Reliable Auto DB

2021 Volkswagen Tiguan reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 141 complaints with NHTSA about the 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan over 6 years — 12 per year. The other Tiguan years sit at about the same rate: their median is 12 complaints per year. NHTSA has 5 recalls on file, including Camera, Structure, body, and Suspension.

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

141

Per year

12

Recalls

5

Years on the road

6

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (53 of 141), then Electrical system (25) and Forward collision avoidance (11). Those filings include 2 that report a crash and 2 that report an injury.

Next to 2020 and 2022

The 2020 Tiguan has 140 complaints, 13 per year, and the 2022 has 269 complaints, 46 per year. The 2021 has about the same number of complaints per year as the 2020. The 2021 has fewer complaints per year than the 2022.

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 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (5)

Recall back-over prevention, sensing system, camera 2022-07-20 · NHTSA campaign 22V514000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Golf GTI, Jetta GLI, Jetta NF, Arteon FL, Tiguan LWB, 2022 Taos, Jetta PA, Tiguan PA, 2021-2022 Atlas Cross Sport, and Atlas FL vehicles. The manufacturing process of the eMMC memory module in the infotainment system may cause the rearview camera image not to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Remedy Dealers will update the infotainment software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 16, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91DV.
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 Suspension 2022-03-23 · NHTSA campaign 22V176000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Tiguan, Taos, and 2021 Tiguan long wheel base (LWB) vehicles. A second notice will be sent once remedy parts become available. The left or right rear suspension knuckles may corrode, crack, and break.
Remedy Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace one or both rear suspension knuckles, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 13, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42L8.
Recall Seats 2021-02-01 · NHTSA campaign 21V038000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan Long Wheelbase and Jetta vehicles. Bolts may be missing from the front seat tracks.
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front seat tracks and, as necessary, install the bolts, free of charge. The recall began February 18, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 72L6.
Recall back-over prevention, sensing system, camera 2020-11-18 · NHTSA campaign 20V716000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas Cross Sport, Tiguan LWB, Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas FL and Arteon vehicles. The rear view camera could malfunction during an ignition cycle, leading to a black screen or infotainment system freeze. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will update the infotainment system software, free of charge. The recall began December 11, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91BB/91BC.

Complaints by component (141 total)

Engine
53
Electrical system
25
Forward collision avoidance
11
Fuel and propulsion system
11
Powertrain
11
Structure
11
Visibility and wipers
8
Engine and engine cooling
5
Exterior lighting
5
Service brakes
5
Speed control
5
Air bags
2
Back-over prevention
2
Equipment
1
Latches, locks, and linkages
1
Parking brake
1
Seat belts
1
Steering
1
Suspension
1
Tires
1
Visibility
1
Wheels
1
Show 14 more Show less
Crash-flagged

2

Fire-flagged

0

Injury reports

2

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

82021152022122023292024412025362026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "At 58,218 miles, the engine on this 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan failed after excessive oil consumption progressed to engine knocking. The vehicle was brought to Volkswagen of Orange Park on July 24, 2025, for excessive oil…"
    Engine · filed 2026-09-22
  • "At approximately 53,876 miles, my 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan experienced a severe, premature failure of the Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) valve / oil separator assembly. The failure of this component caused an…"
    Engine · filed 2026-09-16
  • "2021 Tiguan parking brake comes on without being commanded. There is a fault with the drivers door. I believe the the driver door module or corresponding wiring. The front drivers window toggle switch does not work the…"
    Electrical system, Service brakes · filed 2026-09-09
  • "Like many others, at 55k miles, our oil separator malfunctioned causing our oil pan to crack and dump every drop of oil. We had to replace the oil pan and fortunately our mechanic friend figured out it was the new pcv…"
    Speed control, Engine · filed 2026-09-06
  • "The J949 SOS emergency communication unit failed, disabling vehicle 911 automatic crash notifications and emergency response capabilities.” NHTSA opens defect investigations based on consumer complaint clusters for this…"
    Electrical system · filed 2026-09-04

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Tiguan 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (8-speed) Front-wheel drive 23 29 25 MPG $2600
Tiguan 4motion 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (8-speed) All-wheel drive 21 27 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 2020 Volkswagen Tiguan Next year 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan See every Volkswagen Tiguan model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan reliable?

Owners have filed 141 complaints with NHTSA about the 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan over 6 years — 12 per year. The other Tiguan years sit at about the same rate: their median is 12 complaints per year. NHTSA has 5 recalls on file, including Camera, Structure, body, and Suspension.

What are common problems with a 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan?

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (53 of 141), then Electrical system (25) and Forward collision avoidance (11). Those filings include 2 that report a crash and 2 that report an injury.

Is the 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2020 Tiguan has 140 complaints, 13 per year, and the 2022 has 269 complaints, 46 per year. The 2021 has about the same number of complaints per year as the 2020. The 2021 has fewer complaints per year than the 2022.

Has the 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan been recalled?

The 2021 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 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan?

Owners have filed 141 complaints about the 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2021 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.