2022 Volkswagen Tiguan: What to check before buying

Oil disappears between changes, often 1 to 2 quarts at a time with no visible leak. Low-oil warnings, ticking, and blue or white smoke at startup are common, and some cars start burning oil early in ownership. Dealers often run a consumption test and call the rate normal. When repairs happen, they range from valve seals to a full cylinder head, and heads sit on national backorder for months. Some cars also lose coolant. A failed PCV valve is a second pattern, causing oil leaks and gasket damage, with one bill of $7,200.

Acceleration from a stop hesitates for several seconds, then the car lurches forward. It is worse on a cold engine, and dealers often cannot reproduce it or call it normal. A failed PCV or crankcase vent valve is the other major theme. It forces oil past seals, cracks the oil pan, and leaks at the upper timing cover. Several reports describe sudden exhaust smoke, oil sprayed under the car, an empty dipstick, and limp mode at highway speed. Erratic shifting and a rear differential failure near 49,000 miles also appear.

The engine shuts off while driving, at lights, in traffic, or climbing hills, and some cars only move again after a full restart. In some cars this gets more frequent over time. The infotainment screen goes black or takes minutes to boot, which also knocks out the backup camera, and replacements often fail to fix it. False Travel Assist alerts sound over and over. Two reports describe doors locking with the key inside and a child in the car, one listed with an injury. Random electronic parking brake engagement also appears.

A faulty steering wheel triggers repeated "Travel Assist currently not available" warnings, sometimes 10 or more chimes in one drive, and disables lane assist and adaptive cruise. Dealers usually confirm the cause and order a new steering wheel. Replacements are often on long backorder with no arrival date, and one owner was told the part is no longer made. Some reports describe lane assist switching on and off and the steering jolting or pulling. A crack spreading near the steering wheel logo, requiring a new airbag cover, also appears.

Windshields crack on their own while the car sits parked, with no chip or impact point. Some cracks run across most of the glass. Replacement windshields are frequently on national backorder, leaving drivers with impaired vision for weeks. Sunroof glass also shatters into the cabin without impact, causing minor cuts in one case. Automatic wipers switch on with no rain and cannot be turned off, and one case persisted after a steering wheel replacement. Random Travel Assist and collision warnings come up alongside the wiper fault.

Throttle response lags from a stop. The car creeps forward, loses power for 3 to 4 seconds, then surges, which is especially dangerous during left turns across traffic. The lag is worse when cold and often appears in the first miles of ownership. Dealers frequently find nothing wrong or point to software. One report cites failed spark plugs and ignition coils at 49,000 miles, causing stuttering. In one crash report, the car veered left into the median while on cruise control and was totaled.

Automatic emergency braking engages with nothing ahead and brings the car to an abrupt stop. One report describes a passenger thrown forward and hurt, and another describes a following car nearly rear-ending the vehicle on a highway. Forward collision warnings also trigger for no reason. The remaining complaints repeat the Travel Assist fault, with warning lights flashing and loud chimes sounding every few seconds at any speed. Dealers have dismissed at least one report of phantom braking.

Travel Assist drops out and comes back repeatedly while driving, with a loud chime each time, sometimes 10 times in a minute. Dealers often find no error code, and one car went in 5 times without a fix. Because the fault is intermittent, shops struggle to reproduce it. One report describes Lane Keep Assist misreading lane markings and steering toward traffic, plus the brakes engaging for a shadow. A steering wheel replacement fixed that case.