Reliable Auto DB

2012 Volkswagen Tiguan reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 152 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan over 15 years — 11 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Tiguan years here — under the median of the other years, which is 12. NHTSA has 3 recalls on file, including Unknown or other, Frontal, and Fuel system, gasoline.

2012 Volkswagen Tiguan
Photo by Alexander-93, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Complaints

152

Per year

11

Recalls

3

Years on the road

15

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (50 of 152), then Air bags (33) and Electrical system (23). Those filings include 10 that report a crash and 5 that report an injury.

Next to 2013

The 2013 Tiguan has 139 complaints, 7 per year. The 2012 has more complaints per year than the 2013.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (3)

Recall Unknown or other 2018-05-16 · NHTSA campaign 18V329000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2016 Eos, 2012 Passat, 2012-2016 CC, 2015-2016 e-Golf, 2011-2015 Touareg, 2012-2015 and 2017 Tiguan, and 2011-2016 Golf and 2011-2013 GTI vehicles. Modifications made while the vehicles were in an internal evaluation period may cause the affected vehicles to not comply with all of the applicable regulatory requirements.
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will repair the vehicles to make them fully compliant or Volkswagen will repurchase them if necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 29, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.
Recall air bags, frontal 2015-08-04 · NHTSA campaign 15V483000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Volkswagen CC, and Passat, 2010-2013 Eos, 2011-2014 Golf, GTI, Jetta, and Tiguan, and 2012-2014 Jetta Sportwagen vehicles. In the affected vehicles, debris may contaminate the air bag clock spring, a spiral wound, flat cable that keeps the air bag powered while the steering wheel is being turned. This contamination may tear the cable and result in a loss of electrical connection to the driver's frontal air bag.
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install a protective cover over the steering wheel clock spring if the air bag light is off. If the airbag light is on and the steering wheel clock spring requires replacement, dealers will install a new steering wheel clock spring. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on January 15, 2016. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987.
Recall Fuel system, gasoline 2014-07-21 · NHTSA campaign 14V441000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2009-2014 Tiguan vehicles manufactured July 2007 to June 2014. When using winterized fuel, in certain conditions bubbles may form in the fuel system which could result in the vehicle stalling.
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will update the vehicle's software to increase the fuel pump pressure, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin August 19, 2014. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 24AV/2W.

Complaints by component (152 total)

Engine
50
Air bags
33
Electrical system
23
Steering
20
Fuel and propulsion system
12
Service brakes
10
Powertrain
7
Seat belts
7
Electronic stability control (ESC)
4
Fuel system, gasoline
3
Speed control
3
Structure
3
Visibility
3
Visibility and wipers
3
Engine and engine cooling
2
Suspension
2
Exterior lighting
1
Hydraulic brakes
1
Latches, locks, and linkages
1
Seats
1
Tires
1
Wheels
1
Show 14 more Show less
Crash-flagged

10

Fire-flagged

0

Injury reports

5

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

62012122013142014132015620161920172520182120191220204202152022620234202452025
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "Steering wheel gets locked up while driving; power steering fails. The red steering light turns on. This is a problem that happens to several Tiguans. There were no prior symptoms prior to failure. This is extremely…"
    Steering · filed 2025-11-02
  • "I was driving the car and the steering wheel locked out of nowhere A red steering light came on the dashboard. I’ve never seen before"
    Steering · filed 2025-08-28
  • "The contact owns a 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption. Additionally, while driving at 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull over to…"
    Engine · filed 2025-08-25
  • "The clockspring has failed and there are recalls on similar models of Tiguans of the same year."
    Air bags · filed 2025-04-10
  • "What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Defective Primary Engine Water Pump, yes. The original primary engine water pump system for a 2012 VW Tiguan 2.0 was…"
    Engine · filed 2025-03-17

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Tiguan 2L, 4-cyl Manual 6-speed Front-wheel drive 18 26 21 MPG $3800
Tiguan 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 22 26 24 MPG $3300
Tiguan 4motion 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) All-wheel drive 21 26 23 MPG $3450

Specs and fitment

1st generation (5N), 2012–2017
Body styles SUV
Oil VW 502.00 5W-30 or 5W-40 (engine dependent) , 4.8 qt capacity
Tire size 215/65R16, 235/55R17, 255/40R19, 235/50R18 (trim dependent)

Known issues for this generation

Owner complaints for early years of this generation concentrate on the engine. Safety recall 14V-441 covers certain 2009-2014 Tiguans: with winterized fuel under some conditions, bubbles in the fuel system can stall the vehicle; dealers update software to raise fuel-pump pressure. Safety recall 15V-483 covers certain 2011-2014 Tiguans among other VW models: debris can contaminate the driver air-bag clock spring and tear the cable so the frontal air bag may not deploy; dealers install a protective cover or replace the clock spring as needed. Safety recall 18V-329 covers certain 2012-2015 and 2017 Tiguans among other VW models modified during an internal evaluation period that may not meet all applicable requirements; dealers repair for compliance or Volkswagen may repurchase if necessary.

Compare

Next year 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan See every Volkswagen Tiguan model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan reliable?

Owners have filed 152 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan over 15 years — 11 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Tiguan years here — under the median of the other years, which is 12. NHTSA has 3 recalls on file, including Unknown or other, Frontal, and Fuel system, gasoline.

What are common problems with a 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan?

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (50 of 152), then Air bags (33) and Electrical system (23). Those filings include 10 that report a crash and 5 that report an injury.

Is the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2013 Tiguan has 139 complaints, 7 per year. The 2012 has more complaints per year than the 2013.

Has the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan been recalled?

The 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan has 3 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan?

Owners have filed 152 complaints about the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan is 22.7 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What engine oil does a Volkswagen Tiguan use?

US Tiguan manuals specify VW-approved oil viscosity in the maintenance section.

What generation is the 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan?

2nd generation / AD-BW (2018-on) for the US long-wheelbase Tiguan.

What tire size does a second-generation Volkswagen Tiguan use?

Many second-gen US pages list 235/55R18; first-gen trims also used 215/65R16 through 255/40R19.