Volkswagen Touareg loss of power problems

Filed Dec 27, 2024 · Fuel system · NC

While driving my family around, the car lost engine power and came to a stop on a busy roadway leaving us stranded until a tow truck could arrive. There were no warnings or indications that anything was wrong. One minute, it was driving fine and out of nowhere, the engine shut off in the middle of the road leaving us blocking a lane and creating a dangerous situation. The dealership is claiming that the high pressure fuel pump suffered a catastrophic failure and that the entire fuel system needs to be replaced, which is going to cost more than $13,000.

Filed Sep 7, 2021 · Engine · FL

Today, engine completely cut off in the middle of traffic (20-30 MPH), loss of power steering and breaking power. Engine dashboard yellow message appeared. I experience this several times before and previously brought to the attention of VW service department and some ECU repairs and engine sensor repairs were done - but the problem continues to happen. Sometimes engine cuts off simply at idle (e.g. waiting at traffic light) but loss of engine power together with power steering and breaks is very concerning when driving.

Filed Aug 19, 2021 · Engine, Transmission · WI

While driving the power train was seriously impacted, it is no longer operational and available for inspection at the dealer now. This is absolutely a safety risk as there was power loss and inconsistency which could have been very dangerous depending on the level of control required by the traffic conditions. The dealer has diagnosed and insurance is scheduled to inspect. the manufacturer has been requested by us to do a root cause but no response from them - this is apparently a known issue (class action lawsuit) that has not been official recognized as a recall. a transmission warning came on prior to the failure.

Filed Jun 3, 2021 · Engine · NY

In a non-driving environment rain water drains off the hood of the vehicle, down the right headlight and drains directly into the vehicle's intake pipe. In turn, this rain water collects in the intake air filter box, destroys the air filter and allows water to enter the combustion chamber causing erratic engine performance and untold engine damage due to the violent shuddering and erratic idle. This is a safety issue when driving in rain because the condition can be exaggerated causing the engine to lose power at highway speeds. This is a known safety issue and has been addressed via recall in China and Europe.

Filed Nov 25, 2020 · Body, Engine · 35,000 miles · WA

Our 2015 touareg tdi with 35,000mi lost power on interstate 10. The vehicle was in 'limp' mode and only able to reach a speed of 20mph in a 75mph zone on interstate 10. Extremely dangerous. We made it to a dealer in las cruces, nm. After the dealer diagnosed the problem we were told there was water in the air filter, the turbo needed to be replaced, and the air flow sensor. After a brief search we discovered there is a design flaw with the exterior drain system. This causes water to flow into the air intake, thru the air filter, thru the turbo, and ultimately into the engine. The undirected exterior drain water damages the air filter, the turbo, and, in some cases, the entire engine will fail. I was told our 2015 touareg tdi would need, among other things, to replace the turbo at a cost of $4,000-$5,000.

Filed Jul 9, 2020 · Engine · 45,805 miles · GA

Water intrusion in air filter causing multiple malfunctions and severe loss of power. Multiple warning lights including, diesel particulate filter, glow plug flashing, and check engine. Vehicle had to be towed to dealer. Dealer replaced air filter and mass airflow sensor and charged $500+ for the repair. This is a vw cpo and still under warranty. They stated I must have driven through deep water for this to happen, which I did not. It would have required my driving through 3-4 feet of water. This never happened. This is the second time I have had the mass airflow sensor replaced in a 6 month period. I have noticed multiple complaints regarding this exact issue and also that vw has recalled this vehicle in china for the same issue but not the USA. I have contacted vw and they will not do anything.

Filed Aug 26, 2019 · Fuel system · 163,000 miles · CA

On june 3, 2019 I was traveling southbound on the I-5 near tulare, california, at approximately 75mph when an indicator light came on that I had never seen before. Less than a minute later, I began to lose power and was unable to accelerate. I quickly moved to the right lane and prepared to exit the freeway less than a mile ahead. A few seconds later, the engine completely shut off. I was forced to coast off the freeway, no power, no power steering and quickly losing my brakes. I was lucky that there was an open parking lot immediately off the freeway that I was able to coast into. After safely coming to a stop, I attempted to look up the indicator light icon in the vehicle manual. Unable to find the code / reason for the engine failure, I called for a tow truck. The nearest vw dealership was 45 miles away so I opted to have the vehicle towed to a local european car service shop in tulare, frank's automotive. As luck would have it, they had a vw master trained technician on staff. He ran the codes, checked the engine and determined that my high pressure fuel pump had failed. He said the pump literally disintegrated and sent bits of aluminum 'shrapnel' throughout my entire fuel system. The entire fuel system would need to be replaced. He indicated that this was a known issue and that there was partial recall as a result. Unfortunately, my particular model was not included in the recall and vw declined to assist. The repair ended up costing me more than $8,000. If vw had given me a warning about this issue, I would most certainly have had the pump replaced before it catastrophically failed. Vw needs to be held accountable for these failures. When the pump fails, it's catastrophic!

Filed Jul 23, 2019 · 21,000 miles · NY

With family in vehicle the car lost power and stalled during a rain storm. Car was not able to restart and was on side of road for length of time after attempting to restart. Car restarted and the idle was rough and kept hesitating was not able to get vehicle above 15 MPH. Vehicle was towed to local dealer could not identify problem added f fuel additive. Upon driving home problem occurred again losing power while in motion and driving above 30 MPH vehicle stalled and loss of power causing an unsafe situation. I returned to the vw dealer and they brought it back into the shop where they verified the issue. They contacted me today explaining there was water in the sealed intake that caused the engine to stall. They will be performing tests for engine damage and verify severity of issue. Upon investigation I have found similar design flaws in the 2017 vw touareg as reports and claims have been made. Their is also a recall for this problem in vw china. Having a vehicle stall in the rain due to an issue with water entering the air box is truly dangerous and a safety concern for my well being and family.

Filed Jul 8, 2019 · Driver assistance, Engine · 103,000 miles · MT

I was driving on the highway @ 70mpr when all of a sudden without warning the car starts acting sluggish for a min then back to normal, and randomly for the next hour or so does(I had a ways to go) this a few more times. I got to my destination and let her rest for the night. The next morning it was doing fine except now the emission control light came on and stayed on. By this time it was time for the 100,000 mile maintenance to be done and it did great until about 6 months later I was driving @ 35mpr when it started loosing power, tho I only lost a little bit of power steering was forced to come to a stop, which just happen to be a one way bridge, baby in the car and had to push myself the rest of the way across it. Once off the bridge I turned the car off (it stayed on til I did this) let it rest a minute and it started up fine and let me go a few blocks still sluggish and then lost power again. I repeated this process for about 5 miles or so when I was forced to park it cuz I didn't want to risk crossing the highway again. Had it towed to dealership where they did the flange recall, that didnt' fix the problem so had to replace both fuel pumps and that was roughly @ 103,000. 8 months later it happens again this time around 107,000. Dealership took 4 hours to diagnose only to tell me I need the fuel tank replaced because somehow all the wires, connectors, and caps that have to do with the fuel lines/tank/pumps are either missing, cracked, or damaged so I need a wiring harness as well. They are quoting a me $5000 fix!!!

Filed Jul 1, 2019 · Engine · 47,000 miles · FL

During a rain storm and with my wife driving on a busy neighborhood throughway our 2016 vw touareg lost all power from the engine and power steering. She was forced to stop on the side of the road and push the car to safety. Upon research we learned about a problem with water getting into the air filter and subsequently into the motor. The next day, after the rain cleared I unlatched the air filter and found water pouring out of the filter box and had completely saturated the air filter to that of a soaking wet sponge. I have towed the touareg to the dealership and am awaiting the diagnostics. How could such a simple flaw remain such a major issue with out any action from volkswagen? I only hope I do not have to pay for a new motor just because we drove in a daily summertime florida rain storm.