2011 Volkswagen Tiguan

Name: 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan owner-filed safety complaints per 1,000 sold
Creator: YearsTell

For every car sold, owners filed 2.5 times as many complaints about the 2011 Tiguan as about the typical Tiguan year. Among the 8 Tiguan years with enough complaints to compare, owners filed the fewest about the 2021 (0.33 per 1,000 sold) and the most about the 2018 (1.73).

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

1.54 per 1,000

2.5 times this nameplate’s own median

Counted from 40 complaints filed in the first three years, of 162 ever. 95% lower bound 1.06.

Every Tiguan model yearComplaints per 1,000 sold, first three years

This yearOther yearsToo few complaints to rankTypical year, 0.62

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters. The bar is how many complaints each rate rests on.

Model year	Per 1,000	Complaints
2011	1.54	40
2012	1.11	32
2013	0.71	22
2014	0.29	8
2015	0.36	11
2016	0.33	13
2017	0.31	14
2018	1.73	178
2019	0.66	70
2020	0.36	38
2021	0.33	35
2022	1.54	139
2023	0.62	46

Issues owners of the 2011 Tiguan report

Phrases over-represented in these complaints compared with the same component on every other vehicle. Counts are complaints containing the phrase.

Engine 63 complaints

timing	27	43%
chain	22	35%
timing chain	21	33%
tensioner	16	25%

When it breaks

8% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 60,000 miles, from 139 complaints that recorded one).

Failures arrive late and spread out, which looks like wear. Service history matters more than model year here.

What NHTSA did

4 investigations covering this model year, 2 of which list a recall campaign. Owners had filed 28 complaints about this component over roughly 7 months before an investigation opened.

Clockspring failure

Questions buyers ask about the 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan

Is 2011 a good year or a bad year for the Tiguan?

What problems does the 2011 Tiguan have?

The parts owners named most often in complaints filed to date: Engine (63), Electrical System (47), Exterior Lighting (39). The phrases they used are listed above.

Is the 2011 Tiguan reliable?

Complaint records cannot settle that on their own. They count safety problems owners chose to report to the federal government, not every repair. What they do show is how this year compares with the other Tiguan years: for every car sold, owners filed 2.5 times as many complaints about the 2011 Tiguan as about the typical Tiguan year.

Which Tiguan year has the fewest complaints?

Among years with enough complaints to compare, the 2021, at 0.33 per 1,000 sold. Every Tiguan year, ranked.

What the used-car guides say

No guide we read covers the Tiguan.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page, each on NHTSA’s own site:

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is automated checks only, not verified against an external source.