Volkswagen Taos start-stop problems

Filed Dec 22, 2025 · WA

I purchased this car on 11/16/2023, brand new with 32 miles on it. On 11/20/2023 the automatic start-stop failed while I was at an intersection and the car would not move. There were no warning lights, messages, or other symptoms of the problem. Fortunately a police officer drove through the area minutes after the car stopped and was able to help me until a tow truck arrived. The car was towed to the dealership, who determined that the issue was with the starter, but did not provide me with paperwork as they put me in a different vehicle.

Filed Apr 5, 2025 · Electrical, Engine · TX

While driving I received an 'Auto Start/Stop' error message and my engine light was flashing. Lost drivetrain power. Pulled over and turned vehicle off. After letting it sit for 10 minutes I restarted the vehicle and the Auto Start/Stop error message displayed but no check engine light this time. Drove vehicle home and could not replicate issue.

Filed Feb 6, 2025 · Engine · MA

3 times in the past year including today, the car has completely turned off while in drive at a red light or stop sign. It is not the auto start/stop, it simply completely shuts off the car and when I take my foot off the break the car says “shift gear into park and manually restart car” this has almost caused an accident every time and is a safety issue. I reported to dealer, they’ve heard of this before but can’t replicate or find issue. It is not safe for the cars engine to shut off while in drive and have to stop in the middle of road and shift gears and manually restart car. Major safety issue

Filed Sep 3, 2024 · Driver assistance, Engine · TX

I purchased this vehicle new in Jan 2022. I have had multiple issues with sensors needing to be replaced, auto start/stop not working properly, coolant light flashing on and off intermittently Feb 2023 recall - owner manual insert April 2023 recall - software update Oct 2023 check engine light coming on - needed N80 valve Dec 2023 auto start not working - dealer states no fault codes Dec 28, 2023 auto start still not working, pushed for more thorough evaluation - found a P019600 fault (engine oil temp sensor), they had a tech service bulletin for ECM software 2024 - intermittent and sporadic issues with different warning lights July/Aug 2024 coolant light coming on again after cold start after sitting all night -dealer says nothing wrong Aug 2024 - I requested service dept to check head gasket - they did and found it to be leaking. was told part would take 2-3 days to arrive and have about a 3 day repair time. It's been 2 weeks. I have not heard from dealer until parents reached out to the dealership. Parts for head gasket replacement are on backorder with no known ETA (9-2-24)

Filed Aug 9, 2024 · Engine, Fuel system · GA

Periodically, when trying to accelerate, the car stutters as if it's not getting any fuel and the check engine light will flash on briefly, then go off, and keep flashing on when pressing the gas pedal. It will continue to do this until you stop, turn the car off, open then close the door, let it set for about a minute, start the car again, and you HAVE to turn off the Automatic start/stop. Once you do that, and continue to keep turning off the auto start/stop every time you start the car for a few days to a week, it will resolve the issue for about a few months (or shorter if you drive frequently to where the auto start/stop is activated more frequently). -Engine? -Fuel Injection? -Automatic Start/Stop The car stuttered and acted like it was going to shut off while driving down the road. This could have caused an accident or even caused irreplaceable engine damage. It has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or service center because it is random and once you shut the car off and the auto start/stop, it resolves the issue for a short time. I have called the dealer and I have called VW company to report the issue, but they both just refer me back to the other. No, the vehicle has not been inspected. No symptoms or warning lamps. The check engine light only comes on after the car stutters and struggles to accelerate for a few seconds, then it will flash on and off depending of if I am pressing the gas pedal.

Filed Aug 10, 2023 · Engine · FL

I had just purchased this car- it was my first day driving it. I drove it from the dealer to my home and then out to dinner with no problems. I should note the each time I started the car I turned off the "Stop/Start" feature. On our way home from dinner I was stopped at a red light and all of a sudden the engine shut off and a messaged displayed saying "Please Start Engine Manually". I was shocked, but put my car in park and was able to start it back up. I should note that the radio continued to work and the air continued to blow (even though it was no longer cold). I started driving and was less than 1/4 mile from my turn, but as I was approaching the car stalled again. This time while I was driving! Thankfully I was able to safely glide into the shopping center and park the car. I tried putting it back in park and starting it up again a few times with no luck. I should note that it wasn't like the engine was trying to turn over, there was nothing happening at all. I exited the car for a minute and then got back in to try again and thankfully it started up this time. I live right down the street from the shopping center so I went ahead and drove it home. Someone from the VW dealer picked the car up the next day because I refused to drive it again- my kids are always in the car with me. Since then I've researched this and found many more accounts of similar things happening to other Taos drivers. The dealer has found no error codes and they are trying to tell me it was "Low Battery Voltage", but that just doesn't make any sense considering how things happened. I'm now in contact with VW to see if they can help at all. I cannot drive this car with the possibility of stalling again. I won't put my kids at risk. The car is still at the dealership as I'm waiting to hear back from VW.

Filed Aug 1, 2023 · Brakes, Electrical · CA

2 instances occurred where the auto start/stop initiated in the midst of driving resulting in a stall and required the car to be restarted in order to start driving again. One time occurred while backing up and another while taking a turn both at low speeds. There was a recall on 2021 Volkswagen Taos’s for the same problem. I brought the car to the dealership to be assessed and the car remained in the service lot from 7/6/23 to 7/17/23, however the problem could not be recreated. Thus the car was returned to me without any solution. I clearly stated to them that I am picking up the car against my wishes as no solution was found and this has been extremely dangerous almost causing accidents.

Filed Mar 22, 2023 · Electrical, Engine · NY

While stop at red light on 2 occasions, the car goes into the auto stop start feature. The light turns green and I depress the accelerator to start to drive and nothing happens. I frantically try to determine what's going on my, shifter is in Drive and nothing. I press ignition to start and it states car in drive. Shift car to park and car starts. This all occurred after VW did Campaign #24IR. This is dangerous since if people don't realize your not moving they can rear end you or go backwards on a hill.

Filed Nov 8, 2022 · Electrical, Engine · MO

I purchased my VW TAOS on Nov 26, 2021, and since then I have experienced faulty issues 4 times. 2022 Jul twice, Sep once, and Nov once. When merged to the main road the car refuses to accelerate and gives strange sounds in transmission/engine area. The first 2 times I had the issue with loss of power and significant lag in acceleration I could see the "start/stop error" message in the dashboard, and I had to pull over to the side of the road. I drove in the parking lot nearby for few minutes and continued driving when the engine seemed OK, but the automatic engine start/stop system failed to work on traffic lights when car fully stopped. I notified my local dealership about this issue and got an appointment for inspection in August. When examined they recommended changing my fuel to premium and explained that the fault was caused by the quality of gas I put. I followed their instruction and only been pumping Unleaded-91 Premium grade fuel for the last 2 months, but I had a more serious issue in mid-September. In the middle of traffic at 40mph speed a sudden loss of power occurred followed by a check engine light flashing. Again, I had to make an emergency stop from the second lane to pull over into the shoulder. When I notified this to my dealership, they recommended to get the car checked during my first oil change that was supposed to happen a month later because when I consulted with the operator, they said I should observe if the problem is going to reoccur. On 7th of Nov 2022, I got my oil changed for the first time at the dealership and drove my car for a while and it seemed fine. However, by the evening when I tried to drive it back home the same issue with worse noise in the engine area took place and car failed to accelerate in the middle of the traffic where I had to act quickly to pull over to the side of the road causing risky situation to other drivers on the road and myself. I am now convinced that this issue is never going to be fixed.

Filed Oct 28, 2022 · Transmission · NY

Purchased vehicle new from dealer on 5/25/22. Auto Start/Stop feature was enabled while driving on 6/8/22. Stopped at light and vehicle shut off as it should have with feature enabled but then would not start again. Had to put car in park and restart while sitting in the middle lane of a busy road. Had error message advising to restart manually come up on dashboard. Reported problem to dealer where purchased. Auto Start/Stop feature was enabled while driving on 10/27/22. Stopped at light and vehicle shut off as it should have with feature enabled but then would not start again. Had to put car in park and try restarting. This time I had to try to restart approximately 4 times before car was running again. This happened while sitting stuck in the middle lane of a very busy road again. This time I was very concerned about getting hit so I did not even notice if the error message about starting manually came up on the dashboard. I was busy putting on hazard lights and looking for cars that may hit me and trying to re-start car. Since incident first time in June - about 85-95% of driving time I disable Auto Start/Stop feature for fear of this happening again. Therefore it could have likely happened many more times between June and October if the feature had been enabled while driving. This vehicle does not have AWD. I will report to dealer but I see many others seem to have same or similar problem with this 2022 Taos so I wanted to report here as well. Thank you.