2018 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH, THE SEAT BELT CHIME ON THE PASSENGER SIDE STARTED TO SOUND AND THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG WARNING INDICATOR BEGAN FLASHING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ONLY THING ON THE PASSENGER SEAT WAS A CELL PHONE. THE CONTACT REMOVED THE CELL PHONE FROM THE PASSENGER SEAT AND THE CHIME STOPPED. THE CONTACT SLIGHTLY PLACED HER HAND ON THE PASSENGER SEAT AND THE CHIME STARTED AGAIN. THE CONTACT DROVE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER (SOUTH MOTORS VOLKSWAGEN, 17930 S DIXIE HIGHWAY, MIAMI, FLORIDA 33157) FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE DEALER KEPT THE VEHICLE FROM 04/13/18 UNTIL 04/17/18, BUT FOUND NO FAILURES. THE DEALER STATED THAT A HEAD ENGINEER WOULD EVALUATE THE VEHICLE ON 04/18/18. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,355.

THIS CAR HAS A NEW "FEATURE" CALLED AUTO START/STOP WHICH, WHEN IS ENABLED BY DEFAULT. IF NOT DISABLED, THIS FEATURE WILL TURN OFF THE CAR WHEN IT'S AT A STANDSTILL AND CONSUMING LITTLE POWER, THEN TURN BACK ON WHEN YOU HIT THE GAS. MEANT AS A FUEL CONSUMPTION MECHANISM, THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS. A FEW TIMES NOW, I FORGOT TO DISABLE IT, AND WHEN PERCHED IN THE MEDIAN BETWEEN OPPOSITE LANES, I HAD TO ACCELERATE RAPIDLY AND ALMOST GOT SLAMMED INTO BECAUSE THE CAR HAD TO FIRST START, THEN ACCELERATE. I LOST 2-3 SECONDS OF REACTION/ACCELERATION TIME. WHEN TEST DRIVING THE CAR, THE SALESMAN TOLD ME IT WAS A FUEL CONSUMPTION FEATURE, THEN TURNED IT OFF FOR THE TEST DRIVE. IF I HAD SEEN THIS IN ACTION, I NEVER WOULD HAVE PURCHASED THE CAR. VW WILL NOT DISABLE IT PERMANENTLY.

WHEN THE AUTO START/STOP FEATURE IS DISABLED BY TOGGLING THE BUTTON ON THE CENTER CONSOLE, THE CAR DRIVES VERY ROUGH, ESPECIALLY AT SLOW SPEEDS. IT FEELS LIKE THE TRANSMISSION IS HAVING TROUBLE SHIFTING GEARS.

I AM EXPERIENCING A RATTLE IN THE PASSENGER SIDE B-PILLAR. MY DEALER IS AWARE OF MY PROBLEM AND SAID THEY HAVEN'T EXPERIENCED IT BEFORE. THEY ARE GOING TO RESEARCH ANY TSB THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE REGARDING THE RATTLE, BEFORE THEY START DISASSEMBLING THE INTERIOR LOOKING FOR THE CAUSE OF THE RATTLE. IN THE MEAN TIME, I HAVE FOUND MANY ON-LINE COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SAME ISSUE AND ONE OF THE RESPONSES INDICATE COMMUNICATION WITH AN OWNER AND WITH VOLKSWAGEN, BY THE NHTSA ABOUT THIS ISSUE. I'LL TRY TO ATTACH THE LINK TO THAT CONVERSATION. IF, AS STATED IN THE COMMUNICATION, A FIX HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED, PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO I CAN FORWARD IT TO MY DEALER BEFORE THEY START REMOVING MY VEHICLES INTERIOR LOOKING FOR THE PROBLEM. THANK YOU. HERE IS THE LINK I REFERENCED ABOVE. IF THE LINK DOESN'T TAKE YOU DIRECTLY TO THREAD # 137, PLEASE GO TO PAGE 6 AND SCROLL DOWN TO THREAD # 137. HTTP://FORUMS.VWVORTEX.COM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?8903433-2018-TIGUAN-ISSUES-PURCHASED-ON-9-16-B-PILLAR/PAGE6

THE CAR DOES NOT GET MORE THAN 316 MILES TO A FULL TANK. IT ALSO FEELS LIKE THE TRANSMISSION IS JERKING YOU FORWARD WHICH CAUSES THE CAR TO BE REALLY SLUGGISH. THIS IS ALSO DANGEROUS WHEN TRYING TO PULL OUT ON A BUSY STREET. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY DROVE IT CAME BACK AND TOLD ME I SHOULD ONLY FILL UP AT CERTAIN GAS STATIONS. THEY GAVE ME A LIST AND SAID I HAVE TO USE ONLY PREMIUM GAS I. THE CAR AND ONLY FILL UP AT THESE STATIONS IF I WANT THE EXPECTED GAS MILEAGE.

THE SAFETY ALERT THAT STOPS YOUR CAR IN CASE OF A COLLISION STOPS MY CAR WITH NONE OR THING IN FRONT OR ON THE SIDE OF IT. MY BACKUP CAMERA STAYS ON CONSISTENTLY WHEN DRIVING FORWARD. THE ELECTRONIC MIDDLE CONSOLE CONSTANTLY FREEZES UP AND WON'T ALLOW ME TO DO ANYTHING OR GOES COMPLETELY BLACK. THIS HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES INCLUDING THE MOST RECENT IN THIS COMPLAINT. THE ENGINE ALSO JERKS FORWARD AND IS VERY DANGEROUS TRYING TO PULL OUT ONTO A BUSY STREET. WHEN I MENTIONED THIS TO THE DEALERSHIP THEY SAID THE CAR NEED TO LEARN HOW I DRIVE. IT HAS 6600 MILES ON IT?

I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE THE FIRST WEEK OF FEBRUARY. A WEEK LATER AN AWFUL RATTLE/TICKING NOISE BEGAN IN THE B-PILLAR WHERE IT MEETS THE ROOF LINE. THE SOUND IS VERY CONSISTENT AND LOUD. UPON DOING A QUICK INTERNET SEARCH IT APPEARS THAT THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINTS REGARDING THIS ISSUE IN THIS PARTICULAR MODEL. PEOPLE HAVE REPORTED THAT VW HAS HAD THEIR VEHICLE FOR WEEKS AND ARE COMPLETELY STRIPPED INSIDE. I CONTACTED THE DEALERSHIP I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE FROM, SENT THEM THE INFO FROM NHTSA AND VIDEOS OF THE PROBLEM. THE SHOP FOREMAN TOLD ME HE KNEW WHAT IT WAS AND IT WAS AN EASY FIX. I MADE AN APPOINTMENT. DROVE IT 70 MILES TO THE DEALERSHIP. ANOTHER TECH WORKED ON IT WITHOUT SPEAKING TO THE FOREMAN AND FOUND THAT BOTH SEAT BELT MECHANISMS WHERE OUT OF THEIR TRACK ( CONCERNING IN AND OF ITSELF). THE FIXED THAT ISSUE AND TOLD ME TO COME GET THE CAR. I ASKED THEM IF THEY SPOKE TO THE FOREMAN ABOUT WHAT HE THOUGHT IT WAS AND THEY HADN'T. I GET A CALL SAYING THEY NEED TO KEEP THE CAR. THE NEXT DAY I'M TOLD THEY ARE GOING TO START REMOVING THE SIDE PANEL AND HEADLINER. DURING THAT TIME I CALLED VW CUSTOMER CARE AND I WAS TOLD THERE ARE NO KNOWN ISSUES--BUT THEY HAVE ACTUALLY BOUGHT BACK PEOPLE'S CARS FOR THIS SAME ISSUE. I PICKED UP MY CAR 5 DAYS LATER BECAUSE I DID NOT WANT IT TORN APART AND USED AS A GUINEA PIG AND I NEEDED A CAR AND CAN'T LET IT SIT TORN APART FOR MONTHS. THEY ARE TELLING ME THE ONLY WAY TO FIGURE IT OUT IS TO BRING IT BACK AND RESTART THE PROCESS, BUT IT'S CLEAR FROM REPORTS ON HERE AND OTHER SOURCES THAT THEY KNOW ABOUT THE ISSUE AND HAVE DEEMED CARS INOPERABLE FOR THIS ISSUE.

SEL PREMIUM TRIM LANE ASSIST MALFUNCTION - SYSTEM WILL INACCURATELY DETECT LANE LINES AND ATTEMPT TO ADJUST THE VEHICLE TO THE CENTER OF THE LANE, EVEN WHEN IT ALREADY IS CENTERED IN THE LANE, RESULTING IN THE VEHICLE PULLING INTO THE ADJACENT LANE. HAS NEARLY PULLED THE VEHICLE INTO ADJACENT LANE WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE PRESENT IN THE LANE RESULTING IN NEAR COLLISIONS ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. SYSTEM WILL ALSO REGISTER AS THE VEHICLE SOMEHOW DEPARTING INTO THE LANES ON BOTH SIDES OF VEHICLE AT THE SAME TIME, AND WILL ESSENTIALLY LOCK THE STEERING WHEEL IN PLACE. SEE INCLUDED PHOTO EVIDENCE - BOTH LINES ON THE SIDE OF THE VEHICLE ARE SOLID WHITE INDICATING THAT THE DEPARTURE MITIGATION IS ACTIVATED, AND THE GREEN "LANE" ICON INDICATES THAT THE LANE DEPARTURE SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY ACTIVATED. DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT RESPONSE: ""NPF UNABLE TO REPRODUCE CUSTOMERS CONCERN".

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.

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.