LIVE Global accident monitoring — updating every 15 minutes
Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2017 Volkswagen Tiguan — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 76 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

76
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
6
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
0
Involved Fire
owner-reported
4 / 1
Injuries / Deaths
across all reports
Years to Avoid

Volkswagen Tiguan — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

110 complaints

162 complaints

153 complaints

139 complaints

84 complaints

62 complaints

96 complaints

76 complaints

286 complaints

193 complaints

141 complaints

143 complaints

272 complaints

70 complaints

74 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Air Bags 30 reports
Engine 15 reports
Steering 13 reports
Electrical System 12 reports
Unknown Or Other 9 reports
Fuel/propulsion System 6 reports
Power Train 5 reports
Structure 4 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Steering ODI 11558514 12/05/2023

I started to get an "airbag error" message on the dash and then noticed that my horn no longer works, and neither do any of the buttons on either side of the wheel that control the dash menus and sound/phone system. I was able to determine this is a clock spring failure. From what I read, this is not a part that is supposed to wear out or fail from the age of the car and is ex…

Electrical System ODI 11558523 12/05/2023

It is nearly 2 years since the "clock spring wire" in the steering wheel failed. While this results in the buttons on the steering wheel not working, that is a minor inconvenience (such as not being able to reset the tire pressure warning light). The major problem is that the steering wheel air bag is not functional. Local VW dealers and VW of American customer support have be…

Steering ODI 11494504 11/21/2022

I suffered a front-end collision on 11/15/2022 in my 2017 VW Tiguan. I was going on I-66 in Virginia 40-45mph back to college at Howard University, and a car stopped suddenly after being cut off, but it was raining horribly and I was in half a foot of water, so even with braking, I hydroplaned into the vehicle in front of me, causing insubstantial damage to them but very signi…

Unknown Or Other ODI 11491334 10/28/2022

The Infotainment system fails to start or reboots randomly causing the back up camera not to work. Teddy VW of the Bronx dealership stated it is a critical concern. The back up camera not displaying on infotainment screen is a hazardous condition when pulling out of a parking spot.

Steering ODI 11693994 10/17/2025

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Steering rack and pinion, yes. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? There is no power steering and unable to make a quick turn to maneuver the car around a potential hazard in the road. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent s…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan reliable?
Owners have filed 76 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan, most often about air bags. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.
Which Volkswagen Tiguan years should I avoid?
The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.
Where do these complaints come from?
Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.
Do complaints mean a recall is coming?
Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.