MODELYEARINDEX

Volkswagen Tiguan

1,962 complaints across 12 scored model years and 36 recall campaigns.

Which years to avoid

Ownership label · Volkswagen Tiguan Full report
F
Grade 2010–2021
2018 vs model median 4.1×
Model median3× median
Engine 65
Drivetrain 43
Body & Interior 36
Avoid

2018 · 2019

Best

2015 · 2017

Year by year

Severity-weighted complaints filed in each model year’s first 60 months on the road, so every year is measured over an identical window.

Year Complaint volume vs median Reports Grade
2010
0.89× 65 C
2011
1.08× 98 C
2012
1.19× 76 C
2013
0.92× 66 C
2014
0.51× 47 B
2015
0.34× 36 B
2016
0.63× 54 B
2017
0.53× 34 B
2018
4.11× 342 F
2019
2.06× 164 F
2020
1.81× 146 D
2021
1.29× 129 C
2022 P
5.34× 447 F
2023 P
1.18× 89 C
2024 P
1.26× 90 C
2025 P
0.95× 79 B

P — provisional. These years have not completed 60 months on the road, so their totals are incomplete and they are excluded from the verdict.

What it costs to run

EPA figures for the most recent model year on record.

Combined MPG26.5
City / Highway23.5 / 31
Engine2L, 4 cyl
DriveFront-Wheel Drive
Annual fuel cost$2,325

Recalls

36 campaigns on record, 1 carrying a Park It or Park Outside warning.

Campaign Component Model years Units affected
15V483000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL 2011–2014 415,825
22V815000 TIRES:PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS 2019 296,044
14V441000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 2010–2014 151,389
18V824000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL 2018, 2019 73,549
13V569000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS 2010, 2011 62,155
19V188000 SUSPENSION:REAR:SPRINGS:COIL SPRINGS 2018, 2019 56,173
18V467000 VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY 2018 45,457
22V514000 BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA 2021, 2022 43,091

+ 28 further campaigns

Others in Compact SUVs

Same body and size class. Each grade describes that model against its own history — these are not ranked against each other.

Model Years to avoid Grade
Acura RDX
20192020
C
Audi Q5
20182021
C
Audi SQ5
none flagged
C
BMW X3
20132019
C
Buick Envision
2017
C
Cadillac SRX
2013
C
Cadillac XT5
2017
C
Chevrolet Blazer
none flagged
C

How this was calculated

Every model year is scored over an identical window: complaints filed with NHTSA during the first 60 months after that model year went on sale. Without this, older cars look worse purely because they have had longer to accumulate reports.

Limitations. Complaints are unverified reports submitted voluntarily by owners; they are allegations, not findings, and reporting rates vary between models. Model years with fewer than 60 months on the road are marked provisional and excluded from verdicts. Cross-model comparison is withheld pending production-volume data.

Full methodology · Sources · Data vintage August 9, 2026

Working 2018 Tiguan
Complaints in window
342
Severity-weighted
460
Model median (weighted)
112
vs model median
4.11×
Recall campaigns (weighted)
15
Open investigations
0
Score 10 F