"How reliable is the 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan?"

"Based on 235 NHTSA complaints, the 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan has a median complaint mileage of 56000 miles. The most common issue is Engine."

"What are common problems with the 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan is Engine, accounting for a significant portion of the 235 total complaints filed."

2011 Volkswagen Tiguan: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 235 complaints

235

Total Complaints

56,000mi

Median Mileage

Engine

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

40,200 25th Percentile

56,000 Median Mileage

81,250 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Engine

Electrical System

Exterior Lighting

Air Bags

Steering

Unknown Or Other

Power Train

Fuel/Propulsion System

Vehicle Speed Control

Service Brakes

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"2011 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN. CONSUMER STATES MALFUNCTION OF ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE *TGW THE CONSUMER WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT 50 MPH. MOMENTS BEFORE, COFFEE FROM AN OVER-FILLED CUP HAD SPILLED INTO THE RECESSED AREA WHERE THE ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE SWITCH WAS LOCATED. WHEN THE CONSUMER REACHE..."

"THE CRUISE CONTROL SPEED SETTING, UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, WILL INCREASE WHEN THE DECREASE SPEED BUTTON IS PRESSED. MORE SPECIFICALLY, WHEN REDUCING THE CRUISE CONTROL SPEED USING THE TOGGLE SWITCH AT THE END OF TURN SIGNAL STEM ON THE LEFT OF THE STEERING COLUMN, THE CRUISE SPEED WILL INCREASE BAC..."

"SPORADIC, COMPLETE BRAKE FAILURE. BRAKES FAIL TO CATCH, PETAL DEPRESSED TO THE FLOOR DOES NOT INITIATE ANY BRAKING. ONCE BRAKES ARE COMPLETELY RELEASED AND PUSHED AGAIN BRAKES FINALLY CATCH. THIS ISSUE OCCURS AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS, SOMETIMES RIGHT AFTER CAR IS STARTED, OTHER TIMES AFTER IT HAS BEEN..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Engine 62 complaints

25th: 55,709 mi Median: 76,158 mi 75th: 93,750 mi

Electrical System 44 complaints

25th: 38,255 mi Median: 44,776 mi 75th: 54,750 mi

Exterior Lighting 39 complaints

25th: 36,864 mi Median: 43,800 mi 75th: 54,330 mi

Air Bags 28 complaints

25th: 55,500 mi Median: 80,493 mi 75th: 101,500 mi

Steering 13 complaints

25th: 69,000 mi Median: 75,000 mi 75th: 89,500 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 30 NY: 27 TX: 19 IL: 16 CO: 13 PA: 13 FL: 12 GA: 11 VA: 9 MA: 8

Who Files Complaints?

0.9%

Original Owners

99.1%

Second+ Owners

Volkswagen Tiguan — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
2009	247	70,798	Engine	8
2010	157	66,539	Engine	6
2012	214	49,000	Engine	15
2013	226	52,000	Air Bags	4
2014	126	50,000	Air Bags	3
2015	106	51,762	Air Bags	1
2016	145	48,750	Air Bags	6
2017	95	26,000	Air Bags	11
2018	434	7,200	Engine	8
2019	263	2,721	Electrical System	9
2020	187	8,670	Unknown Or Other	8
2021	153	20,000	Engine	3
2022	375	16,500	Engine	5
2023	77	56,000	Engine	3
2024	63	-	Unknown Or Other	1
2025	41	-	Unknown Or Other	1

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28