Car was recently repaired from a deer related accident. Within a week of getting car back I heard an unwinding like sound from steering wheel area while making a left hand turn into parking lot. My airbag light came on and all steering wheel functions like buttons and horn ceased to operate. I did see that this year Tiguan did have an airbag recall.
2015 Volkswagen Tiguan airbags problems
28 complaints (45% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 65,500. 1 crash reported.
- owner complaints
- 28
- of this car's complaints
- 45%
- typical mileage
- 65,500
- crashes
- 1
- recalls
- 2
Which part fails
- Frontal: driver clockspring/spiral cassette3
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Volkswagen Tiguan airbags problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan airbags
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
Air bags: air bag/restraint control module
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Tiguan and CC vehicles. The air bag Electronic Control Unit (ECU) may have a defective power supply capacitor that can result in air bag deactivation or inadvertent deployment of the air bags.
- Risk
- Deactivated air bags increases the risk of injury. Inadvertent deployment of the air bags increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install new software and replace the air bag ECU as necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 25, 2019. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69Z5.
Recall number 19V535000 · Recall details
Air bags: side/window
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan vehicles manufactured January 15, 2015, to January 21, 2015, and 2015 Audi Q5 vehicles manufactured January 13, 2015, to February 3, 2015. The affected vehicles are equipped with driver and front seat passenger seat-mounted air bag inflators that may rupture in the event of a crash.
- Risk
- In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of a seat-mounted air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the side air bag modules, free of charge. The recall began July 7, 2016. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1‑800‑822‑2834 or Volkswagen customer service at 1‑800‑893‑5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69M1 (for Audi) and 69L9 (for VW).
Recall number 16V045000 · Recall details
What 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Our 2015 Tiguan has consistently had issues with the clock spring. We are now needing a third clock spring only 6 months from the last warranty repair. Yes the vehicle is available for inspection. This issue is serious due to the airbag being non operational until we get this fixed. Additionally, the horn ceases to work as well, which although its not as serious as our airbag not working, its still nice to have it as a safety tool to indicate your presence to other drivers on the road. I'm not sure if the component has been inspected by the manufacturer or anyone else. We have had a warranty repair on it through the dealership so they verified this was an issue that needed replacing. Until the issue occurs there are no warning lights or anything to notify you from the cars system. There is however an audible "clicking" sound as you turn the steering wheel. The sound usually occurs sporadically for a short while before the clock spring breaks again. Upon breaking, you can hear a slightly louder click or pop and a notification/indicator comes up on the dash to indicate that the airbag is not operational.
Airbag light comes on indicating that the airbags are not functioning properly per the instrument panel. A recall item on this particular model not listed under my VIN number, however, it is, I didn’t quote the complaints from other VW Tiguan who have experienced the same thing. Apparently this was a recall item that happened in November 2019. The first time my instrument Dental started indicating any issues was after it was serviced July 2021 although it was intermittent. Eventually it became an everyday thing. The airbags are always an indicator and every third start up will trigger intermittent signals that clear once the vehicle is turned off and turned back on yet airbag warnings are still adamant. Be present anytime the vehicle is in the on position.
I have a 2015 VW Tiguan, VIN: [XXX]. The Steering Wheel Clock Spring has gone bad causing multiple failure lights to come on and has also caused the car to be difficult to drive. Especially the steering. Most of the systems themselves are not failing, it is just the Clock Spring giving faulty readings to the car's computer. The lights that are on are the Green Break light, the Yellow Airbag and safety belt pretensioner system malfunction, and the Yellow Steering Wheel System light. The cause of this Clock Spring failure was because the car battery died. After we replaced the battery, the warning lights came on. The dealer had said it was the Steering Wheel Clock Spring that is causing all the system lights to come on. The dealer made me pay for the replacement ahead of time because he said that there was a long waiting list for the part that was being manufactured in Ukraine (?). [XXX]i is the service manager that made me pay for the future warranty repair. The local VW dealership in Waipio has made it extremely difficult to get this repaired under warranty or by a recall. I did get a notice for a class action lawsuit opened against VW and this issue. There is also an extended warranty repair, except my VW had too many miles (88K), and they said this year was skipped over for some reason. The Lawsuit is Water Pump Settlement 7577, PO Box 2636, Faribault, MN, 55021-9636. The attorney handling the case is [XXX]. I did not sign up for this lawsuit because again the year 2015 Tiguan was excluded for some reason that I do not understand. Please note that in Europe the very same part on this year VW Tiguan has been recalled. Why haven't they recalled the it here in the United States? INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The clock spring went out on my car. This is a known defect at VW. My horn and airbags do not work now. Both are essential to safe driving. The part is backordered and people have been waiting for months. VW is letting people drive in death traps vehicles and recklessly allowing people to put themselves in danger because they cannot afford new vehicles nor will VW provide rental cars while the part is on backorder. We need help. VW has a reputation for taking advantage of these situations and doing nothing. Please help us. VW won't.
The airbag clock spring on my 2015 Tiguan broke in June. The car has a warranty extension for this failure, but no parts are in stock. It has now been 2 months and neither the dealer (Hendrick VW in Frisco, TX) nor VW Customer "Care" can help. There is not even a date for the replacement part available. My daughter is (was) the main driver and I don't want her driving an unsafe vehicle without horn / airbag. Worse, the registration has now expired, as the car can't pass the State Safety inspection required to renew the sticker. Car is now just parked until further notice.
My 2015 VW Tiguan has a broken clock spring. The clock spring functions to control the airbag deployment, horn and dashboard screen controls. This is a significant safety risk, as the steering wheel airbag will not deploy in a crash. A certified Volkswagen technician diagnosed the issue at a VW dealership. The airbag dashboard light is on, indicating that the airbag will not deploy in a crash. No warnings prior to failure, car operated well, with no issues before this was reported. Volkswagen is aware of the issue. They will be able to fix it, under warranty, but the parts are on backorder with no ETA as parts are manufactured in the Ukraine. This is a widespread issue across many VW models and model years. My car is not identified in the recall and there are thousands of cars waiting for the same repair. A recall should be issued. Having a safety issue like this, with no proposed time for resolution is unacceptable.
Broken clock spring affecting all collision safety systems such as airbag deployment and collision avoidance like horn and cruise control along wiht computer functions controlled exclusivley through the steering wheel.
The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the horn became inoperable. The air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the clockspring needed to be replaced; however, the part was on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but no additional assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 67,000.
Airbag light comes on. There has been no accident to cause this
Questions about the 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan airbags
Does the 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan have airbags problems?
Owners have filed 28 complaints about the airbags of the 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan, 45% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan airbags problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 65,500 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan airbags?
Yes, 2 recalls: 19V535000, 16V045000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Volkswagen Tiguan have bad airbags?
The Volkswagen Tiguan model years with the most airbags complaints are 2013 (63 complaints), 2014 (46 complaints) and 2016 (37 complaints).
Other 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan problems
Electrical 23Engine 9Steering 9Brakes 6Body 4Visibility 4Transmission 2Driver assistance 1Fuel system 1Seat belts 1Seats 1Suspension 1Wheels 1
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history