"How reliable is the 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan?"

"Based on 226 NHTSA complaints, the 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan has a median complaint mileage of 52000 miles. The most common issue is Air Bags."

"What are common problems with the 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan is Air Bags, accounting for a significant portion of the 226 total complaints filed."

2013 Volkswagen Tiguan: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 226 complaints

226

Total Complaints

52,000mi

Median Mileage

Air Bags

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

24,000 25th Percentile

52,000 Median Mileage

76,720 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Air Bags

Electrical System

Engine

Steering

Unknown Or Other

Fuel/Propulsion System

Power Train

Service Brakes

Vehicle Speed Control

Driver Clockspring/Spiral Cassette

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"THERE ARE 2 SEPARATE INCIDENTS. FIRST INCIDENT APPROX. NOV. 26. PROCEEDING UP A STEEP HILL WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY DECELERATED. PRESSING ON GAS PEDAL DID NOT RESULT IN INCREASED SPEED. NEEDED TO SHIFT TO MANUAL TRANSMISSION MODE TO REGAIN CONTROL OF THE CAR. SECOND INCIDENT ON DEC. 27. PROCEEDIN..."

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.

Air Bags 59 complaints

25th: 46,000 mi Median: 55,000 mi 75th: 79,500 mi

Electrical System 34 complaints

25th: 50,000 mi Median: 57,000 mi 75th: 80,000 mi

Engine 29 complaints

25th: 4,916 mi Median: 32,550 mi 75th: 92,315 mi

Steering 26 complaints

25th: 46,000 mi Median: 62,000 mi 75th: 75,000 mi

Unknown Or Other 16 complaints

25th: 26,324 mi Median: 48,000 mi 75th: 54,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 37 NY: 28 FL: 25 TX: 13 OR: 12 MA: 10 PA: 10 CT: 7 WA: 7 IL: 7

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
2011	235	56,000	Engine	6
2012	214	49,000	Engine	15
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