2012 Volkswagen Tiguan engine problems

Filed Aug 25, 2025 · Engine · 135,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption. Additionally, while driving at 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle was able to restart. The check engine, EPC, and TPMS warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 135,000.

Filed Mar 17, 2025 · Engine · MT

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Defective Primary Engine Water Pump, yes. The original primary engine water pump system for a 2012 VW Tiguan 2.0 was replaced under the VW extended warranty in 2020 by an authorized dealer as a the result of the class action suit---please see Water Pump Class Action and Limited Warranty Extension bulletin issued by the federal safety agency. The replacement primary engine water pump system installed in 2020 has been found to be defective in March 2025 and the primary engine water pump requires replacement a second time -- without a warranty extension and less than five years from the date of service of the replacement under the Water Pump Class Action and Limited Warranty Extension issued by the federal safety agency. VW is still using defective primary engine water pump systems throughout the warranty period----does the federal safety agency have any evidence that VW made modifications to the primary engine water pump system after the bulletin issued by the federal safety agency? Was it a requirement that VW modify the primary engine water pump system? I have been informed that no changes were made to the VW primary engine water pump that was used to replace defective primary engine water pump systems as a result of the Water Pump Class Action and Limited Warranty Extension. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? A defective primary engine water pump is a safety risk because it creates a potential for engine failure. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? The problem has been confirmed by an authorized VW dealer. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? UNKNOWN Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? Indicator warning lights on dash--RED.

Filed Dec 31, 2024 · Engine · CO

The engine could not be started after 13 years and 103,000+ miles. I had to get the car towed to my garage at night, after several prior trips same day. There were no check engine lights or any other indicators. The engine had newer spark plugs, ignition coils and pcv valve installed as well as chain checked a year prior to this. Had a mobile mechanic come by and inspect the car. He determined that the engine has lost compression and that the oil was low. The spark plugs were soaked in gas because engine could not properly compress and ignite the fuel. After adding oil the problem did not go away. He performed the compression test and confirmed his suspicion about engine not being able to compress the fuel. The most likely cause was the timing chain issue but he could not inspect the chain to confirm due to difficulty of doing it. The engine valves were not moving as expected as well. He could not read any meaningful codes from the car computer. There were no electrical or starter issues, just that engine has lost compression. The car had regular oil changes, break fluid changes and tire rotations. Just two weeks prior to car breaking down it passed emissions test. As far as I know, these vehicles have had issues with timing chains stretching out and VW has sent out a recall about these issues a while back. I don't believe my vehicle was under this recall. This vehicle has had all recalls addressed. At this point I will have to get rid of the car because the cost to fix this issue will be the same or more than the car is worth.

Filed Jul 30, 2024 · Engine · CA

I was accelerating on the highway when my engine started making a rattling sound and the check engine light came on. I took my car into a specialty European auto shop and they determined my timing chain and tensioner needed replacing. The price is going to be over $5k and there are only 113,763 miles. I’ve always taken my car to a VW dealership for scheduled maintenance. As others have mentioned I never received a notice about this problem earlier from VW.

Filed May 5, 2022 · Engine · OH

Ignition Coil failed while on highway. Car hesitated , shook, and and slowed down. Created dangerous situation where we had to merge across to get off highway.

Filed Feb 5, 2022 · Engine · MI

At 77k miles the engine's timing chain jumped a tooth or two at startup. This seems to have destroyed the engine. Prior to that: no problems. My DTC scanner said the cam timing was off. VW wanted $25k to fix it after having it towed in. It sounded like rocks in a coffee can. It had just come from Chicago to visit and my son was stranded. I had to put him on a train home. I now am putting in a used engine for $9500 & it is going to take several weeks. When I looked on the internet I see this has been described as "a ticking time bomb". (REF Jalopnik.com). There was a class action law suit, but I guess --- since we had not had an issue--- redress was over. Still... 77k miles.

Filed Jul 21, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 97,500 miles · NJ

I've only owned the vw tiguan 2012 for 6 months, january 2020 and the vehicle engine shuts off, all power lost and has to be restarted. This has happened more than 8 times in the past 6 months, 2 times in the past week, it shut off while driving on the highway and yesterday july 20,2020 while driving through an intersection.

Filed Jun 25, 2020 · Engine · 47,000 miles · FL · crash

Gradual coolant leak with dealership knowledge upon sale of the car (44,000 miles). Refill overflow every 8 to 10 months. Leak unknown. Had to increase refilling gradually over time, thought it was due to use from work in 2016. Increased to once every few months 2017. Fill every week or two from 2018 to 2019....daily since late 2019 to now. Engine does not over heat. Refilling over flow coolant tank every time I need to drive the car. I have to turn on the car, pop the hood, and see how much it goes below the minimum line. Then fill to maximum. Daily refill started around october 2019. Received transmission flush and fuel induction service. Mechanic said I need a water pump and radiator. He thought the recall would cover my car but said my VIN wasn't showing a defect. I'm not sure why it's not. Dealership knew about the leak upon the sale of the car. Help!! I had no idea the leak was going to get worse. The dealership made it sound like something minor I just had to deal with.

Filed May 18, 2020 · Engine · FL

The vehicle checks engine and oil light often appear in the panel, even after change the oil and the car show no leaking. The oil was changed always by vw, who never detected any problem, even when the paper they gave to us says, 'our technician has inspected your vehicle'. We left the car in vw service we received the diagnostic: "replace timing chain and turbo." by the way, this is the third time they replace the turbo: original one, and 2 replacement. After they change the turbo, they discovered a new problem with camshaft. Our car has the mpp coverage, the last owner has too. All the repair and oil change never be made by outside of vw. This cost to our coverage and for us a lot of money and we spend a lot of time without the car. We would do like an answer from vw about this situation because the car still has a problem with vibration.

Filed Apr 16, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 50,000 miles · MI

My car only has 50k miles on it. The coolant light comes on every month or so. When I check the coolant the lever is severely low. There must be a problem with a defective part on the vw tiguan why this is happening. Can someone explain the issue here? Thanks.