Reliable Auto DB

2019 Volkswagen Tiguan reliability

Is it reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan holds 191 complaints after 8 years, a rate of 23 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Tiguan years here — over the median of the other years, which is 11. NHTSA has 5 recalls on file, including Tire pressure monitoring, Structure, body, and Labels.

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

191

Per year

23

Recalls

5

Years on the road

8

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (56 of 191), then Engine (40) and Forward collision avoidance (24). Those filings include 6 that report a crash, 1 that reports a fire, and 5 that report an injury.

Next to 2018 and 2020

The 2018 Tiguan has 283 complaints, 59 per year, and the 2020 has 140 complaints, 13 per year. The 2019 has fewer complaints per year than the 2018. The 2019 has more complaints per year than the 2020.

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 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (5)

Recall tires, tire pressure monitoring 2022-10-31 · NHTSA campaign 22V815000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan LWB, Golf Sportswagen A7, Golf Alltrack, Golf R GP, Audi Q3, Audi A3 Cabriolet, 2019-2020 Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas, Golf A7, Audi A3, 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport, and 2021 Atlas FL vehicles. The tire pressure monitoring system may not detect an air pressure loss in adequate time when deflating occurs among all four tires simultaneously. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."
Remedy Dealers will update the TPMS software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 18, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi’s customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are (Audi) 45J7, and (VW) 45J6 and 45J8.
Recall structure, body 2022-04-06 · NHTSA campaign 22V226000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Tiguan and 2018-2021 Tiguan long wheel base (LWB) vehicles. Due to incorrect installation instructions, the accessory rear hatch spoiler may be insufficiently attached to the vehicle.
Remedy Dealers will replace the spoiler, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 3, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 66N5.
Recall Labels 2019-03-27 · NHTSA campaign 19V241000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Tiguan LWB vehicles. The tire information label contains inaccurate tire dimension and inflation pressure specifications. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Remedy Volkswagen has notified owners, and dealers will install a corrected tire information label, free of charge. The recall began April 16, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 01D2.
Recall suspension, rear, springs, coil springs 2019-03-06 · NHTSA campaign 19V188000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Golf Sportwagen, 2019 Jetta, 2015-2019 Golf, and 2018-2019 Tiguan vehicles. The rear coil springs may prematurely fracture.
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear axle coil springs, free of charge. The recall began April 12, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42J5.
Recall electrical system, instrument cluster 2018-11-26 · NHTSA campaign 18V824000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas and Tiguan and 2019 Volkswagen Jetta vehicles that do not have keyless entry. The instrument cluster may not provide an audible warning to let the driver know that the key is still in the ignition when the door is open. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection."
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the instrument cluster, free of charge. The recall began December 13, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 90L3 and 90L4.

Complaints by component (191 total)

Electrical system
56
Engine
40
Forward collision avoidance
24
Service brakes
24
Powertrain
17
Speed control
14
Exterior lighting
10
Fuel and propulsion system
10
Structure
9
Air bags
7
Suspension
6
Seat belts
5
Visibility
5
Lane departure
4
Visibility and wipers
4
Back-over prevention
3
Steering
3
Electronic stability control (ESC)
2
Engine and engine cooling
2
Seats
1
Tires
1
Wheels
1
Show 14 more Show less
Crash-flagged

6

Fire-flagged

1

Injury reports

5

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

22018302019222020162021172022292023262024222025272026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to respond, and the vehicle vibrated abnormally. The…"
    Speed control · filed 2026-09-15
  • "Vehicle: 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan Mileage: Approximately 84,000 miles Problem: Intermittent Park-position/gear-selector warning and transmission emergency mode My 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan has developed an intermittent…"
    Unknown or other, Engine · filed 2026-09-13
  • "On unusually hot days, my VW Tiguan 2019, pops up a Check Start system and shuts down the dash and all electrical components (speedometer, A/C, infotainment system, blindside monitors, brake lights etc.) Car still runs…"
    Electrical system · filed 2026-08-31
  • "I am reporting a safety-related electrical defect on my 2019 Tiguan that has been intermittently occurring since March 2026. This typically has happened during the hotter parts of the day when the tempreature in in the…"
    Speed control, Unknown or other · filed 2026-08-14
  • "The car, a 2019 VW Tiguan, had a “check engine” light come on, and the resulting diagnosis and repairs - using VW’s specific engine fault codes - led to the replacement of both water pumps at 72,000 miles. An…"
    Engine · filed 2026-08-07

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Tiguan 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (8-speed) Front-wheel drive 22 29 25 MPG $2600
Tiguan 4motion 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (8-speed) All-wheel drive 21 29 24 MPG $2700

Specs and fitment

2nd generation (AD/BW), 2018–present
Body styles SUV
Oil VW 508.00 0W-20 (2.0L turbo; see manual) , 4.8 qt capacity
Tire size 235/55R18

Known issues for this generation

Safety recall 18V-467 covers certain 2018 Tiguans whose panoramic-sunroof ambient LED module may short-circuit and raise fire risk; dealers disconnect that module's power until a later service action. Safety recall 20V-724 covers certain 2018 Tiguan LWB vehicles whose front seat- belt webbing may tear in a crash; dealers inspect and replace belts as needed. Safety recall 26V-590 covers certain 2018 Tiguans among other VW Group models: a steering-rack-to-subframe bolt can corrode and break, allowing loss of steering control; dealers replace the right-side mounting bolt. Safety recall 25V-082 covers certain 2022-2024 Tiguans among other models: a camera control-unit error at startup can blank the rearview image (FMVSS 111); dealers update that software.

Compare

Previous year 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan Next year 2020 Volkswagen Tiguan See every Volkswagen Tiguan model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan holds 191 complaints after 8 years, a rate of 23 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Tiguan years here — over the median of the other years, which is 11. NHTSA has 5 recalls on file, including Tire pressure monitoring, Structure, body, and Labels.

What are common problems with a 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan?

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (56 of 191), then Engine (40) and Forward collision avoidance (24). Those filings include 6 that report a crash, 1 that reports a fire, and 5 that report an injury.

Is the 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2018 Tiguan has 283 complaints, 59 per year, and the 2020 has 140 complaints, 13 per year. The 2019 has fewer complaints per year than the 2018. The 2019 has more complaints per year than the 2020.

Has the 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan been recalled?

The 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan has 5 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 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan?

Owners have filed 191 complaints about the 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan is 24.5 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.