2018 Volkswagen Tiguan

Name: 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan owner-filed safety complaints per 1,000 sold
Creator: YearsTell

For every car sold, owners filed 2.8 times as many complaints about the 2018 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 this one, the 2018 (1.73).

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

1.73 per 1,000

2.8 times this nameplate’s own median

Counted from 178 complaints filed in the first three years, of 295 ever. 95% lower bound 1.47. Not counted: 1 complaint that reported only that a recall repair was unavailable, not a failure.

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 2018 Tiguan report

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

Engine 84 complaints

rpm	18	21%
epc	15	18%
hesitation	12	14%

Unknown Or Other 54 complaints

sunroof	12	22%
noise	10	19%

Power Train 51 complaints

dangerous	19	37%
accelerating	13	25%
seconds	12	24%
rpm	11	22%
hesitates	10	20%
hesitation	10	20%

When it breaks

88% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 6,900 miles, from 157 complaints that recorded one).

Failures cluster early, which is the signature of how the car was built rather than of wear. A low-mileage example has not yet passed the risk window.

What NHTSA did

2 investigations covering this model year, 1 of which list a recall campaign.

Seat Belt Webbing Failure

Questions buyers ask about the 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan

Is 2018 a good year or a bad year for the Tiguan?

What problems does the 2018 Tiguan have?

The parts owners named most often in complaints filed to date: Engine (84), Unknown Or Other (54), Power Train (51). The phrases they used are listed above.

Is the 2018 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 2.8 times as many complaints about the 2018 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.