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: airbag warning light
14 of the 62 complaints about the 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan describe airbag warning light.
- owner complaints
- 14
- of this car's complaints
- 23%
- typical mileage
- 67,000
- recalls
- 2
Is there a fix? There are 2 recalls and 7 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below
Airbag warning light by model year
What owners say
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.
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
While driving in a congested area of Jacksonville, FL a small child pulled bike from behind another vehicle, I attempted to sound my horn in an attempt to get the child’s attention or that of the other driver. The horn failed. I continued to try and nothing. I noticed the airbag light on. I called the VW dealership and was told this is a problem with the clock spring in the steering wheel behind the airbag. This part controls all the functions of the steering wheel. He also mentioned the federal safety agency has several complaints and the warranty was extended to 120,000 miles. This is relatively a low threshold as more and more people are keeping cars longer with cost. I have 121,190 miles on my Tiguan and am told this is an $800 fix. It is only a miracle this child was not killed. I would be curious how many have been injured, or killed, and the faulty spring has not been pinpointed. I believe this is and immediate threat to safety as one cannot be sure if the airbag will work nor can you summons help with the panic feature as the horn does not work. I believe an immediate recall should be issued regardless of mileage.
The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the horn was inoperable. The air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering wheel clock spring needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the parts for repair were on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not provide further assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.
The clock spring broke very suddenly over two months ago. The airbag light came on and the steering wheel started to make a twisting noise when I turned it. My steering wheel controls and horn stopped working. The VW dealer diagnosed the problem as the clock spring, and stated that they would order the part and it would be replaced for free since it was part of a recall. The dealer has been unable to get the part for two months with no delivery date in sight. The inconvenience of not being able to access bluetooth and steering wheel controls is an annoyance, but not having a functioning horn has been a huge liability. In that time, I have nearly been hit by other drivers twice, and was unable to alert them with my horn. One of those events was almost a head on collision...the oncoming car drifted into my lane because the driver was looking at her phone. I was able to swerve onto the shoulder to avoid an accident. I was lucky that there were no obstructions or pedestrians. My car is unsafe to drive and yet I have no other option.
This morning I realized that my spring clock isn’t working. My air bag light is on saying error air bag. I have no controls on my steering wheel.
I was turning and a crack sound came from the steering wheel, turning the car caused the clock spring to break. Airbag light came on, horn doesn't work, no controls on steering wheel work. Known issue but they stopped recalls at 2014 models but should still havr recalls for later years, same issue.
While slowly turning left to park at a gas station I heard a "snap" and found that my airbag light came on and none of the controls on my steering wheel were working. Afterwards I noticed a consistent clicking noise whenever I would turn the wheel. After researching I am confident that this is an issue with the ribbon wire leading down the steering column from the clock spring. Many other volkswagen models are having the same issue and recalled for this problem. Mine has not yet been recalled and this is a safety issue. This is a 2015 model that I purchased in march of 2018 and the issue occurred 6 months after I purchased the vehicle.
Steering wheel has controls that no longer function, the horn is non-functioning and can not be used to alert a car when danger is eminent, such as backing up with bypassing cars, cars improperly changing lanes or drifting into lane, also the airbag warning light is on and the car displays error airbag message.
The airbag warning light came on, and the controls on the steering wheel do not work, and the horn will not work.
Service bulletins that may apply
- Inquiries
- The federal safety agency has issued an urgent warning regarding counterfeit replacement airbag inflators...
- This Document informs dealers of the new Airbag Control Module Warranty Extension
- Additional Safety Inquiry and Reporting instruction.
- Airbag Issues.
- VOLKSWAGEN DEALERSHIP COMMUNICATION: the federal safety agency has issued a Special Order to Volkswagen...
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
Questions about the 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan airbag light
Is airbag warning light a common problem on the 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan?
14 of 62 owner complaints about the 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan (23%) mention airbag warning light. The model year with the most reports is 2013.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan?
There are 2 recalls and 7 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
VIN decoder
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