after that. Vw state because the info wasn't written by a service tec, they won't lemon the car out? I fear my wife getting t boned.

NHTSA ODI 11533580

Jul 14, 2023Transmission & drivetrainFuel system

Malfunction with power delivery/transmission: I often experience inconsistent acceleration/power while driving at low speeds, the loss of power and jerks feel very similar to an engine misfire. Safety Risk: This behavior is very dangerous as we instinctively push down gas pedal to overcome lack of power and it causes the car to rocket forward as too high throttle has been opened and one can easily lose control and crash. Occurance: I feel this loss/inconsistent power situation happens at cold start and once the car is warmed up it doesn't occur anymore. If I don't push the gas pedal the power delivery is very inconsistent and car will jerk which feels like like a misfire while slowly the power delivery smoothens out.

NHTSA ODI 11532406

Jul 13, 2023Fuel system

The vehicle stutters or hesitates when accelerating from a stop. This is even more prevalent when the car has first been started. This is a major safety issue as when my family is pulling out into traffic the car just lurches forward initially before then finally just taking off. It's almost as if there is a delay in fuel being sent to the engine to move it forward. It shakes a little and then goes really fast. You can hold your the gas peddle down some and the car won't move then after a second or two it finally accelerates without moving your foot at all. This is a brand new car. Seems incredibly unsafe especially when I have a family of 6 in the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11532027

Jul 9, 2023Transmission & drivetrainSpeed control

Happening within the first few weeks of purchase from new in November 2022. Delay and wildly inconsistent acceleration from a stop. This is most noticeable within the first 10 minutes of driving and is much worse when cold. Often, when accelerating from a stop, the vehicle does not move for several seconds; when the car does begin to move the acceleration is erratic and often results in wheel spin and a loss of control. We’ve nearly been t-boned on several occasions because the car’s acceleration is erratic. I’ve taken the vehicle to the dealer for service, they replicated the issue and said there is no fix. This is stated in the repair order which is attached. No warning or service lights. I do not feel this vehicle is safe for public roads. This issue is widely reported online and from speaking to the service department, widely know about. There should be a recall before someone gets killed. This vehicle has a fundamental safety issue.

NHTSA ODI 11531195

Jul 4, 2023Engine

When I click the button to start the car and then quickly reverse, the system locks up. It's a safety hazard. It's happened to me 4 times. Twice on 7-14-23 and another two times within the last 3 weeks.

NHTSA ODI 11530333

Jun 28, 2023Equipment

While driving the unit will shutdown and reboot randomly, shutting down all functions. Dealer diagnostic showed no issues with the software or firmware. When using NAV or phone related functions the unit will also shut down randomly and reboot. In some cases , the unit will down and not respond to a hard boot by holding the power button down for 20 seconds. The power to the infotainment could cause the dash to shutdown. No warning or power codes were noted.

NHTSA ODI 11529323

Apr 7, 2023Seat belts

Front passenger seat belt, when its in use the system activate the alarm and don't recognize that seat belt is in use.

NHTSA ODI 11515928

Feb 10, 2023

On 2/8/2023 When starting my vehicle my digital instrument cluster did not display anything. (No Speedometer, tachometer, etc) While the cluster is not working, the Red "Level 1 Warning" light is displayed which tells you not to drive the vehicle. The issue was NOT resolved with restarting the vehicle, or letting it sit for several hours. The issue "self-resolved" the next morning and has not reoccurred (yet) I have noticed that on certain random starts the digital instrument cluster can take over 30 seconds to display any data. Bringing the Vehicle to the dealership, they found no codes indicating that the cluster/Digital Dashboard PRO did not function. The dealership said that they will not be able to diagnose the problem unless I bring it to them in the "unworking" state. However, the vehicle would be undriveable in that condition.

NHTSA ODI 11506677

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Working with the data? Download all 59 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 23, 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 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan Ltd verdict →